Hi All, I just started exploring drone mapping for photogrammetry with a Phantom 4 pro. I've used DroneDeploy a couple of times to scan some chunks of landscape. It's really easy and straightforward to use... the only problem is that it overrides the jpg/RAW camera setting, and will only shoot jpgs. I really need RAW files to squeeze the maximum color juice from the textures that will eventually come from the photos (not using DroneDeploy's cloud service to process, as they don't process RAW.) I'm trying to find an app that hopefully is as easy to use as DroneDeploy, but will shoot RAW files. Litchi might do this, but hard to tell from the site, not a lot of detail in their specs. Hoping someone here can offer some advice. Thanks!
Drone mapping software that shoots RAW
- Thread starter LaFrance
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You would be looking for two things.
Mapping flight software that shoots raw and map stitching software that processes raw images.
I doubt that either exists.
The flight software might run into problems writing so many large images while flying and the file sizes for the map image would be beyond huge.
A recent map I did for a 56 hectare site was
You'll probably have to just get used to using jpg files.
Litchi isn't much use for proper mapping
"Mapping" with Litchi is anything but easy or fun. It's just not the right tool (yet) for that type of work.
Shooting RAW and MAPPING really don't belong in the same sentence. You'll run into read/write speed issues with the large files you'll be producing. Even shooting in JPG we can have an occasional read/write speed issue if the SD card isn't up to speed. Adding RAW to the equation is only going to increase the problem many fold over.
Shooting RAW and MAPPING really don't belong in the same sentence. You'll run into read/write speed issues with the large files you'll be producing. Even shooting in JPG we can have an occasional read/write speed issue if the SD card isn't up to speed. Adding RAW to the equation is only going to increase the problem many fold over.
I thought that might be a problem. it is interesting that none of these apps, that I know of, offer an option to STOP and shoot. This would solve the time issue, and produce clearer images due to the lack
of any motion blur. yes, it would take longer, and so might not be applicable in every situation. But, when you have the right conditions, and time (and batteries!
it would be great.
of any motion blur. yes, it would take longer, and so might not be applicable in every situation. But, when you have the right conditions, and time (and batteries!
it would be great.
As mentioned, you could use Map Pilot to record dngs. And you can set the speed way down. But how are you going to process them? Even using jpgs, a 300 image project can produce a .tif thats approaching 1 GB. If the same ortho used raw files it would probably be 5 times larger. You probably would have a difficult time even opening the file on your computer.
In theory, it sounds great to use as much image IQ as you can get. But like many things, reality is something different.
In theory, it sounds great to use as much image IQ as you can get. But like many things, reality is something different.
Thanks Dave. I'm using these for photogrammetry. I deal with very large quantities of data (mostly satellite DEM and orthoimagery) quite a lot. Too much quality is rarely a problem,
as it can always be sampled down. Frankly, at this point, I am more concerned with write times, as 10 sec. per image gets a bit daunting for large areas. Work friends are using video to
capture mountains. The Inspire shoots raw video.....
as it can always be sampled down. Frankly, at this point, I am more concerned with write times, as 10 sec. per image gets a bit daunting for large areas. Work friends are using video to
capture mountains. The Inspire shoots raw video.....
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So, one thing I have done thats kind of similar, is shoot a timelapse in raw and then process out those files with that greater dynamic range and color depth into whatever size .jpg suits my video (leaving wiggle room). Seems like, if Map Pilot or another app will let you shoot raws in a fast and effective way, doing what i just described could clear up any bottlenecks you (or others interested in this) might encounter in post. I havent done enough mapping to know if having a precise flight path (like mapping software would give) is more important than having an adequate group of overlapping Geotagged images- like you could get if you used Litchi or Go4, with their (i believe) 2 second minimum timelapse setting?. Last thought, i just read on this DJI forum you can shoot raw in GS Pro... no idea what the capture time is. Shoot Raw in GSP
