The right camera isn’t always going to be the one with the highest resolution or newest features. It’s about the use case and your client.
As I was working on content for my upcoming Shop Talk webinar on November 2nd, I revisited the image quality of each camera.
There are several metrics that should be used to figure out which camera will make the most sense for your use case. That being said, image quality is one of the hardest to define. It’s more subjective and really can only be defined by the viewer for themselves.
Coming from a photography background, I know a lot of photographers are going to have something to say about that. There are several review sites that do a great job of breaking down image quality scientifically by analyzing resolution test images and color samples. However, I feel that a viewer’s personal experience with an image and the purpose of the project are more meaningful considerations when selecting your camera.
Image quality and the law of diminishing returns
When shopping with my dad for a new set of speakers, I remember getting very excited by the specs of some high-end manufacturers while being simultaneously overwhelmed by their prices. Not being an audiophile with a well-trained ear for sound, my dad asked, “If I can’t hear the difference, what am I paying for?” The concept is no different with image quality.
Having worked with images for decades, photographers have a very well-trained eye. They see things others won’t notice, such as chromatic aberrations, subtle differences in noise, and color grading discrepancies. Although they aren’t always obvious, when these visual inconsistencies become too extreme even an untrained viewer will begin to notice them. Of course, like most things, image quality adheres to the law of diminishing returns.
Putting each camera to the test
To help you better decide which camera will best suit your image quality needs, I’ve captured the same space, from the same angles, using every camera we currently support — including the Leica BLK360 even though the use case for that camera would not consider image quality as important as measurement accuracy. The BLK360 is an instrument focused on measurement accuracy and should be used either in use cases where the measurement accuracy is critical or outdoors when it’s too sunny to use the Pro2. I also highly encourage you to check out the Pro3 digital twin linked below and activate the measurement mode.
For anyone interested in comparing the measurement accuracy of these models, I’ve captured and named the same measurement lines in every model with the actual measurement captured by a laser measuring tape. This is the gold standard for measuring and what a professional would use when measuring by hand onsite. All measurements are metric to better illustrate the accuracy to the millimeter. This is a really good way to compare the accuracy of cameras with active depth sensors to cameras that require our processing engine to make the conversion from a 2D pano to a 3D model.
To help you make the right decision when it comes to your camera and the job at hand, I’ve included some information below to illustrate the differences across five key criteria: measurement accuracy, 2D image quality, speed, outdoor capability, and stitching quality. Check out our Shop Talk webinar with guests Abhijit Limaye, Sr. Director of Product Management, and Kris Atkinson, Matterport’s AEC subject matter expert, where we talk all about this topic.
You’ll notice that I specify 2D image quality and that’s because I want to isolate the pano’s image quality from other quality attributes such as the pano’s stitching quality. Because of how subjective image quality is compared to the other considerations, I recommend opening up the demo models above to judge for yourself.
Remember, you'll want to consider all of these attributes when choosing the right tool for your use case.
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