Photogrammetry Options 2020 09 20

Photogrammetry Options 2020 09 20

imaging 3d

Not an extensive list of available photogrammetry options, but ones that appear the most usable, available and maintained / up-to-date. If a software's not included here I've either not found it, or I felt it wouldn't be appropriate for my use. As far as I can tell, the majority of these are Structure From Motion based. I don't know what export options are available overall for each option. Many, if not all, of the resultant exported meshes or point clouds will likely require touching up. Meshmixer is recommended by a couple of options, though it's possible to touch up PC data in other 3D software too.

For the majorty of cases (possibly even those where it's not explicitly stated) CUDA-enabled nVidia cards are only required for dense point cloud reconstruction. Most of the options listed below offer the ability to fine-tune overall quality in ways other than just the point cloud, but state conistently that CUDA-enabled cards capable of generating dense point clouds will always provide the highest quality output possible.

Personal preference when creating this list, 2020 50 30: Meshroom.

FREE OPEN SOURCE

COLMAP

Seemingly most extensive option not build on major existing tech. GUI available but can also be run via CLI. They recommend using the pre-release versions, not stables. MacOS and Windows only. >>>

Meshroom

Built on the AliceVision framework. Offers the most advanced-option-user-friendly GUI. CUDA requirement is based on the dense point cloud node; removing that node reportedly removes the CUDA warning (and as of v2019.1.0 it is apparently possible to remove the requirement with only a small drop in resultant mesh quality). Windows & Linux only. >>> and >>> (github)

VisualSFM

Seems to have not been updated in a while. Has GUI and CLI options. Could be powerful? >>>

openMVG

Seems to have a similar base to colmap, and appears to have used similar datasets to Regard3D (not listed here due to lower-quality demo results). Adequate docs. >>>

MeshLab

Looks to be on-par-or-close to Meshroom in terms of features, and only "lacking" in UI. May match with COLMAP as being an option not built on major existing tech. >>>

FREE CLOSED SOURCE

3DF Zephyr Free

Looks reasonably polished, is limited to 50 images per project. Personal use only. Windows only. https://www.3dflow.net/3df-zephyr-free/

PAID

3DF Zephyr Lite

Extended-abilities version of 3DF Zephyr Free. Limited to 500 images per project. Supports mesh export, point cloud remains in Zephyr. "Lite" option is a EUR149+VAT one-off payment, inclusive of "one year of free software upgrades". More fully-features (and thus more expensive) options alsso available. >>>

AutoDesk ReCap

Extensive feature set, free for non-commercial use with educational account. ~USD350/pear >>> However they do have a free blog post on good photogrammetry photos

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