Choosing settings

[ReefScience]

We're trying to use 3D Flows implementation on AWS. Halfway down the instruction guide under 'Usage' we can see a .xml file that configures settings is required. I can see a full list of settings here and understand we can use the free version to configure these and export a .xml file.

However, we're unsure what settings we should use (assuming default won't be optimal for every setting). Any suggestions would help a lot, or pointers as to where we could read about this.

Our data:

• We have images collected on dives of coral reef sites
• Each site is 50x20m and has about 10k images taken in a 'fly over manner' with cameras 0.5-1m above the bottom
• Images were taken on 2 GoPro Hero 9's
• Images have at least 60% overlap, usually more like 80/90%

Here's an example model made by a consultant using data from one of our sites: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=agF11GPFDaM

[cam3d]

Hey ReefScience

The best way to figure out what settings you need is to run many tests on a subset of images (so you can iterate faster than trying to push a whole project down the pipeline).

General default settings are ideal for most situations, and if they aren't working, then it's a good idea to evaluate your input data and see if anything needs to be changed when it comes to image acquisition or camera calibration. As you can see we open up a wide range of variables for users to tweak to preference, however the further you get away from General Default (esp. when it comes to camera orientation) outcomes can become less predictable. Optimizing beyond General Default is an iterative hands on process.

Your best bet is to run 50 images through Zephyr Free at General Default settings for camera orientation. Assuming that works fine, you can move on to the dense cloud and meshing stages and try some different settings to get the resolution/processing time which works best for you. Once you're happy with your subset results, feel free to reach out and we will happily issue a trial of the full version of Zephyr so you can continue your evaluation with full datasets.

If you are having any difficulties with camera orientation feel free to share the image data with us through support@3dflow.net and we can help troubleshoot :-)

XML export reference screenshot attached :-)