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Pix4D Pricing Structures

The link to the route planning software that is free of charge and from which they will get compatibility for the H520 according to how they announced at the fair is this:

Pix4Dcapture

We're going to have the DataPilot but to make some kind of flight it can come in handy. The H520 compatible version has not yet been released, but I imagine it will be released shortly.
 
I'm forgetting something important. If anyone wants to buy the Pix4Dmapper, in my opinion the best photogrammetry software, wait for Black Friday. Last year I saw a juicy discount. Also taking into account that you don't have to wait too long ;)
 
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About photogrammetric software, there are other options available. I'm using 3Dsurvey, the support team is great and I'm really satisfied with software overall.

If someone is considering Pix4D then at least try 3Dsurvey trial version.
 
If someone is considering Pix4D then at least try 3Dsurvey trial version
I second that - we use 3D Survey, as well as Drone2Map, Agisoft PhotoScan Pro and Simactive Corralator Pro and can see although the point clouds are not as good as the other packages (not as much detail) I much prefer 3D Survey to Pix4d - the other main thing is this is a local package so no security or data issues.
 
As far as I know, Pix4D and Agisoft PhotoScan are also local.
 
As far as I know, Pix4D and Agisoft PhotoScan are also local.
Indeed they are yes- I didn't word that very well - however most people use the cloud processing of Pix4d, DroneDeplay, Maps Made Easy etc, because of the low monthly processing cost.
 
All the same, the pricing is prohibitive for those of us that are just dabbling. I used Microsoft ICE to make a composite of 345 jpegs covering an area of 87639 sq m. The H520 was flown at an altitude of 40m. Ballyhenry Capture.JPG The composite is 823Mb, so I've posted a screen snip here.
 
All the same, the pricing is prohibitive for those of us that are just dabbling. I used Microsoft ICE to make a composite of 345 jpegs covering an area of 87639 sq m. The H520 was flown at an altitude of 40m. View attachment 7610 The composite is 823Mb, so I've posted a screen snip here.

That's nice, it looks good.

What average GSD gives you? What program have you used?

Yes, when it is something specialized and complex like photogrammetry aimed at a specific and small audience, the prices are very high.
 
GSD??

Thanks, E90 set on natural, ultra jpeg, auto WB and exposure set to -0.5. I found that auto settings are better used due to variability in lighting. DNGs also taken.
Composited using ICE. File size reduced via Nikon View-NX and NX-D. Exposure (increased by 0.5), contrast and colour adjusted using Cyberlink PhotoDirector.

The camera is very good when used in this manner.

Would Esri Store give a more accurate composite than ICE?
 
GSD is Ground Sample Distance or the distance representing each pixel. A 2cm GSD means that each pixel on screen represents 2cm.

The program in the orthophoto information should tell you, or when processing.

I haven't used either of those two programs, I can't tell you. Maybe someone around here tells you better than I do.
 
GSD = 1.17cm/pixel. At that I can just pick out Patella vulgata on the rock. :)

The mission at an altitude of 58m. A 1.7cm GSD is very good. :)

Normally in civil works, at least here, between 2 and 3cm is accepted unless it is a special project.

I'll see when the weather leaves me and make a few flights to see how the software behaves with the images of the E90.
 
Ballyhenry snip.JPG Here's the important part of the Datapilot plan. I used 3 batteries as I changed early when the craft was close to me. I'd like better resolution, but this was fine for a practice.
 
View attachment 7612 Here's the important part of the Datapilot plan. I used 3 batteries as I changed early when the craft was close to me. I'd like better resolution, but this was fine for a practice.

Now I've been planning a mission for tomorrow (with permission of time) and I've realized one thing. Time and distance data are calculated at a little random.

It is very important to indicate the degrees of flight direction because it is very important to reduce the flight time. When you increase the grades and see that there is more time for the same mission you decrease and play with the courage to cover the whole area in the shortest possible time. However, many times, by trying different values, I go back to the previous values and it doesn't give me the same result as initially. It's disconcerting.

The other important parameter for the same is the entry point. This way you can indicate where you want the mission to begin and end. In the manual it indicates that it is advisable to set the entry point as close as possible to the take-off point and that is something I am totally against, rather the other way around. My way of doing this is to make the exit as close as possible to the Home. Why? When you start a mission you have the full battery and you won't have any consumption problems. However, when the mission is finished the battery may be about to run out and having the output as far as possible indicates that the RTL will do it with a low battery with the danger that this involves. A possible increase in wind may cause more battery power to be consumed than calculated so it is advisable to complete the mission as close as possible to the landing point. Just the reverse of what the manual says. Of course and as always this is my opinion but the one who plays with fire in the end ends up burning.

