What size objects can 3DSOM Pro model?

Objects need to be photographed from all around, placed on top of the 3DSOM Pro mat, preferably on a stand. Although it would be possible to print a large enough mat, it would be pretty hard to put a car on top of a stand on it, and (most) buildings can't be moved. In practice, without specialist resources, 3DSOM Pro is easiest to use for objects from about 1 to 100 cm across.

How does 3DSOM Pro handle highly transparent or reflective objects?

When you look at a transparent object what you mainly see is a distorted image of the background that changes from one direction to another, not the object itself. Although 3DSOM Pro can capture the geometry of the object if the masks are accurate enough, the surface texture generated from lots of images tends to be blurred and confused. This is something 3DSOM Pro shares with all 3D modelling packages. Advanced users can edit the textures to improve the results but the model may still look lifeless compared to the original unless the rendering can show the effects of transparency.

Although highly reflective objects similarly reflect the background, the results tend to be much more acceptable, and if an environment map is added in the 3DSOM Pro Java Viewer so that the reflections change with the direction the object is viewed from, then the objects will look convincingly reflective. Some suitable environment maps can be seen in the Example Pages and downloaded from the Download Page.

Reflective objects or objects with some reflective parts can be more accurately captured using the 3DSOM Pro "View-Dependent Texturing" capability. This feature enhances a conventional texture map with view-dependent data extracted from the input images. The result requires a special rendering algorithm provided by our Java viewer and combines the best of 3D modelling (for arbitrary viewpoint, relighting and compression) with "object movies" (for image quality).

How can I create different size 3DSOM Pro mats?

3DSOM Pro will print mats up to the size of the page in the printer. If you have access to an A3 printer for example, you can print a larger mat. 3DSOM Pro will also print larger mats across a number of pages which can then be glued together.

Can 3DSOM Pro handle objects with holes or indentations?

Since 3DSOM Pro creates its geometry from the silhouettes of objects it can only capture features that appear in a silhouette of an object. 3DSOM Pro can create geometry with holes in it as long as one of the photographs is taken looking down the hole, and indentations as long as you can see along them from one direction. Some indentations, such as the interior of a mug or bowl will not appear on the silhouette and 3DSOM Pro will close the geometry across the top. However to handle such cases, you can now export and edit the geometry in a 3rd party modelling application and then re-import into 3DSOM Pro for automatic texturing.

What cameras can I use with 3DSOM Pro

3DSOM Pro accepts images as JPEG, PNG or BMP files. These can be downloaded from digital cameras or scanned in from prints. For good results the object needs to be 300 pixels across or more, so a camera with at least 1M pixels is recommended.

Some cheap cameras (particularly those on mobile phones) may have lenses that produce sufficiently distorted images to affect the shape of the geometry.

Do I have to pay to use the models?

No. You are free to use the models generated by 3DSOM Pro for whatever purpose you want without charge. Similarly, if you have purchased 3DSOM Pro you can put the Java Viewer or Shockwave Viewer on your website freely. If you want to replace or remove the 3DSOM Pro logo from the viewers, please contact us and we can make the necessary arrangements.