3D scanner app for IOS - Would like some advice

[TMicke 23]

A few years ago I had an app on my android phone, think it was called 123D Catch, and I think Autodesk made it. I only ever made one scan with it, but it was an success in my eyes.

Nowadays I'm using an iPhone and thought there would be loads of apps for 3D scanning but all I get is confused when searching app store.

 

Could someone here please share their experiences with 3D scanning software for IOS, good or bad.

[cloakfiend 996]

123D catch was discontinued ages ago, and a few other variants followed until the pay model they have now which straight up sucks. Bye bye autodesk. you now have to subscribe to use the photogrammetry app and pay more to get credits to use it after. For you and me just scanning fun stuff, Its a total nono. as there is no guarantee you will get anything and you will just waste tons of money. Id just get photoscan pro and use that. That was my main issue, I was forced to use recap to finish off some work, but It cost me way too much. Its a one click solution true, but once you have agisoft photoscan you can scan as much as you want, it may not be one click, but it gives good results I'm told and have seen online. I haven't tried it so can't tell you how user friendly it is, but am installing it now. There are some good tutorials on youtube how to use it. Il keep you posted and post my scans and prints related to any new method i use, as I used to scan a LOT!!! and have tons of things ready to materialise.

[cloakfiend 996]

I forgot to say that photoscan is a programme rather than an app, but when you 3d scan to print, you will NEED to retouch your scans to make them watertight and fix any obvious errors. if you want a cheesy 3d scanning app, i think you may require a phone with a depth sensor like the kinect, I think a few phones have them now but I've not seen any apps that use them. There must be a few out there....

[TMicke 23]

Thank you @cloakfiend

Everone wants to make money I guess.

I was hoping for another app like 123D Catch, I was almost certain that there would be a lot of apps by this time that scanned even better. Well well...

 

Regarding photoscan; Its not a good thing for me to be needing to lay my hand on the scans afterwards, I just dont get programs like Z brush, that I currently have installed as a trial. I feel like an total and complete idiot.

 

I’ve seen a few of your models in other threads and just want to say that I’m stunned, do you do this for a living?

[cloakfiend 996]

No I don't generally make money from my models, i do sell a few here and there, and do some private work, but I only learned Zbrush about 3 years ago for fun because Maya just was not up to the job of cleaning up sculpts well enough to my standards. If you scan faces like me, then you HAVE TO clean up hair. Cheap 3d scanners can't scan hair well yet. Also (once you become comfortable modelling) you want to separate objects that you scan to make the prints cleaner afterwards, as often anywhere the objects meet, the scanner will not produce clean or even areas. if I scan a statue of two people holding each other I will generally split them apart and clean them up and then put them together again. If something is intersecting stuff a lot there is no avoiding this as unless the scan is perfect it never really gets into the tiny gaps. Sounds crazy, but will produce superior results to simply carving I details in as it will be cleaner on a geometry level as cura sees and treats it as two objects intersecting rather than one making the intersection cleaner. Think of it as filling in what you can't see.....I really like it because you have to use your imagination and think how it should look, as what it really looks like is irrelevant. The bonus is that you have cleaner models and separated as well! I'm plating this sculpt as we speak, but here is a little picture showing my separated model parts from one scan off some dude called geoffrey on scetchfab. was an ok scan but needed cleaning up before printing. The sword was practically not there in the original scan. I also attached the beginning stages of my forest of doom, just to show you that things look rubbish i the beginning but keep at it until you are happy and you end up with a smile.

 

EVERYONE looks at detailed sculpts and thinks that they will never be able to do that.....until they try. I don't use any special tools, just a few default brushes thats all, seems to be fairly common. You just need a bit of imagination and a few hours here and there. Do a few tuts here and there and get used to using a wacom or pen to draw with, because you are not gonna be sculpting quickly with a mouse!

 

I couldn't find my early Forest of Doom Sculpt, perhaps i deleted it i have tons of crap on my laptop, but i put my 'The Thing' sculpt instead to show an early version. Took about 5 hours to finish. then another 2 or 3 procrastinting.

 

 

 

 

[cloakfiend 996]

And more to scanning faces, here is a start to finish job. First pic is a raw recap scan from about 15-20 photos which i think is plenty they are good quality, sometimes more photos actually makes it worse with live subjects as they tend to move more the longer you take photos which of course ruins the scans. next one is a roughly cleaned up version to make the head complete and the last one is the final version I've cleaned up from looking at photos. I chopped the neck off as I was making bobble heads.

[cloakfiend 996]

Once you've done this a few times, it doesn't take very long.

[TMicke 23]

34 minutes ago, cloakfiend said:

Once you've done this a few times, it doesn't take very long.

