photogrammetry/mapping

[beeflyin]

Anyone use the Air2S for photogrammetry/mapping. I know 1 inch sensor best, but unsure whether to get M2Pro, or the Air2S

 

[brett8883]

Anyone use the Air2S for photogrammetry/mapping. I know 1 inch sensor best, but unsure whether to get M2Pro, or the Air2S

I’m not really sure why a larger sensor would be needed for mapping/photogrammetry? At any rate the Air2S doesn’t have an SDk yet and there won’t be one for awhile so the Air2S can’t do mapping at this time and is therefore a particularly bad choice for mapping

There are better options for mapping like the Phantom 4 Pro V2 with a mechanical shutter or even better Phantom 4 Pro RTK.

It’s a good thing you asked

 

[brett8883]

Just to clarify the Mavic 2 Pro is a good option for mapping. A mechanical shutter like on the Phantom 4 Pro would be a little bit better but I can understand why someone would want the much smaller Mavic 2 Pro instead and it’s not a huge difference in performance. I’ve personally never had issues doing mapping with a rolling shutter camera.

 

[Meta4]

Anyone use the Air2S for photogrammetry/mapping. I know 1 inch sensor best, but unsure whether to get M2Pro, or the Air2S

You would need one of teh drones that mapping apps can work with (and currently the Air 2S is not one).

Recommended and Supported Drones

A guide to officially recommended and supported drones to use with DroneDeploy

support.dronedeploy.com

 

[izometric]

I used yesterday my Air2S for 3D photogrammetry of a large site. I programmed the missions in Litchi and they were executed perfectly.

Cruising speed set at 15kmph, altitude 40m, 20Mp still shots every 2 seconds. Weather was overcast so lightning absolutely perfect, no sharp shadows.

I took 2266 photos using 4 batteries.

One battery lasted about 23 minutes with wind up to 20 kmph as reported by UAV forecast.

I am currently processing the 2266 photos, but the sparse point cloud is already looking fantastic. I can't wait to see the dense point cloud (in 9 hours or so).

So yes, Air 2S just became a good aircraft for mapping and scanning.

 

[dclayton]

I know the Phantom 4 pro v2 is considered a great drone for mapping due to the mechanical shutter, however. I have an old Air 2 (not the air 2s), and flew a mission to create a 3D map using Copterus, and a lot of the images came out blurry, so I flew it again and slowed the drone speed down to about half the speed it defaults to. And the map came out absolutely awesome.

 

[Raging Blade Aerials]

I used yesterday my Air2S for 3D photogrammetry of a large site. I programmed the missions in Litchi and they were executed perfectly.

Cruising speed set at 15kmph, altitude 40m, 20Mp still shots every 2 seconds. Weather was overcast so lightning absolutely perfect, no sharp shadows.

I took 2266 photos using 4 batteries.

One battery lasted about 23 minutes with wind up to 20 kmph as reported by UAV forecast.

I am currently processing the 2266 photos, but the sparse point cloud is already looking fantastic. I can't wait to see the dense point cloud (in 9 hours or so).

So yes, Air 2S just became a good aircraft for mapping and scanning.

Great to know there apps supporting the Air 2S, have you tried any of the free offerings yet? Thanks

Raging Blade Aerials LLC

 

[Meta4]

I know the Phantom 4 pro v2 is considered a great drone for mapping due to the mechanical shutter, however. I have an old Air 2 (not the air 2s), and flew a mission to create a 3D map using Copterus, and a lot of the images came out blurry, so I flew it again and slowed the drone speed down to about half the speed it defaults to. And the map came out absolutely awesome.

Unless you tried mapping at very low altitude, the images shouldn't be coming out blurred and you shouldn't need to slow the drone down.
My mapping flights are usually done at 20-30 mph depending on the height.
If you post one of the original blurred images, I might be able to work out what the issue was.

 

[dclayton]

I used yesterday my Air2S for 3D photogrammetry of a large site. I programmed the missions in Litchi and they were executed perfectly.

Cruising speed set at 15kmph, altitude 40m, 20Mp still shots every 2 seconds. Weather was overcast so lightning absolutely perfect, no sharp shadows.

