Hello everyone, I'm interesting in buying a mechanical total station, and I am between the Trimble C5 and the Nikon XF wich both have the same technical specifications, in fact they are the same machine, except for the software: the Trimble uses the Access and the Nikon uses the Survey Pro (I've never use any of them). Trimble C5 cost about $700 more than Nikon XF. So my question is: Wich software is better? Is it worth the price difference??ÿ
I have heard most users dont care for Access very much. I'm a big Trimble fan, but have not used Access yet, but I do love Survey Pro. I bought it for my last DC just 4 months ago or so, and havent been disappointed.?ÿ I also had that choice, but due to a lot of bad reviews from friends and colleague's, I stuck with SP. There's?ÿ nothing it cant do, and is efficient in the field .?ÿ
Thank you very much for your reply, it's very helpful!
I switched to Access from Carlson a few years back when I bought my S6. I personally like it a great deal. I suggest that you ask the dealer to let you give both of them an extended demo. Two laps around the dealer's parking lot won't tell you what you need to know.
I haven't used the hardware, but from a software perspective, SurveyPro is way better than Trimble Access.
It's a user friendly issue. SP is simple and intuitive. With Access, you have to study the manual and have your Trimble rep on speed dial to get anything done. And with some things, you have to have Trimble Business Center in the office. SP can do everything simply in the field.
I agree but from the opposite perspective. I find Access much more user friendly as well as being more powerful. Survey Pro has always been weird for me. And I did use it for about a year. Most recently used last year on a robotic and yep, still weird.
Very much a individual preference. I think it labels functions catered towards an American land surveyor which could be user friendly for such a person, but not for me.
I'm with Squowse.
I like Access. I find it easy to use and it works well for me
But I haven't used Survey Pro to compare it to
I've used both extensively, Access the last few years. Both have their pros and cons. SP is more intuitive, especially if you come from TDS background. Had a few issues with bugs like it defaulting to international feet when using State Plane. Access has a learning curve but overall is a more robust program and they've made several improvements over the years I've been using it. The clincher for me was the Vision video function wasnt available with SP for our S6s. A feature I like a great deal. One fellow commented using SP with the S6 was like putting doughnut tires on a Lamborghini. Have to say I now prefer Access as its more versatile between our R10s and S6. I can bounce back and forth with no issues.?ÿ
Just because I'm paranoid, doesn't mean they aren't out to get me.
Odd, I've used both and vastly prefer Access.?ÿ Especially given the update arc over the past five years.?ÿ I need to get a TSC7 and try out the newer versions, too.?ÿ Excited to get away from a Windoze Mobile platform
The biggest benefit with Access is when you get good with Access and TBC you can make the two sing in beautiful harmony.
I vastly prefer Access for all of the reasons stated above and more. However, if this instrument is the only device you'll use field software with, and especially if all of your work is flat earth, 1:000000000 scale, SP is probably easier to learn. Where Access really shines is when using real world coordinates, robotics, GNSS, and when paired with TBC. I do things with my robot and GNSS in Access that I wouldn't even want to attempt with SP.
It's a popular misconception that SP is more powerful and/or more complete than Access. That may have been somewhat true at one time, but that time is long past, and Access was always far superior as a geodetic software.