We have to practice a lot and make him go alone :D

A GSD resolution of 1.7cm is fine. You can get more to practice depending on what you're looking for. Then the time spent in obtaining the images influences a lot if we add the processing time to it. Clean the point cloud, correctly georeferencing, clean the orthophoto, etc. It is clear that with practice, perfection is achieved ;)
 
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Would Esri Store give a more accurate composite than ICE?

All the ESRI software you get for the price is amazing value - the learning curve is Hugh - I say that with greatest respect -the fact you were unaware of what GSD meant, would suggest you dont have a GIS background - in that case - looking and ArcGIS Pro or ArcMap would be like looking at a blank screen. Also bear in mind that ESRI is very power hungry, ive upgraded to a twin xeon workstation with 64gb RAM, and a Quadro M4000 and Tesla M2075 card to keep up. You would still need processing software between your drone and ESRI, but for the final analysis and mapping design for production, ESRI is fine. A free version would be QGIS which does (probably at your level) everything for free.
 
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The other important parameter for the same is the entry point. This way you can indicate where you want the mission to begin and end. In the manual it indicates that it is advisable to set the entry point as close as possible to the take-off point and that is something I am totally against, rather the other way around. My way of doing this is to make the exit as close as possible to the Home. Why? When you start a mission you have the full battery and you won't have any consumption problems. However, when the mission is finished the battery may be about to run out and having the output as far as possible indicates that the RTL will do it with a low battery with the danger that this involves. A possible increase in wind may cause more battery power to be consumed than calculated so it is advisable to complete the mission as close as possible to the landing point. Just the reverse of what the manual says. Of course and as always this is my opinion but the one who plays with fire in the end ends up burning.
Yes, and a more efficient track could result in the benefit of fewer images, less transfer time, processing time etc.
The risk is greatest when the temptation is to continue flying when there are just a few more photos to take and the battery is getting low. I did that on my first survey and subsequently increased the voltage at which the first warning occurs. I was worried about the procedure to change the battery and continue the mission. I now know it's easy, but the H520 does take some time after re-booting to continue the mission. There must be something going on in the backgound that isn't obvious. Just remember to take a spare battery or two in case of circumstances;).

bluelight, thanks for the advice:). I am just dabbling and have no intention of making money. I was attracted to ArcGIS because of their Drone2Map feature. My wife, who has used ArcGIS and QGIS, is most interested in using the former in a website she is developing. I came across this overview, which I'll take a detailed look at, Comparison of photogrammetry software - Wikipedia
The cost of ArcGIS, when used non-commercially, seems reasonable, so who knows?:)
 
This is like everything else, starting. You have the advantage that your wife can guide and explain things to you. However on YouTube there are many tutorials to learn the programs. Websites with free courses, etc.

These are not regular programmes or mass programmes because they are highly specialised and therefore cost so much.

If you're interested in the topic, it's a matter of putting in hours and hours. Who knows, you still like it and someday you do it professionally ;)

Regarding programming the routes and after activating the RTL if you look at the mission time decreases. After 20 minutes, he asks you to use 2 batteries. Theoretically with the E90 camera, the flight time is 25 minutes. So a safety margin is already applied, in case everything doesn't go perfectly. What the program cannot calculate is the amount of wind that is the factor that causes the duration of the flight to decrease. Doesn't hurt though I think it's a little bit polished yet. The experience after having done many scheduled flights will tell us, depending on the wind strength, when it is reliable the calculations it make when calculating the routes.
 
I was attracted to ArcGIS because of their Drone2Map feature. My wife, who has used ArcGIS and QGIS, is most interested in using the former in a website she is developing. I came across this overview, which I'll take a detailed look at, Comparison of photogrammetry software - Wikipedia
The cost of ArcGIS, when used non-commercially, seems reasonable, so who knows?:)

Yes I went through that list when starting as well - be careful though, Drone2Map is not on the package for £$100 per year. I tried that!

What can you tell me about the 520 for mapping, as we are seriously looking at one for us - do you have some images I could try and process to see how it compared to the I2?
 

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