Thank you for the response Alexey,
The time difference between GUI and headless python is in the depth filtering step. For example, for a chunk with 474 images, the GUI took about 7 hours to generate the dense cloud, while the headless python took about 18 hours.
Yes, I believe the processing parameters are all the same. High density, mild filtering.
Here is the python code:
##Build dense point cloud
chunk.buildDepthMaps(quality=Metashape.HighQuality, filter=Metashape.MildFiltering)
chunk.buildDenseCloud()
I notice in the 'Preferences' menu in the GUI, I have 'fine-level task subdivision' checked. Is this something I need to specify in the python code?