I took 2266 photos using 4 batteries.

One battery lasted about 23 minutes with wind up to 20 kmph as reported by UAV forecast.

I am currently processing the 2266 photos, but the sparse point cloud is already looking fantastic. I can't wait to see the dense point cloud (in 9 hours or so).

So yes, Air 2S just became a good aircraft for mapping and scanning.

This is awesome. 9 hours, yikes! I would love to know how it comes out.

 

[dclayton]

Unless you tried mapping at very low altitude, the images shouldn't be coming out blurred and you shouldn't need to slow the drone down.
My mapping flights are usually done at 20-30 mph depending on the height.
If you post one of the original blurred images, I might be able to work out what the issue was.

Its not all of them that blur like this, I would say about 5% of the images blur, and the rest are crystal clear.

 

[Meta4]

Its not all of them that blur like this, I would say about 5% of the images blur, and the rest are crystal clear.

You were shooting in auto program mode and the exposure details for that image are ISO 160, F2.8 Shutter Speed = 1/15th sec.
It would be interesting to see the details from one of the non-blurred images.

The photo you posted has motion blur because the shutter speed is much too slow for capturing images while flying.
You should be shooting at something like 1/250th or faster.

Those exposure details seem odd for a daylight flight and more like a flight in twilight.
The scene doesn't look like it was in semi-darkness, so why was the shutter speed so slow?
Were you shooting with an ND filter perhaps?

If you were, throw it away and never attempt to map with it again.
Tell me what strength it was and I'll explain more.

 

[dclayton]

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!! Yes, I had left the ND filter on. I am not sure I can adjust the camera settings in copterus, or does it take the settings from the DJI Fly App?

 

[Meta4]

Ahhhhhhhhh!!!! Yes, I had left the ND filter on. I am not sure I can adjust the camera settings in copterus, or does it take the settings from the DJI Fly App?

The images you thought were sharp were probably not very sharp as their shutter speed would have been similar.

Unless you have a particular reason to want to reduce the shutter speed, there is no reason to use ND filters for shooting stills with a drone.
The effect of the ND filter is to drastically cut the amount of light that gets through to the sensor and the camera has to use a slower shutter speed to get enough light for correct exposure.
You haven't said what strength the filter was, but if it was an ND16, that cuts 94% of the light, leaving only 6%.
That results in slow shutter speeds.

If you had used an ND16, without it the shutter speed would have been 1/250th sec.

 

[dclayton]

I had left the ND on from taking video on a really bright day. My own stupid fault, I will reshoot it and let you know how it goes. Too windy here today tho.

 

[BigAl07]

I used yesterday my Air2S for 3D photogrammetry of a large site. I programmed the missions in Litchi and they were executed perfectly.

Cruising speed set at 15kmph, altitude 40m, 20Mp still shots every 2 seconds. Weather was overcast so lightning absolutely perfect, no sharp shadows.

I took 2266 photos using 4 batteries.

One battery lasted about 23 minutes with wind up to 20 kmph as reported by UAV forecast.

I am currently processing the 2266 photos, but the sparse point cloud is already looking fantastic. I can't wait to see the dense point cloud (in 9 hours or so).

So yes, Air 2S just became a good aircraft for mapping and scanning.

What app are you processing these images through? It sounds like you might be processing locally... I'd be interested to know the specs on your workstation as well.

 

[BigAl07]

I had left the ND on from taking video on a really bright day. My own stupid fault, I will reshoot it and let you know how it goes. Too windy here today tho.

I suspect you'll see a huge improvement once you shoot this without the "Sunglasses" on the aircraft

 

[dclayton]

I suspect you'll see a huge improvement once you shoot this without the "Sunglasses" on the aircraft

Yeah I expect so. Thanks for your help too.

 

[VenomXts]

Just picked up a Air2s and I see drone deploy is now supported as well as Litchi... I have two project I want to shoot that are primarily Pines. One is 3 acres and the other is 50 Acres.... just wondering if anyone has done one recently with the air2s... I have 8 batteries and realize the 50 acre one is big.. lol