Yeah, my problem is that I've tried a gazillion times but never succeeded, so still waiting for my first time “doing it” ?

 

Thank you for inspiring and informative posts, It sure is impressive work you do!

some day I will get past that threshold...

[TMicke 23]

So regarding photoscan; Holy crap, $3499 ? Maybe I don't need pro version? I'm thinking of mostly faces, bodys and statues.

Crap #2; It's made in Russia, do you realize that you sold your soul to Putin?

 

Why oh why, must everything cost so much ?

[cloakfiend 996]

I have seen many places where you can get it free if you know what i mean, but again if you are using it commercially then you should really purchase it. And no, I didn't sell my soul to Putin if you know what I mean.

 

The alternative route is to use the kinect. the first one i think ,the kinect 2 didnt work for me.

 

The scan software is free now i think or at least very cheap.

 

[TMicke 23]

I know what you mean, and no judgement from me but I gave up all that when I changed to Mac. At the time I wasn't sure how to handle the freeware on a Mac and then it I tried a "different way of life" and try to focus on the programs I buy.

For me, it got kinda out of hand, when you can have anything you want to eat all the time you often end up taking a bite of everything and not really enjoying it or even remembering what it was you just ate. And then there is the anxiety, but I wont go there ? 

[cloakfiend 996]

I hear you, so in my opinion, your best route would be to get/purhase the cheapest scanning software you can, buy zbrush, and practice. Or else buy a laser scanner and use it in conjunction with zbruse. Zbrush is great in the fact that once you bought it all upgrades to new version are free, unlike the adobe and autodesk subscription leeches.

 

Downloading anything is an addiction that iI also had, but no more, I had everything but used nothing. Now I use what I have and only upgrade when better tools come out. which isnt that often. I used cura 15.02 till like last year. now i finally upgraded to 3.4  because i needed to. 

 

Ive often had arguments (even here on this site) with people over new software/firmware being buggy and unstable, some people think just because its newer it must be better. That is often not the case. But these people will never understand and talk nonsense about supporting the developers or some crap. Adobe routinely releases products with major bugs. For instance the latest version of after effects wont even let you change the font when you have selected the text, when it did before, they even acknowledge this on their own website. They said they were aware of it but released it anyways......? as you do. because....shareholders expect two releases a year don't you know! And this is legit subscription software btw....

 

My advice would be to get zbrush and practice. you won't regret it. then you can just sculpt what you want quicker than scanning!

 

As weird as it sounds I met a 9yr old girl with her gran on a train to a wedding and gave her my wacom tablet for the journey so she could sculpt because I noticed she seemed unhappy and I was in a good mood. Of course she didnt know what zbrush was but after 5 hours she was sculpting away on her own  asking me the occasional question of how do i do this or that. So.... if a 9yr old can do it.....well. So can you!

[TMicke 23]

19 minutes ago, cloakfiend said:

So.... if a 9yr old can do it.....well. So can you!

No pressure, lol

 

20 minutes ago, cloakfiend said:

some people think just because its newer it must be better

Agreed to 100% Funny thing though, a never ending circle. People upgrade -> complain -> upgrade -> complain

 

21 minutes ago, cloakfiend said:

shareholders expect two releases a year

Haha, yes, agreed. There is something rotten in this world...

 

Well I guess I could go on but I think we have similar thoughts.

In the near future I think I'll take your advice about zbrush and practice practice practice and forget about scanning all together. In the end the ultimate goal is to make my own models from scratch anyways.

 

Just out of curiosity, and maybe it's obvious, but on the train you mentioned, you had a laptop to your wacom? I've been thinking if it would be an advantage to use an iPad pro, but I guess zbrush doesn't come in an iPad version. And of course the little thing called price tag.

[cloakfiend 996]

I must say i really enjoyed teaching, even though i wanted to do some work, but id like to add that i dont work much on desktops anymore since i bought a cintique companion. Is old now but runs zbrush easily and without lag. There is a newer version available but im still happy with mine. I now sculpt while chilling on my sofa and serioulsy doubt i would have learnt how had i not got it. I work on desktops computers so much i simply dont want to sit in front of a monitor when i get home. Again i do this for pleasure and buy my own equipment. It was a little expensive but by far the best buy i have ever made. It has buttons. I need buttons. Sorry ipad pro and surface pro. Untill you have real buttons....ill stay away. Real buttons greatly increase productivity. Touchscreen buttons reduce productivity because you cant feel where they are and waste time looking and readjusting and cant rest your fingers on them. This is where wacom dominates. Along with left and right click functions on the pen.

Edited August 25, 2018 by cloakfiend

[cloakfiend 996]

Its a wacom cintique tablet. Not a laptop. But seeing as you are a mac person......sorry. i just get whats best, and Apple just dont have anything to tempt me. Likr i said. I need buttons. I dont see apple adding any buttons and allowing me to install zbrush on an ipad pro any time soon.

