Leica MS50 vs TS15i

John,

The MS50 versus the TS15 is an interesting question if you totally throw out the scanning on the MS50. You mentioned that you already have a C10 but the ability to scan at any time when you have the MS50 setup is hard to put aside considering the return on investment over the life of the instrument. SO without taking in the scanning…

1. The weight was mentioned. The TS15I comes in at 12.1 lbs and the MS50 comes in at 16.8 due to the specialized standards on the instrument. Obviously just looking at the MS50 or the previous TS30 model the standards are larger and have a special manufacturing procedure.

2. Both the MS50 and TS15I will have an overview camera for imaging. The MS50 also has a camera for the telescope view. The “picture taking” is nice but being able to see what the instrument is seeing at the controller and being able to drive the instrument via the image on the controller is the best part of an imaging instrument. There are new capabilities in computing coordinates from saved images in the new Leica Infinity 1.2 release. This is an added feature now for all Leica imaging total stations.

3. Both instrument have the same software on board.

4. If you are using the MS50 manually or anytime you are using the telescope camera there is a new autofocus feature that uses the reflectorless EDM to automatically focus the instrument which is a time saver. This can be turn off or done manually with a touch of a button. Yes this uses extra battery but is a real time saver.

5. The MS50 has motions on both sides of the instrument if you are using it manually. Maybe not a big deal.

6. The MS50 has WiFi capabilities. Maybe not a big deal.

7. There are a few minor things for the MS50 such as the Upright instrument case which I think is really an improvement.

When you compare the quotes look at a TS15I 1 second with dual keyboards and the R1000 reflectorless EDM. The MS50 comes fully loaded with all options and also has the R2000 reflectorless EDM. I think you would be surprised at the difference between the 2 quotes if it is a TS15I R1000 with dual keyboards without any trade-in applied.

Let me know if you have any questions.

> Second, does anyone out there with both a dedicated scanner and a MS50 actually realize an advantage with the MS50?

I occasionally come across a project where a full on C-10 scanner is overkill, but the Reference Plane and Face Scan option in Viva is underpowered and an MS50 would be the right tool for the job.

I'm getting ready to survey the ceiling of this:

https://www.google.com/maps/ @38.8837687,-77.0240093,3a,75y,4.3h,89.21t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sVbT0x1IEgC0mSPCKjXKhMQ!2e0?hl=en

to determine where the air rights lot vertical limits (there is an office building/hotel above) fall in relationship to the improvements. Probably an MS50 job.

Will improvements on the scanning power of the MS50 be made available through new firmware eventually or is the hardware limiting any performance increase (just looking at ROI)?

James,

We have also asked this question. To be honest... I just do not know if it is a hardware limitation. Right now it is limited to 1000 pts/sec at a range of 1000 feet. It can scan at longer distances but the number of points/second decreases.

As far as ROI I still think of it like this... It is a robot/manual instrument that you use everyday plus scanning when you need it. Not that companies with scanners do not use the scanner everyday. I know there are some that do.

Out of curiosity, what are the issues of the 1203? Radio problems?
I am looking at purchasing a used 1203. What are the typical problem areas?
What is causing you to replace rather than repair?

IMO, if you have a C10, then the MS50 is pointless. Don't worry too much about the piezo drives of the monitoring instruments. The TS15 is much faster at close range than the older 1200 series. Even at close range that's not really an issue.
What may be an issue, is that Leica have been working very hard to introduce some quality bugs into the CS15/TS15 combo (and probably also the MS15).

> IMO, if you have a C10, then the MS50 is pointless. Don't worry too much about the piezo drives of the monitoring instruments. The TS15 is much faster at close range than the older 1200 series. Even at close range that's not really an issue.
> What may be an issue, is that Leica have been working very hard to introduce some quality bugs into the CS15/TS15 combo (and probably also the MS15).

I'm not sure about that, I have both and the only way you'd get our MS50 is from our cold dead hands. It is far and away the best TOTAL Station on the Market. Once again it depends on your workflow.
Just to Qualify that Statement
We own
7- 1201s
2- 1203s
1- C10
1- TS15

2-S8s
2-S6s
3-S3s

> Out of curiosity, what are the issues of the 1203? Radio problems?
> I am looking at purchasing a used 1203. What are the typical problem areas?
> What is causing you to replace rather than repair?

Mark,

The problem is with a excessive current draw from the vertical drive motors. It could be as little as a good service or it could need new motors. The repair guys say that it could be caused by lack of service (5 years) but it has pretty much set in its case in my office since 2010 when I let my second crew go.

To be honest, I did not think there was a problem. I brought he gun in for what turned out to be a bad battery contact and they ran it through a diagnostic routine a let me know the results.

The gun has been great over the years.

New TS15i's have the telescope cam with live video feed as well.

Zoidberg,

The TS15I will only have the overview camera. The instruments that also have the camera in the telescope are all of the Nova series. The Nova series includes the MS50 MultiStation, TS50 and TM50 instruments. These three models have both the overview camera and the telescope camera.

But I see the S8 is in your profile picture 🙂

> But I see the S8 is in your profile picture 🙂

LOL, yeah when that picture was taken the MS50 was a few years away from existing. I love the S8 also and I'm a pretty big Trimble Fan in general. I believe if you asked any of the (honest) Trimble guys, they themselves will tell you they have nothing like it. My relationship with Trimble is much better than with Leica. It's unlikely you'll catch me at HGN but you might see me at Dimensions.
If you look at Trimble's reflector-less capabilities you'll see that they don't compare with Leica's. Their DR+ is only 300mts while my 1201+ is r1000 (and that's the older technology) everything else I have is at least R400. The MS50 is R2000.

I have heard from some friends at Trimble that something is in the works, I don't think that we're that far off from getting C10 numbers from a Total Station, heck if I could get 25k pps I would opt out of Laser Scanners altogether.

🙂