Jeps,
As an ex-software test manager (everything from technical testing till usability testing) I damned well know that great software that is complicated to master, stands or falls with great documentation. Now you can leave that to the community (like open source software mostly does) or you can take that resposibility yourself (like most COTS software does), but now Agisoft (which is a great program) is hampered by lots of little SUE's (Stupid User Errors).
I know some skulls in St Peterburg must be smoking due to the pace of the developments (bug fixes are usually also packed with some added functionality).
In the basics Agisoft is deceptively simpel (great workflow based design for the major steps), but the devil hided in the details. For instance:
1) Alligning chunck didn't work although both chunks contained an overlap of 2 to 3 pictures.....why not?
2) Then I decided to give allignment a helping hand and I masked out 490 photo's in the chunck that I mentioned before didn't allign as photo's and not as a chunk.....now they alligned with ease, why?
3) Now I've used Gradual Selection and Reconstruction Uncertainty and Projection Accuracy.....I feel like Captain America talking to Stark in the first Avangers film "Speak English please....!" or Russian if that helps (I've got some Russian freinds who could translate :-)). Now the manual does give some explantion, I quote:
"High reprojection error usually indicates poor localization accuracy of the corresponding point
projections at the point matching step. It is also typical for false matches. Removing such points can
improve accuracy of the subsequent optimization step."
A) What is high........as a Dutchman I think everything above 50 meters is high.....Nepalleese folks might disagree!
B) What are subsequent optimization steps.....I've got an allignment, how do I optimize, is maken a dense point considered an optimization step? Or is fidling with Projection Uncertainty a subsequent optimization step.....think Captain America.
4) Now I notice a gradual selection in the mesh view as well, that looks like Meshlab talk, I understand......pwjiew.
5) BTW, I don't need to be in Meshview to select Tools -> Decimate, Smooth and Close holes (all great for 3D printing and gamedesign), why not?
In short I've noticed that
a) You should optimize your shooting, fair enough......
b) You should optimize your workflow......also fair enough, but to what extend do I optimize my workflow both in timeconsuption.....(running everything high, higher, highest, clogs up my computer and infers with throughput and deadlines), so were can I cut corners and were should I point my resources?
For me, it's a game of hit and miss or trial and error, through a rabbit hole darkly.......and even the internet is no good as there seam to be as many opinions as users. Because youre great mesh can be my cluncker, but also because everyone has developed their own workflow.
BTW, I've tried other alternatives (Memento is easy yo use and the result reflects that, it good but not as good as Agisoft on a good day) and I'm sticking with the Russians (they are great mathematicians and fabulous programmers, I know I've worked with them). But the documentation......hmmmm, Achillesheal......
Greats, Ed.
