Recommendations for scanning for UE4 - Great Locations & cannot mess up!

[LUXCUBED]

I have been an avid user of Photoscan for years and Reality Capture more recently.  I have a project that I have I am supporting that is really for a proof of concept, with the survey data being placed and delighted in UE4 and then relit with our in-engine GI capabilities.

We are very lucky to have access to three locations, all locked down without anyone around during our survey sessions:

•   Union Station Historic Wing:
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/_WWAcGvqyLBY/SB3iNFioJVI/AAAAAAAABRE/99MGGXfnW0M/s400/Blade+Runner.JPG

•   L.A. City Hall Lobby:
https://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/02/da/61/2b/city-hall.jpg

•   L.A. Theater Lobby:
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53cc4851e4b0a11d417ea961/t/5531ec0be4b04c1bc64831b8/1429335057147/losangelestheatre2

I’ll be using my 5D MKIII with my rokinon primes of 85, 35,24 ,14 and 8mm FishEye and my go-to Heavy-Duty Manfrotto tripod.

•   Unfortunately, I no longer have access to my delighting rig (Chrome & Diffuse Balls and color card)
•   Nor do I have access to an automated Pano head and without these I feel like I fish out of water but the budget is just not there.

Questions and Advice:

What lenses would you guys use?  I’d stick with my 24 or 35 but I'll take direction from any pros out there.

Does anyone know locally where I can pick up what I need on a budget for the delighting elements or where I can rent them or the automated pano head.

I normally also abide by the maxim do it right or don’t do it at all but I don’t really have a choice in this instance and was wondering if you guys could give me your own comments, advise and perhaps possible resources for ensuring I put my one day to effective use, I won’t get a second chance.

I’ve done survey coverage free-hand on exterior locations (bounders, farmhouse, etc…) but I don’t feel comfortable that I’m going to get a solid, professional survey that will hold up at the level I need it to.

I’d really appreciate any and all advice, especially you folks local in LA.

Thank you so much!

[SAV]

Hi LUXCUBED,

Looks like an interesting project 

I think 24mm (on your full frame 5D) is a good choice. It gives you a quite large field of view that helps you to achieve a high image overlap but also allows for high res modelling results (good GSD). In some areas you might even want to go down to 14mm, especially in narrow/confined spaces.
One more thing. There are a lot of shiny/polished surfaces visible in the images you shared. You might want to use a polarizer in order to reduce reflections, which are a problem for 3D photogrammetric modelling.

You might even want to use a large pole (pole photography) and trigger your camera via remote. This will help you to get some different views/angles of the interior of the building, and probably better reconstruction results.

You should also think about your image acquisition plan. I would plan my 'route' in advance for each building to be sure not to miss a  corner ;-)

All the best.

Regards,
SAV

[LUXCUBED]

SAV,

Thank you so much!  Great points and really just the kind of feedback I'm looking for.  Everyone has their own process but I'm not as well suited up as I used to be, being that it's a proof of concept piece of content for a prototype and things have changed with what tools we have access to.

I really appreciate your advice though.  I'm sure that this helps new and seasoned users as well!  I actually have a good remote but I've never used a pole.  I gotta see if I can find out locally.  That is a fantastic idea and I take all my personal gear with me but that is something I need.

I do plan routes but the LA Theater is very very ornate and I don't want to miss some of those beautiful details.  Thanks for the polarizer point.  I do use one and then go back with one of our tools and delineate the roughness and PBR attributes for the surfaces but still... amazing advice!