Free/reasonable mapping options?

[theTastyCat]

Hey all - I got Drone Deploy and made a really neat 2D map and exported it as a JPG, then yesterday got an e-mail that I had been on a free trial of "pro" which had run out. Now I can't export to JPG, and the quality is 15cm/pixel vs. 5cm/pixel. And I'm a loooong way from paying $99/month for this!

So I've been looking for some free or at least reasonably priced alternatives. Pix4d is amazing but very expensive; Altizure is cool but I'm really looking for 2D images, though the 3D models are cool. Anybody have any other recommendations?

I feel an app like Litchi is great value; I'm not past paying $20 one time for something like this. Just seems like it's *my* drone doing all the work - isn't there any software that will allow me to use my drone and the processing power of my own PC to do the same thing?

Thanks all!

 

[BigAl07]

Check out Drones Made Easy. I've used it several times and enjoy it.

 

[theTastyCat]

Nice!! Thanks - that may be exactly what I'm looking for. So it's the ten bucks for the app - then either use their Maps Made Easy service to stitch, which isn't too bad, or "your own photogrammetry software" - well, I'd frankly love to use my own photogrammetry software if I had any idea what that was! Do you use software or do you upload?

 

[BigAl07]

I use the ap to gather the information and depending on what my needs are I use their service or I use them as-is.

So I do BOTH!

 

[SingleInstance]

Altizure generate 2D map, too, although they focus more on 3D.

The advantage is its pricing plan. It's free for about 3 gigapixel (about 250 photos), and the quota can grow if you create good 3D models there.

 

[Pharm]

AGI Photoscan. I use it for 3D modeling.

Agisoft PhotoScan

Sorry, you said free or low cost. Well, low cost IS a relative term, I guess.

 

[theTastyCat]

Yeah, Agisoft looks great, but man, it's expensive! Like just about everything. Wish I could find some software to stitch the photos I'd take with Drones Made Easy. I like the 3GP free limit on Altizure but playing around with it today not connected to a drone, looks like it *has* to be a rectangle - wish it was flexible like DroneDeploy! And, I'm not sure, but it looks like I can't export to an image file with Altizure free, which is a deal breaker. I would like a detailed map, including elevation, of my property, without having to spend too much time over neighbor's land. Oh well - getting there!

I guess the million dollar question (that would save me a million dollars) is does anybody know of free (or affordable) software to stitch the images together, then export the result into something I can actually use?

 

[Pharm]

PT Gui isn't free but I think it's reasonable and stitches them together quite rapidly.

Photo stitching software 360 degree Panorama image software - PTGui Stitching Software

 

[danu]

Have you try DataMapper