We are currently into scanning of Heritage Monuments and structures in India. These are very detailed sculptures located on the outer and inner walls of various temples across India.
I wish to know what is the right equipment to capture these historic monuments.
Currently we are using DSLR cameras and the latest mobile phones. However, as we also plan to 3D Print these, we are looking at the right items for the same.
A few issues: These are all stone structures carved/sculpted hundreds of years ago and are effected by nature and also by invaders in the past.
Many are above the human height and high above the ground.
Some are inside the temples which are with minimal lighting or naturally lit.
There are some scanners in the market which come with their own processing software. However, due to the capabilities of RC, we would like stick to RC and use compatible lasers/cameras.
Hello Giridhar,
we can’ t give you a direct recommendation for such stuff. You could follow these basic settings and options for cameras:
Focal Length: 24 mm - 50 mm (full frame)
Aperture: f10
Shutter speed: 250
ISO: 100 - 400
Camera
Full-frame camera bodies because of price / performance ratio
A Sweet spot is around 40 Mpix because of quality and time to process the data
Higher megapixel count requires a shorter shutter speed (max 250/s) or tripod
Digital medium format camera bodies for best quality
Requires skill
Usually no automatic capturing modes
large sensor introduce noise even when using ISO 1600
Slower autofocus and slower to use
Best image quality and dynamic range
Lens
Full frame
preferably a high quality prime lens
Not bellow 20 mm
Not use rectilinear wide lens
No 360
With zoom lens keep same focal length
Medium format
Tripod and Monopod with a ball head
Regarding the laser scans, RealityCapture supports only terrestrial laser scanners naturally. The other scans (handheld) need to be processed additionally to create the virtual scan stations.