3D cameras or scanners?

[Zen Artist]

I am wishing to create a walk-through of a caverns by taking pictures every few feet as I go. It would take forever to take 80 or more pictures with a camera on a tripod every few feet so I am wondering if any of the spherical 3D cameras that take multiple pictures at the same time (like the Panono https://www.panono.com/en/home/) will work with Zephyr. And if so, which ones work best?

Also, would it be better to use a scanner to create a point-cloud instead? And which would work best with Zephyr? Thanks.

[Andrea Alessi]

Hi Zen Artist,

yes, you can use 360" cameras, however you will likely need to decompose the equirectangular image into pinhole images (unless the device allows you to access those images directly) - see here for more information https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SDa2GfFCUg

Note however that 360" cameras often have a lower resolution, so you will still need to take a lot of shots.

You can also use any other device - however if you want to texture your scanner generated point cloud/mesh you will also have to take photos. You can use any scanner with zephyr, however i suggest you use one which allows you to export the cloud in a format that allows to be structured by zephyr, such as e57, so you can also create a mesh from it. See here fro more information https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oT0CK2Vcu_E

Personally however, i would probably go with tripod and DSLR camera, given the difficult lighting conditions.