Hi Julian,
Yes, this is very doable. PIX4Dmapper is camera agnostic so it can processing imagery from your Nikon or any DSLR for that matter. As for the GPS dongle, if it writes the data directly to the image exif then there is nothing more you need to do. However, often you may have a CSV file that contains the GPS and orientation data. If this is the case then you can import the file along with the images and Mapper will read the corresponding data. It is a very straightforward process. I think the most difficult parameter to maintain will be your image overlap since I assume you will be triggering the camera manually.
Excellent, thanks Mike. It’s good to know that this could work in principle.
I agree that getting proper overlap will be challenging, especially shooting out of a moving helicopter. Would you have any advice for data collection? How would you do it?
Interesting problem. My initial thoughts are to compare this flight to a manual flight with a drone. I know of several cases where users flew a drone manually but set the shutter to capture images at regular intervals. Essentially every 2-3 seconds an image was captured. If the drone was flown steady then the overlap could be somewhat maintained.
So, if you know your camera parameters, flight height, and flight speed then you should be able to calculate how often the shutter needs to be triggered. It is a bit of a complex math problem but I think you have enough of the variables to make your calculations. The article below can help you perform some of the calculations.
We - and our partners - use cookies to deliver our services. By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies as described in our
Cookie Policy
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems.
They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences,
logging in, or filling in forms. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable information.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site.
They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site.
All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous.
If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partner (Google).
They may be used by Google to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites.
They do not directly store personal information but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device.
If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.