Review : Helicon focus for 3D Scanning

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shadows44
Posts: 3
Joined: 23.10.2011 16:31

Review : Helicon focus for 3D Scanning

Post by shadows44 »

Hello,

I'm a French online journalist working from 3DVF.com (the main CG news website) ; we have recently launched an article about low-cost 3D scanning, our goal being to provide reviews of the main solutions (DAVID Laserscanner, Autodesk Photofly, etc).
Since Helicon Focus can create 3D models, we will review it.

I will post in this thread my attempts ; if you have any advice on how to improve the results, please tell me !

Hardware used : Canon EOS 7D, Canon 100mm macro f2.8, kenko extension tubes, Canon 250D close-up lens, Canon 50mm f1.4.
Pictures taken using Helicon remote.
Size of the objects : anywhere between 1mm and 10cm, maybe even more if the results are still good (I will try to scan a few bigger objects using the 50mm f1.4).

Here are my results so far :
- small statue, height = 4cm
http://youtu.be/euz8p5ViGZg
- fossil, 5cm wide
http://youtu.be/SNkln9XjQRw
And the 3D model without texture :
Image

Not very good so far, but I'm going to tweak the parameters to improve the results.
I guess the best results will be achieved with more pictures, at full aperture ?
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Stas Yatsenko
Posts: 3841
Joined: 06.05.2009 14:05
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Re: Review : Helicon focus for 3D Scanning

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

Thanks for sharing your results. Yes, wide aperture means shallower DOF and higher precision. I would recommend you to use Helicon Remote to automate shooting.
shadows44
Posts: 3
Joined: 23.10.2011 16:31

Re: Review : Helicon focus for 3D Scanning

Post by shadows44 »

I've made a few other tests... And it looks like I'm getting somewhere ! Here are some of the results :

Image
bottom left : same object as above, but obviously the result is better.
Right : depth map for the elephant head, with default smoothing & smoothing = 1. A low smoothing will of course give more noise, but you keep more details...

Here is the 3D model of the elephant : http://youtu.be/sycfQLSoAes

The shots were made in Helicon Remote, Canon EOS 7D+50mm f1.4+extension tubes, aperture = f1.4, using the lowest interval available (1) in manual mode. I guess this is the way to go if you want as much details as possible.

The 3D model, however, seems to have a low resolution compared to the depth map :

Image

Is there some smoothing automatically applied ? Or maybe the default mesh resolution (number of polygons) is too low to capture all the details created in the depth map ? If so, is there a way to tweak the mesh resolution ? Even if the 3D model has more noise at high resolution, it might be worth it if you scan the same object twice from a slightly different angle or using two separate sets of shots, therefore getting two different noise patterns : fusing the two scans could then allow the user to get rid of the noise and increase the accuracy of the geometry...
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Stas Yatsenko
Posts: 3841
Joined: 06.05.2009 14:05
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Re: Review : Helicon focus for 3D Scanning

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

Congratulation, impressive setup! I would suggest to add more texture to your object by spraying with the water or strewing with some powder or flour.

The resolution of the mesh is limited to 512x512 but I think this limitation is not a problem in your case. Make sure that 3D model is shown in 3D Viewer with the highest surface resolution and that smoothing is set to zero. You can also send me this 3D model and I will check if higher mesh resolution gives any improvement.
moraislopes
Posts: 1
Joined: 08.06.2010 22:51

Re: Review : Helicon focus for 3D Scanning

Post by moraislopes »

Besides using Helicon Focus also use the software's 3D Sound to perform this type of work! Have a nice day!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_talcStghZs
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