Is there an alternative way to manually align / orientate photos?

[LiNo]

Hi, As a first time poster, please excuse this question if it is too simple/ obvious

Is there an alternative way to manually align / orientate photos to a model that have not been handled automatically? I appreciate that the "standard" way is to use control points, but I currently use the free version and only intend upgrading to the lite version - it is just for personal projects with a public interest (preserving a 3d model of some local fossilised footprints that are in danger of erosion by the sea and some other local points of interest) so it is just a personal budget

(As an FYI, the problem is that there are a number of different stepped levels but there is not a lot of contrast between the different sections of rock (in which the footprints are fossilised) and unfortunately this holds true for most of the items that I am trying to document - i.e. low contrast rock, with few distinct markings to assist alignment / orientation - think "Mosel Lion" project with 99% less of the lion or a polished version of just one side of one stone at New Grange. The result is that a lot of the photos cannot get aligned / orientated and so are rejected - but I could align them manually, if there was a way to do this.)

Finally, I must congratulate the team at Zephry on a really great piece of software. On any of the practice model that I have created, I have been super impressed.

Regards,

Noel.

[Andrea Alessi]

Hi Noel!

There are no too simple questions, everyone is welcome and so are all questions

First of all thank you for all your kinds words!

If orientation fails and you can not take better pictures, you'll have to either:

- try with different parameters. I usually try defaults and if that doesn't work move to deep. If that doesn't work either, i try to play with the advanced parameters depending on the nature of the dataset. That takes some experience of course but difficult datasets can be salvaged this way.

- if increasing the parameters is still not enough, consider also masking. That may help in many cases.

- if even with masks and increased parameters you're unable to automatically complete the SfM phase, then you have to work with control points (available in pro and aerial only).

If it's just for a few datasets feel free to ask and we'll gladly give you a free 30 days zephyr pro trial, so that you can complete your project and actually do the normal workflow with your lite license.

[LiNo]

Thanks Andrea.
I have tried the masking, but I'll experiment with the parameters and see how I get on.

Regards,

Noel.

[cjhilinski]

Andrea, I have been trying both Zephyr and Photoscan and trying to decide which one to buy. On Zephyr's side, I like the way it handles masking and that it can do NEF files directly. Photoscan gets a plus because it can use my AMD GPU and has special pricing for people working in universities. Right now, it's still a draw. Your response today about providing a short-term trial license of pro if and when a special project needs it really tips this in your favor. I, too, am a hobbyist on a small budget and I appreciate your willingness to help small users when you can. That counts for a lot in my book.

[Andrea Alessi]

Hi cjhilinski,

thank you!

On a side note, we also have an education program with discounted price for 3DF Zephyr Aerial: https://www.3dflow.net/3df-zephyr-education/
Also note that all student licenses are completely free for the duration of the course when the university buys at least one license for the lab/teacher. Not sure if this is what you were referring but it's still something

[cjhilinski]

Educational discount explanation: Most software publishers offer a discount to students and instructors. Some (Photoscan is among them) extend those discounts to university employees who aren't instructors or students. I don't have a problem with that and I don't expect every educational discount to be extended to employees as well as students and instructors. It's just something I have to consider when weighing Zephyr against Photoscan for hobbyist use. Photoscan with the educational employee discount is about $56; Zephyr Lite is about $150 (if I remember correctly for both products).