Agisoft Metashape

Agisoft Metashape => General => Topic started by: SaussageDog on October 09, 2015, 08:18:30 PM

Title: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: SaussageDog on October 09, 2015, 08:18:30 PM
Hi,

I am new to Photoscan and have tried many different methods on many different objects and am not coming up with any working models. I am using the standard edition with a soft box and a turntable, I purchased these after many failing attempts of taking photos around the objects. Today I have been taking photos with the objects in the soft box on a rotating turntable but when I attempt to align the photos in Photoscan, the software can tell all pictures have been taken in one position and the model simply doesn't show up, even after a dense point cloud creation.  I've tried the masking method and again, no joy.
If anyone can give any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated as I am getting desperate ! I need the 3D models to work for a dissertation I am working on. I have tried different cameras and different lighting and am running out of ideas, I just don't know what I am doing wrong.

Thanks in advance  :)
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: Alexey Pasumansky on October 09, 2015, 08:21:59 PM
Hello SaussageDog,

It would be helpful if you post at least a couple of downscaled photos that you are trying to process.

Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: SaussageDog on October 09, 2015, 08:30:05 PM
Sure, here are a couple from one of the attempts and thanks for such a quick response :) ....
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: Wishgranter on October 10, 2015, 03:01:55 AM
you use just 10-15 % of the sensor area for the actual model and that is just to low...

need come closer to the model so its bigger on the image....

Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: SaussageDog on October 10, 2015, 11:32:17 AM
Thanks Wishgranter, I'll give that a try today !
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: Arie on October 10, 2015, 12:50:55 PM
This object does not have much texture for extracting feature points. Therefore if you rotate the object, the highlights and shadows will move, resulting in some errouneous features.

In this case I would either try moving the camera around the object or try to create a very uniform, soft lighting.
And, what wishgranter said.

Good luck.

p.s. if you use the turntable to change the viewpoints, you should also mask the background. Refer to the user manual for a how-to.
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: SaussageDog on October 10, 2015, 01:35:53 PM
Thanks Arie,

I have tried to get the lighting as soft as possible in my soft box this time, and couldn't see any shadows. I've also taken the photos as close up as possible this time, and taken a lot more of them, 166 photos in total. I'll also mask the background. I'll post if it works or not. Thanks for the help so far :)
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: francelet on October 10, 2015, 01:53:10 PM
what is your type of camera?
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: SaussageDog on October 10, 2015, 01:55:49 PM
Its a Canon EOS 1000D although I have also tried with my Samsung Galaxy S5 in the past.
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: SaussageDog on October 10, 2015, 04:16:15 PM
Success ! Thanks everyone. I think perhaps the main issue was I wasn't taking nearly enough photographs and not close up enough. The Soft box worked perfectly this time. A happy bunny am I   :D
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: SaussageDog on October 12, 2015, 12:47:40 AM
OK, after this initial success I have tried several other models and none have worked. A few almost work but are distorted in parts. Is there anything you can do to "fix" a model once it's processed ? I'll be going in to a museum to get photos to make some models and once I have the photos I may not get another chance to get more, so if they aren't all perfect which from my experience on test objects, 1 out of 7 have worked, it would be handy to know if there is an option to clean up a distorted model.
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: Wishgranter on October 12, 2015, 01:36:10 AM
SausageDog, contact me on muzeumhb@gmail.com and we talk it out how to solve issues...
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: Arie on October 12, 2015, 02:55:30 AM
Hi SaussageDog,
it would be helpful, if you show some images of the failed projects. It makes it way more easy to pinpoint the problems you are encountering.

Fixing distorted models could work if your work is in an area, such as cgi, gamedesign etc. where accuracy is not really an issue and the "correct" appearence to the viewer is more important.
For generating accurate models, one can say there is the principle "garbage in, garbage out". This means, if you do not follow certain guidelines regarding the data acquisition strategy, the type of model to be digitized etc. you will not be able to achive good models.

I'd recommend to read some articles about the basic principles of SfM, you even can find a bunch of links to pdfs on this side. Another recommendation is the vast archive of the ISPRS.

Cheers!
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: SaussageDog on October 12, 2015, 09:54:46 PM
Thanks folks :) I have been at the museum all day taking hundreds of photos. It is very difficult getting the correct conditions regarding lighting so have tried various methods today.

I'll post images of the failed projects when they are processed, as I'm sure there will be many failed ones, and also will drop you an email Wishgranter, with the issues I encounter during processing these.

I did my very best to get close up shots with as much light as possible but without generating shadows. Not easy !

Thanks for the help so far !

Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: Wishgranter on October 12, 2015, 10:05:00 PM
OK im on the email....
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: ihabali on October 13, 2015, 09:39:43 AM
It would be great if you could post the conclusions back to this thread, I too am new to PS and while I'm getting ok results, they are not as perfect as some of the stuff I've seen out there although I'm trying to follow the rules from the manual as much as possible.
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: Arie on October 13, 2015, 10:58:30 AM
Many threads end with "Send me an email"... that's actually ashame.
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: Wishgranter on October 13, 2015, 12:06:04 PM
Arie why you think  its shame to get indirect contact with person ? as many times the content of their work is not for general discussionm so im offering  direct  communication for the people. So im offering my private time to help them out.....

Or why you think its not good ? clarify me on you standing for this sort of stuff....
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: Arie on October 13, 2015, 12:11:34 PM
Wishgranter,
mainly because I find the different problems people encounter quite interesting and it does benefit the community alot, when possible solutions are posted and discussed.

It's very nice of you to spend your private time helping the people, but think about it, when doing it publicly alot more people might benefit from your knowledge and not just a single person via email.

And if someone is working on a top secret project, he/she can describe the problem in detail and does not have to post pictures. Or maybe then just contact Agisoft support.
Cheers.
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: Wishgranter on October 13, 2015, 12:21:51 PM
Arie how long are you here on this forum ? im here already few years, so im working with the "reflections" from past and know that private discussion is mostly the best solution to move ahead.

and im not willing put everything on forum, in not interested to give some "secrets" to the general public, and when im start to discuss  technical issues with people, later we become friends, as its more private discussion about stuff related not only to photogrammetry. 
Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: SaussageDog on October 15, 2015, 10:34:52 PM
Hi, apologies I've not replied sooner. I'll be sure to update the thread once I have got some results and will post screenshots. I've only just noticed all these replies as have been busy working on other areas of my degree, I have assignments due in :)
Thanks again Wishgranter for your offer of help, it's much appreciated and I'll let you know if / when I come across problems as soon as I have been back to the museum and taken my pictures and processed them.

I was looking at my previous photos and I think my main problem was reflective surfaces, so this time I'll be looking at taking images of items made of wood or stone.

Cheers  :)

Title: Re: New to Photoscan, in need of help !
Post by: Wishgranter on October 16, 2015, 01:29:59 AM
SaussageDog = OK   8)