For close range photogrammetry or creation of photo-based point clouds, what has everyone been using?
We've been following Datumate's development of Datugram 3D for the last year and wonder how it compares to other software out there.
We've been sitting on Autodesk Infrastructure Premium licenses for years but haven't ever used the included ReCap 360, Revit, Rendering, etc.
For 3D modeling of small buildings to large area topographies, what's the latest & greatest hardware, SW, UAV?
I don’t have any experience with DataGram. I know of the software and a local company here in Atlanta Georgia, E-Gps, is a reseller. They have hosted a few training/sales sessions. The sales-man you want to talk to is Lonnie Sears.
I am using Agisoft to generate point cloud data, orthorectified photography, and 3-D models from photography using a UAV. It has been a hard road out of hell to get it to work.
My blunt opinion of the software is that is extremely capable, but the support is mediocre at best. If you don’t know anything about photogrammetry I recommend you start studying. The manual is 70 pages but it should be closer to 700 pages. They just assume you know what you are doing. It is developed in Russia? So everything is in meters, but they do have support for U.S. state plane coordinate systems. Here are a few pics of what it looks like, along with an exported photo overlaid as a KML file in Google earth.
This is a screen shot of the workspace. If you look close you can see the blue flags. They are my ground countrole points, or GPCs in a thick Russian accent. 
This is the KML file overlaid in Google Earth. It is tight! 
Don't get me wrong the software is impressive. It just has been challenging to get everything to work together. The cost is a factor too. I think AgiSoft is $3500 for a copy, and their competitor, Pix4d, is something like $12,000. I don't know what DataGram sells for. Good luck with it. I would like to know anyone else's experiences.
Josh 4 & El Chop'o (the drone)
At half the price of Datumate's Datugram 3D ($7,000), Agisoft's Photoscan ($3,499) is getting our attention at the moment. I was hoping to hear from folks that have experience with Autodesk apps.
Thanks Josh!
