Does Miraco (or any other scanner) lock RGB exposure and WB during the scan?
I did a couple of test and it looked like it did, but every now and then I get a scan where exposure or WB obviously change from frame to frame.
Miraco seems to be better at this, but my Mini is a lot worse.
If that’s not a feature already, what do you think about it?
The auto Exposure and WB work when you’re preparing the scan, do your initial framing, but when you start your scan they get locked to their current values.
Obviously there should be setting to disable this behavior but honestly I can’t think of a practical use of Exposure or WB changing during the scan - it just makes the texture unusable by default.
Before you say I can manually set exp / wb - I know.
But this requires me to set it manually before every scan to the best value - there’s already a lot of things I have to keep in mind when scanning - I don’t need two more.
And when I’m on set I have literally seconds to scan objects or actors.
The auto mode is generally ok, it does it’s job and sets adequate values for both - I would just like it to not change them DURING the scanning process.
I am not sure I understand your needs , the Auto mode will change , it is not set at all , once your object have more blue than red it will automatic change , and that is normal behavior . Auto don’t means it will keep the same results across the scan it is the opposite.
As any photographer using pro camera you need to set the proper manual Exposure and WB before starting new scan , calibrate it and lock it in for that session .
It would be great to save the manual option and reuse it on multiple objects when the lighting condition is the same like you can do it with photo camera but even with that it is still not always optimal .
That why I am using calibration card to get the values closer . Shot couple of still frames , then later I use the card photos to calibrate in Photoshop and use the settings to correct all the images in project for correct WB .
I did not came across changes in my project images if my WB and Exposure was set to manual .
Not even once .
No no, the manual mode works fine.
But you need to remember to set it anew with each new scan.
Whenever the light changes you have to adjust exposure - it works as it should but it is tedious.
The Auto mode also works as it should.
It constantly adjusts the settings to make the current frame look it’s best.
Buuuuut
when it makes a change to the exposure or wb value during the scanning process it results in a blotchy texture - that is a bad thing.
What I’m proposing is a solution in the middle.
The auto does what it does whenever the scanner is on, adapts to lighting condition, setting the most appropriate values for the current frame, but the moment we start the scanning process both the exposure and wb values get locked to the last value set by the automatic algorithm.
Later when we finish the scanning process - the auto mode engages again.
This way we always start the scanning with somewhat correct values for exposure and wb, but then during the scanning process the stay constant.
This way we always get an ok texture (probably not perfect, the manual mode is for that), but a consistent texture that we may color correct later on.
If you get a blotchy texture like we do now - there’s no way to fix that later.
Seriously, can you think of a single reason when you’d actually want your exposure or wb changing during scanning?
Also, I just came up with it.
Being able to “load” exposure and wb values from a previous model in the same project.
Just to make sure the colors will match when you merge the two scans.
Or just load all the scanning settings, resolution, color, max distance.
Sort of like “Continue scanning” but for a completely new scan.
Maybe “Create similar scan”?
I know it all sounds a little chaotic, but that’s what scanning in the field looks like.
Nobody has time for the VFX team to set up a scanning environment.
On a given camera setup we do reference photos, HDRI and now a 3D scan, and we have like 3 minutes to do everything between takes
I get you , what we need is s Exposure and WB preset that can be saved and reused on the same location to avoid changes when starting new scans at the same lighting conditions .
The Auto RGB exposure is not usable , it will change based on the object colors and rotation or object size same for WB .
The manual settings of RGB camera should not change when starting new scan , it should reset only if you disconnected the scanner .
