camera recommendation for photscan

[niles]

Hi,

new to the agisoft community 

 I'm been wanting to invest into buying a camera for photo scan. I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to cameras and would appreciate  any recommendation or opinions what kind of cameras is worth buying. I did my research on different cameras and lenses.

 At first I thought it was worth investing into full frame sensor camera like: canon 6d, nikon 750, nikon (d610), or a sony a7 with a  50mm prime lenses. Knowing that full frame can capture more detail and handle well in low light situation. But is it worth getting a full frame compare crop sensor? Would there be any differences? As long you capture sharp and quality images.

[SAV]

Hi Niles,

For best results, you want a large sensor with a high resolution and a good prime lens.

The choice of camera and focal length of your prime lens will depend on what you are trying to model/capture in 3D.

If the budget allows it, get a digital camera with a full frame sensor because bigger sensors can capture more light and have better signal-to-noise ratios. To sum it up, a bigger sensor will give you higher quality pictures. Better pictures will give you better photogrammetric modelling results.

Get at least a camera with an APS-C sized sensor (unless you are planning to capture pictures by drone and have weight restrictions).

Last but not least, higher resolution sensors will give you higher resolution models for the same survey setup (same distance to the object, same lens, same sensor size).

Here are my favourites:

• Sony A7 series
• Sony A6000, A6300, A6500
• Canon 6D
• Canon 5D Mark IV

There might be other cameras out there which are great too, but these are the ones I myself would get.
Pro Canon: User friendly, ergonomic and great battery life
Pro Sony: Picture quality and lower price

Note: All Nikon cameras use sensors from Sony, so it is probable better (and cheaper) to just buy a Sony instead ;-)

Finally, get a prime lens with a focal length that suits your purpose (e.g., for taking pictures in confined spaces such as the interior of a house; in such a case you would need a wide angle lens to achieve a proper image overlap).

I hope that makes your decision easier.

Regards
SAV

[niles]

Hey SAV,

Thanks the response and advice, definitely helps narrow down the choice. The Sony A7 series specs looks very more appealing and worth investing in. But I was wondering and curious if you ever used the meta-bone adapter for the sony a7 series which allows you to use third party lenses. If so have you ever used any of  your canon lenses on it and got good result with it.

 
Niles

[SAV]

Hi Niles,

I have never used any of the metabone adapters, hence I cannot really say much about it.

The Sony a7R II would be a great camera (not cheap though). Full frame with 42.2 Megapixel.
But the A7 and A7 II are very good too, and more affordable.

I prefer the handling and great battery life of Canon cameras, but cameras from Sony have excellent picture quality. Here is a comparison between the 6D and 7A http://snapsort.com/compare/Canon-EOS-6D-vs-Sony-A7.

Regards
SAV