Good Afternoon,
I have been put in the position to research and price (2) new total stations.
Our outfit is both a Land Survey/Civil Engineering company in a major metropolitan suburb. We do all scopes of work with the exception of mining/subway and Hydrology.We currently use both a S6 Robo and a 5600 series Robo and are looking to upgrade. We use these with Rangers equipped w/survey pro...
The issue is we have just started shooting all SWM asbuilts on a 3' scale due to new state standards. We also want to keep up with the competition.
I am currently looking at the new S8 w/imaging vs. Leica's M50 Station/Laser Scanner. We have never used a laser scanner...I am weighing the pros/cons switching to Leica and having to absorb all new software, collectors, etc vs. staying with Trimble and learning how to work with imaging.
Obviously the Leica's come with a much higher cost and brand new learning curve. I guess my question is will the S8 be just as effective for our scope (i.e. Large SWM ponds, micro bio-retention with plantings, etc) or should we just bite the bullet and spend an additional $50k plus for modern tech? This is a big jump for us since we never worked with either Laser or Imaging.
I greatly appreciate the feedback and have enjoyed discovering this forum recently.
Thanks!
If we were an engineering firm I'm convinced the Leica Scanner/TS would be the way to go. Learning curve? meh...they all have learning curves.
DriveIt,
Just in case you didn't know (as new to this site): in the upper right hand corner there is box with a magnifying glass wherewith you can search all posts for just the kind of information you're seeking. I remember reading some on the instruments you have in mind.
I am not going to make my recommendation on either since I am a dealer. In my opinion though, the two units really shouldn't be segmented in the same market as they are completely different instruments.
What I do want to say though is that I too came from a third party software. When I started selling Leica I found very little difficulty in learning their software. Now, I like it as much, if not more than the older stuff. Certainly not everyone's opinion but I deal with a variety of customers doing a variety of different things.
I learn better on my own than someone teaching me, so instead of asking for direct training I searched through and found that there are a ton of resources out there to help learn the Leica software. Go to Youtube, type in Leica Viva Tutorials and see what you can find. I thought between the manufacturer and the dealers that posted most were easy to follow along with.
As I do with most all of my posts, I always recommend going with a dealer that is close and offers superior service and support. It makes all the difference in the world.