Leica MS60

Jason, first and foremost make sure you have someone in your area that can service the instrument. I have a Leica and absolutely love it, but I have to ship it to a dealer to have it serviced. Huge PITA.

The MS 50 and MS 60 are very nice machines. Very good robots and a good intro to scanning. I think you need to ask yourself why you want one?

If it is for scanning then just buy a scanner. The MS 60 collect scan data very slowly compared to a scanner. Our C10 collects 50k per second. New P20 comes in at 1M per second. Sounds silly I know, but when you are considering dropping 60K on a robot that can only collect 1000K per second as a scanner I don't see the value in the long run. A full scanner will do laps around the MS 60. When the P20 came out a few months ago we picked up our C10 and the full set up, brand new for 65K, including software, this price may still be available. Don't let the georeferenced conversation get you wrapped up- you can traverse and scan in 'real' coordinates with any scanner.

If you want to get into scanning buy a true dedicated scanner and keep your current robot. Once you figure out scanning and the software our you will scan everything. If you need a new robot, then just get the TS16, that's a bad ass robot.

The MS60 is perceived as a combination of robot and scanner; in practice I see it as a really fast 1" robot that can collect a lot of reflectorless shots fast. The question is: do you frequently work on projects where you say to yourself "it sure would be nice to be able to get a lot of reflectorless shots right now".

I think the key point is "right now". If you have a crew shooting half a mile of road topo and need a lot of detail on the bottom of the one overpass within the limits of the survey, it's a nice tool to have. If you send a crew to a site where they are going to do some stakeout, but you're also monitoring an adjacent retaining wall for deformation, it's a nice tool to have. If you're always shooting topo with a lot of hardscape detail, like around plazas in a city setting: it's a nice tool to have. If you think you want to get into the scanning for BIM market, or build detailed 3D site models, skip the MS60 buy a scanner and job specific software.

I am a small practice in Louisville KY. Most of my work is lot surveys, ALTA surveys, small-medium topographic surveys and occasionally a section of highway a highway job.

I foresee my use (for the scanner portion) for it as saving time measuring around buildings, locating details in a small parking lots (limited areas) and occasionally staying out of a busy intersection. I am using a 5 second Trimble S3 that I am pretty happy with it but it's range is limited. I could get an S5 and a scanner, but for a small operation like myself the workflow of the MS60 makes sense.

I don't foresee myself getting into BIM or heavy scanning. If I do, then I'll plunge and get a scanner and still have really good robot that I use for scanning smaller areas.

I also have Datumate's Datugram 3D software that I can use for certain things. I'm really just looking to simplify things and not have to carry (have) so much equipment.

Based on what you have described your intended use to be I would say the MS 60 would be a good instrument for you.

If you are used to using Trimble gear and have the office software and running survey controller or Access, I would look at the Trimble VX. It will do everything the MS 60 will (but a slower point scan rate) and has the active tracking that everyone seems to love.

Switching from Trimble to Leica is a pretty big learning curve definitely test it out for a week or more.

The problem with the MS50 or MS60 is weight. Have a feel first before buying it. Based on your description of what you do, I would go for the MS50 if indeed you just want the small scale scanning capability. The MS60 is definitely more expensive as it provides basically two new features: ATR+ and Captivate software. As you may know, the ATR+ provides more intelligence in tracking targets. The Captivate software is a way better than the SmartWorx Viva particularly in Field to Finish features.

Jason Graves, post: 360020, member: 9531 wrote: I am a small practice in Louisville KY. Most of my work is lot surveys, ALTA surveys, small-medium topographic surveys and occasionally a section of highway a highway job.

I foresee my use (for the scanner portion) for it as saving time measuring around buildings, locating details in a small parking lots (limited areas) and occasionally staying out of a busy intersection. I am using a 5 second Trimble S3 that I am pretty happy with it but it's range is limited. I could get an S5 and a scanner, but for a small operation like myself the workflow of the MS60 makes sense.

I don't foresee myself getting into BIM or heavy scanning. If I do, then I'll plunge and get a scanner and still have really good robot that I use for scanning smaller areas.

I also have Datumate's Datugram 3D software that I can use for certain things. I'm really just looking to simplify things and not have to carry (have) so much equipment.

How did the demo go? I hope you liked the Captivate interface.

We love our MS60. It's a great piece of kit and once you get into it, Captivate is pretty nice software. We use it as a robot 1st, occasionally scan building faces or other details that would take too long to locate traditionally.