Consensus on Mapping Software for Mavic 2 Pro

[Nolanjt1]

Is there a general consensus within this group on what is the cheapest and best mapping software for Mavic 2 Pro?

 

[Meta4]

Is there a general consensus within this group on what is the cheapest and best mapping software for Mavic 2 Pro?

Dronedeploy is very good and there are other well-regarded products too.
Most are free to use for planning, flying and acquiring images.
You only have to pay if you use them to create orthophotos etc.

 

[jaja6009]

Is there a general consensus within this group on what is the cheapest and best mapping software for Mavic 2 Pro?

Cheapest is probably ODM.

There will be no consensus on the best. Each solution has pros and cons and the best solution will depend on your personal situation.

• Some produce better orthos, others models, others DTM's.
• Some are desktop based (Needing a beefy computer), others are cloud based (Lack of processing options).
• Some are subscription, some have perpetual licenses.
• Most are pricey with some being downright expensive unless you have a business that can afford them
• Some handle ground control well, some are clunky with ground control.
• Some have built in sharing of data, some do not.
• Some play nice going to CAD, others do not and need some massaging
• Almost all will need supporting software to get deliverables beyond simple point clouds, orthos and DEMs
• Some have great customer support, others have okay support
• Some have active, informative forums, others may have no dedicated forum or it may be lacking in terms of informative, helpful members
• Some have their own image acqusition apps, while others you will have to find a suitable one (There are many out there free or low cost)
• Some integrate local vertical datums easily, while others make it a confusing mess, clumsily or in some cases, not at all.

I would first learn the basics and then almost all of them offer a free trial license so you can see which one works best for you.

I use Agisoft Metashape because:

• It fits my budget
• Makes a model at a higher quality than many of the others (Pix4D in particular)
• Has simple to use and understand ground control
• Supports geoid models easily
• Has integrated cloud sharing
• Has integrated cloud processing for large projects that my beefy PC would take too long to process
• Can be used out of the box (easy) or you can use advanced processing options
• Has some built in vector tools
• Can accept any camera model and do so rather easily
• Can import various other data from outside sources (orthos, DEMs, point clouds etc.) to further work with (I love the ability to import authoritative LiDAR data, assign points and then produce a DTM
• Ability to create a custom Flight Plan to obtain images to create a ultra realistic 3D model with an astonishingly low GSD (sub cm) - Works flawlessly with Mavic 3E and Matrice 4E
• Powerline tool