REM 475 - Photo alignment with Metashape

Aligning the photos to create an inital stereo model and sparse point cloud is the first step in Metashape. In this lab, we explore the different options for aligning photos and how to optimize the sparse point cloud.

[@jerseyshoredroneservices225]

If we generate a 2.5D mesh and then would like to also have a 3D mesh is there a way to have both in the same project? Will generating the second one overwrite the first one? Can we have a DEM from both the 2.5 and 3D? Sometimes I'd like to try different combinations to see what gives the best results. Sometimes I might want a 2.5D to make an orthomosaic but use the 3D for volumes, etc. Thanks again. This channel has filled in a lot of holes in my Metashape user capability.

[@jasonwkarl]

You can totally do that. You're right, though, that by default Metashape will overwrite the products you've already created. A simple way around that is to just rename the products you want to keep, and then Metashape will create a new one with the default name. Like you, I often play around with different settings, and this is how I keep from losing my work. If I know I'm going to be doing a lot of playing around, or if I'm messing with settings for photo alignment or model/point cloud creation, I might duplicate the chunk so I can "save" my work. Only downside to that is multiple chunks can cause your project files to balloon in size. Hope that helps!

[@jerseyshoredroneservices225]

@jasonwkarl Yes sir, it does. Thank you!

[@jerseyshoredroneservices225]

I thought I remembered seeing how to duplicate the sparse Point cloud in one of these videos, buy I cant find it now. Does anyone know how to do that? I'd love to have a backup before I start filtering. Thanks!

[@jasonwkarl]

Great question. A couple ways you could do this. First would be to just do a "Save As..." for the whole project to make a copy of everything. The other option would be to duplicate the Chunk (from the workspace pane, right-click on the Chunk and select Duplicate). If you only have the sparse cloud, there won't be any other products to select in the next window that pops up, but it will duplicate the model/sparse cloud. I use this technique a lot when I want/need to try things out but also want a backup. Hope this helps!

[@jasonwkarl]

Oh, and one more thing... If you've got a project with multiple Chunks in it, it's a good idea to take the time and rename them so you can keep them straight. I've accidentally messed things up before because I got Chunk 1, Copy of Chunk 1, Chunk 2, etc. mixed up!

[@jerseyshoredroneservices225]

@@jasonwkarl Thank you! I'm really enjoying your videos as I try to learn more and more about using Metalshape. Your channel is a great resource 👍👍👍

[@filipdvoracek]

"High" settings means using full resolution of images...

[@jasonwkarl]

Thanks for the correction! I'll look into if there's a way to fix that without having to take down and re-post the video.

[@filipdvoracek]

@@jasonwkarl No problem, thanks for making these videos! :)