Photogrammetry Software for SU workflow

[Dennis_n]

Hi, I wander what is the best Photogrammetry package to make building models for SU.
I got Pix4d mapper but I can't come even close to the 3d buildings google earth is displaying.
Google also used photogrammetry to make their 3d buildings. They are so crisp and light. my models look like they made of wax and were heated a bit for all the sharp edges to disappear.
Besides they have enormous size.
Did anyone come across a package that actually works well?

[pilou]

Trimble laser + Plugin ?

[Dennis_n]

Pilou, any links? any case studies or personal experiences?

[pilou]

[Dennis_n]

hm, that does not exactly look like a massive urban planning model - good enough for rendering. ((
I'm testing now one product. You can see doesns of city blocks in one model and it moves well, looks crisp. http://www.acute3d.com/s3c-samples/
still looking if it really works.

[pilou]

Ah, I see this is French Touch! There are "big heads" of Hight School!

So have you try also the free 123D Catch ?

[pilou]

I remember had used this French cool one low price! (even free for non profit use)
http://photosculpt.net/ Only 2 images are necessary!
don't know if it's sufficient for that you have needing ?

I have made some funny things with free Chaoscope + Photosculpt

Interest in this case is that Chaoscope has no 3D exit file so ... now you have!

[Dennis_n]

5 pieces under testing:
pix4d
123d Catch
PhotoScan
Smart3DCapture
3df Zephir

[juju]

if I recall correctly there should be another contender there,

http://www.tgi3d.com/

[Dennis_n]

Can TGI3d handle a few square kilometers of urban areas?

[juju]

@dennis_n said:

Can TGI3d handle a few square kilometers of urban areas?

I have no idea, probably best to check with the product team themselves

[bjornkn]

A very old thread that just turned up while doing some email cleaning.

tgi3d Photoscan is a great tool, and it allows you to make precise (or sloppy if you want to) models. A few square kms should be no problem. What may cause problems is if you use a lot of photos, because they all have to be imported into SU after the calibration.
I think I hit a ceiling at around 75 7Mpx photos.
I have ImageModeler (no longer available to non-Autodesk-users), PhotoModeler and Canoma (bought up and killed by Adobe many years ago), and I never use anything else than tgi3D nowadays. It combines precision with ease of modelling (in SketchUp).
I have tried some of those free online point-cloud generators, but never liked them very much. Point-clouds and SketchUp is not a good combo, IMHO.

[Dennis_n]

Have a subscription for 2 years for pix4d. Strong mature and reliable tool. Neber the less switching to Bently's ContextCapture for their LOD algorythm and crisp models. Another contender is RealityCapture, faster and as crisp. However, not a mature software yet.