Photogrammetry Tab Overview

Note:  Photogrammetry is an add-on that requires additional licensing, which may be obtained via your Maptek Account portal. Please see Licensing Applications in Workbench help for details.

The Photogrammetry tab provides tools for converting 2D photographic images to point sets and then working with those point sets to reconstruct them as 3D photographic surfaces.

The Photogrammetry ribbon tab provides the following tools:

New

Create a new photogrammetry project, producing a sparse point cloud.

Register Reconstruction

Register a project against ground control points or existing data.

Create Dense Point Set

Generate a dense point cloud from the registered data.

Create Textured Surface

Generate a photographic surface from the point clouds.

Export Orthophoto

Generate and export an orthophoto of the project area.

PointStudio‘s photogrammetry suite uses the third-party software, 3DFlow, as the engine for creating reconstructions. 3DFlow recommends the following general photography rules for the best photogrammetry results:

  • Keep the subject in the centre of the frame.

  • Avoid direct light sources that may cast shadows and hide surface areas.

  • Avoid high ISO values since the extra noise may adversely affect result.

  • Use higher aperture values (f/8 - f/16) as much as possible to get a wide depth of field on pictures.

  • Avoid blurry photos: use good quality cameras and good lighting; use a tripod when appropriate.

  • Ensure 70% - 80% of overlap between photos so that each part of the scene you're shooting appears in at least three separate views from different locations. The more photos, the better the final results.

  • Minimise angles between photos. When moving around objects, keep the angles between photos as small as possible.

  • Shoot scenes with lots of detail and texture; visual texture is used to tie photos together. The more texture and detail, the better the result.

  • Don't try to adjust lens distortion. 3DFlow will compensate for distortion.

  • Use the same camera with the same focal length for all photos for best results.

See 3DF Photograpy Guide for more information.