A bit off topic in regard to Leica but color screens on digital cameras have the same issues. Bright sunlight and the image is washed out making it very difficult to frame anything moving or small at a distance. If the camera makers had kept simple viewfinders it would partially solve the problem. I know there are still a few models out there with viewfinders and most DSLR's still have a viewfinder. The former are hard to find without going online.
And for those of us with old eyes and short arms, viewing the on screen image can be a problem in any light. I can do it with my bifocals but my head is tilted at quite an angle with the camera is at the maximum neck strap distance.
> This is a big problem that the manufactures seem to ignore. I would like to see a screen that was based on the kindle E ink screen . black and white and very visable in the sun. Looks like paper .
>
:good:
Agreed, I bought quite a bit bigger and more expensive camera than I intended too last time around JUST to get a viewfinder, camera screens are worthless in the bright sun! I could not find ANY compact cameras that had a viewfinder, ended up with a $300 non compact Panasonic, great camera, but is sure won't fit in a vest pocket!
SHG
The 500 mono screen is far better than the 1200 mono screen, in my opinion this is caused by adding the touch ability, the image is farther away from the surface due to the touch layer and if the sun isn't shinning directly on it, it is hard to read, never had this issue with the 500's. Just because you can build something, doesn't mean you should, unfortunately new gee whiz stuff that looks good on the demo sells gear!
SHG
Not just Leica does this, almost everything Trimble sells with the exception of their GNSS receivers is something they bought and then rebranded, we use a Trimble Airborne LiDAR sensor, I think it might have a Trimble GPS board in the Applanix POS, other than that there is nothing Trimble about it, just a pile of parts and software from others with a Trimble name tag applied. The scan head is Riegl, the POS is Applanix (now owned by Trimble) and a handful of Dongles (literally) to make all the pieces of software run.
SHG
>Wow... sure are allot of Leica haters on the board. I do not think I have seen this much negativity about any other prodcuts.
I don't hate them, I just wish that marketing wouldn't drive the engineering 🙂
Leica is still my brand of choice and other than the readability on the screens on my 1200 it has been a real workhorse the last five years.
SHG
Correct, the 500 screen was way superior to the newer 1200 screen. For anyone working in the sun, which probably means all of us, the 1200 screen is a nightmare to read.
Shelby,
I agree. Most users do mostly topo and stakeout and maybe a few other applications. I have looked at packages that even have a surface creation application with a nice 3D view for the surface with color shading for elevation differences. It is nice but the data collector screen is still 3 in by 4 in. Hard to justify what the user can actually gain from something like this. Same thing with putting georeferenced images on small screens. Most companies will only teach field crews certain things about software and will not expand on field and office procedures. Maybe off the subject a little but you wonder if users actually want voices, color graphics, or even Windows CE or Windows Mobile capabilities outside of the surveying programs. Advanced users want all of this but I would say 80% only do topo and staking.
"Wow... sure are allot of Leica haters on the board. I do not think I have seen this much negativity about any other prodcuts."
Not hate. I love my Leica gear. That doesn't mean that criticism is unwarranted. I want Leica to return to the philosophy that showed through in the original 1200TPS and GPS. I want Leica to be able to turn down average design and spend that extra effort making something truly great.
> I want Leica to be able to turn down average design and spend that extra effort making something truly great.
In other words, you want Leica to be Apple. Unless they can find a Steve Jobs clone, it may never happen.
> Wow... sure are allot of Leica haters on the board. I do not think I have seen this much negativity about any other prodcuts.
Didnt mean to help start a hate Leica thread. Its quite the opposite at our company, all we have is Leica (I mean everything, prisms, tripods, tape measures, etc.) and will continue to do so as long as I own the company. There is no doubt in my mind that Leica makes a superior product to almost everything out there.
The only gripe I have ever even had about the VIVA equipment is the screens. On cloudy days, they cant be beat, however in full Texas sunlight on a gas plant site with no shade around they are a little hard to see, however I havent seen another manufacturer's product perform any beter.
oh gawd don't get me started.
the Leica Scanstation C10 stores into a new file format. You have to transfer the file to a flash drive (takes a long time) then copy it to a computer (more minutes) then convert it to an IMP file so you can actually see what you scanned. The conversion from Leica format B to Leica format A takes hours in some cases-totally ridiculous.
The C10 appears to be optimized for doing medium resolution full dome scans. If you need detail outside in hot dusty weather the SS2 with cyclone is a million times better plus imagine the technology-you can look at your scans as you go!
The type of scanning we do is highly time sensitive and we can't go back. The DOT can always just do it again but we can't, we have to get it right the first time.
Wouldn't hurt.
I'd be happy if I could just stop saying "Wow. You guys didn't think that through" though.
The company is not perfect, and is unfortunately being dragged in this "Facebooky" interface that plagues all manufacturers, but I still think that Leica is the most quality-oriented company out there.
The typical thing now, particularly with Leica, is they fix 2 things but break 5.
Before the scans were already in Cyclone.
Now it takes 2, 3, 4 hours and beyond depending on the size of the file. This is idiotic.
Why don't you just drive the C10 from the laptop using Cyclone scan?
Leica Screens
G'day Guys,
I would agree that the 1200 mono screen is easier to read than the first series of 1200 colour screen runs, but somewhere in the 1200's production they updated the colour screens and they became very readable in sunlight. This was definitely on the TPS but may not have been on the RX1250 controller.
IMO the best thing you can do for a VIVA CS controller is remove the Leica screen protector and replace it with a generic gloss screen protector. The Leica screen protector is a matte finish, apparently not for glare purposes, but for some amount of finger-smudge resistance. Unfortunately this makes them horrible to read in sunlight. Our CS15 is much more readable in sunlight now.
yes that is our next task to get that working. I didn't have the time or energy to fight that battle this week due to extremely long days and the one chance only nature of the project. We can never go back. That is the reason I am converting every evening; to make sure we have it because this is our only chance.
Our understanding is, however, that the file still has to be converted. I left the computer running all night and it was finished this morning. I know it took 2 hours on Wednesday and we only added two setups yesterday so it probably took 2 to 2.5 hours last night.
Leica Screens
Thanks for the tip. We will try that.
I have a 15 month old Leica Viva. I use the touch screen on the instrument all the time. 3 weeks after receiving the brand new instruments the touch screen in the one I was using literally fried and needed to be replaced! Now it's only just 15 months old as already stated, and it's no longer responding!