[TMicke 23]

Ahh, now I get it, what you meant by “my waco”

 

18 minutes ago, cloakfiend said:

But seeing as you are a mac person......sorry. i just get whats best

Haha, no need for sorry, I’m quite happy. I even have a friend who drives a Ford and is happy with that...

 

Thats a really nice picture, adding to your story about the girl who was sad.

[cloakfiend 996]

Yes, each to there own, ipad pro maybe more high tech and faster, but with no buttons and a closed operating system, whats the point? 

 

Get what works best for you, and this is a dream come true for me. I couldn't care less who makes it! the fact i can do anything on it makes it best for my needs. it lags on photoshop a bit and isnt the most comfortable for 3d apps, but in all honesty I ONLY bought it for learning zbrush. Had I bought it for photoshop, I would have returned it the next day.

 

As far as im concerned, and as stupid as it sounds, it is simply my zbrush tablet. Anything else it does, is simpy a bonus. But the fact that it has usb 3, sd card and micro sd card readers in it is great if i want to get something onto a card or phone stick quickly. I don't see that happening on a ipad pro anytime soon. I have a friend who used an ipad pro and photoshop with his laptop, but had resolution issues as unless they match perfecly things were either doubled up or something as his mac was running at a lower resolution than his ipad. But thats besides the point, i want to carry only one tablet, not two!

 

BTW Nothing wrong with driving a ford in my books! lol.

[cloakfiend 996]

Just to let you know I've been trying Agisoft Photoscan, with VERY poor results. 

 

Recap was way better. 

 

Agisoft just produces meshes with way more noise and distortion in comparison, and you need to help it a lot, adding points and markers. Don't pay for this programme if you intend to use it casually, as you will be very disappointed. Have a play in the free 31 day trial and then chuck it. I have no other options but to use it as a base as I am not aware of any other programmes the I can use offline. I may try recap one more time, but it will be through gritted teeth. Their subscription model sucks ass big time. I really think it is a total rip off. 100 pound for 100 credits? what a joke. that like 8 scans. At best. with under 50 photos each. Autodesk is pretty much a pyramid scheme now. avoid at all costs.

[Smithy 1,146]

I would also be interested in iPhone 3D scanning, checked Recap, but for fun its too expensive. All what I want to try is, to make some scans of my family, to print them afterwards.

 

I have an iPhone X which should be able to have better scanning capabilities due Face ID , but it seems no app is using it (or Apple don't have APIs for it and don't allow 3rd party apps to use the Face ID functions)

[TMicke 23]

8 hours ago, Smithy said:

I have an iPhone X which should be able to have better scanning capabilities due Face ID , but it seems no app is using it (or Apple don't have APIs for it and don't allow 3rd party apps to use the Face ID functions)

 

I don’t think apple i letting anyone play with their Face ID for numerous reasons. And with our safety in mind, that’s a good thing I guess. 

[TMicke 23]

9 hours ago, cloakfiend said:

Autodesk is pretty much a pyramid scheme now. avoid at all costs

Don’t know what a pyramid scheme means, but they sure know how to squeeze the most out of people’s wallets. I too hate subscriptions, i totally refuse using/signing up for those programs. 

I’m using Fusion 360, wich is an autodesk program, for free as they offers/offered that for free to small businesses and hobbyists. I’m dreading the day they start charging us too. 

I’ve been searching for an alternative for years, so to speak, and come up with nothing I get the right fealing for. When I had my Windows machine I had Solidworks for a little while, and if I remember right the charged nearly $10.000 for it so thats out of my leauge for sure. 

[cloakfiend 996]

Tell me about it. I loved autodesks free phototogrametry model even the medium quality ones. But thet decided to screw the begginers looking into this scene and focusing more on drone scans. There really is nothing else out there unfortunately. A gap in the market. Loads of things have depth sensors, but where the hell is the software at a reasnoble price to utilise it. Catch 123 was better than agisoft for live subjects. The advantage agisoft has for me even though it sucks for faces, is that its local. And i dont need to have an internet connection. Looks like getting hold of an old kinect is the only other way. Or to get someone to write a programme for you! Lol. Such a shame. Shame on you autodesk!

 

Im working on fixing up 2 scans at the mo, but its taking hours to manually add track points to all the images!

[cloakfiend 996]

here are some untouched agisoft scans. came out better than live subjects, but still a bit noisy!

 

From 37 photos taken on my note 4 (as all new camera phones suck!) they all appear to be 8-12mp and have active and un-switch-offable noise reduction. its all since some api changed apparently. to makes peoples selfies smoother...ffs. for a camera apparently a 40mm lens is ideal so they say.