I experimented with one professional-level photogrammetry production tool (besides the many mobile options) – RealityCapture. Unlike PolyCam, RealityCapture offers significant control over the production process, with a distinct workflow configurable by the user. There is a (relatively poor) mobile companion app similar to PolyCam – but the desktop application is designed for professional-level photogrammetry, using photography derived from dedicated rigs, professional DSLR photography or video (particularly drone video of buildings.
Feelings
A central consideration in investigating and reviewing tools for creating immersive journalism has been whether the apps and their workflows are portable and accessible enough to make journalism in the field. Consequently, I felt a degree of antipathy toward adopting workflows that require too much training and investment and separating those workflows. To create models with RealityCapture, there is a distinct capture process and a post-process (enabled by the software). That process is highly configurable and has a lot of parameters to learn (or be confused by).
A further consideration was cost (I considered investing in software to develop outputs). I initially secured RealityCapture 1.2 with an education license at a heavy discount. It became clear that RealityCapture’s superior results might be worth investing in. The workflows are signposted and supported by strong in-app tutorials. With version 1.4 released right at the end of the process, the software is now free for personal use (and therefore more viable).
Evaluation
The main challenge with any software is understanding the process it leads you through. With PolyCam, the emphasis is very much on capture – with the entire computational part of the process happening separately, in the cloud and out of site. RealityCapture’s whole focus is on this second part of the workflow, leading users through image upload, image alignment, creation of a mesh, and finally, the application of textures to that completed mesh. Although the software still does the heavy lifting, users have more editing options. For example, while PolyCam allows for basic cropping of models, RealityCapture enables users to erase parts of the point cloud. While PolyCam allows the smart removal of background elements, RealityCapture offers more control over which elements we keep and which are removed. Finally, RealityCapture is designed with high-resolution imagery in mind. At the same time, Polycam is limited in free versions and requires a sometimes lengthy upload to the cloud (which often goes wrong).
Application
For the sake of professional results, RealityCapture is superior software for deriving photogrammetric models from objects and spaces. I envision using it for those particular scenarios, especially now that the software is free to use. I need to experiment more with a) DSLR-captured spaces and b) drone-captured buildings and spaces.
Conclusions
It’s clear that though the PolyCam results are acceptable for software with a shallow learning curve and fast results, RealityCapture creates more photorealistic outputs. Authenticity is a crucial aspiration for immersive journalism applications, improving journalism and immersion.