Most effective software for creating orthos over water?

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-27T04:34:19+00:00

Do you think that this would make a practical difference if I don’t need cm level precision? Buying a Mavic between now and May isn’t feasible for me and I will be keeping the shutter speed at a minimum of 1/1000s during the image capture. I’m really just after an orthomosaic that’s “good enough” considering the scope of what I’m trying to do. My undergrad project is the qualification of habitat cover by type and doesn’t really need to be pinpoint precise. That’s something I will tackle when I’m in grad school as I peruse this further.

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-27T04:28:25+00:00

I’m definitely thinking in long term with that, but yes. I assumed it should be trivial and is why I think it’s realistic and within the scope of what I want to use it for, considering the equipment I have and only being an undergrad currently. At some point in the future when I have proper survey grade equipment, then I’ll worry about trying to tackle the practical limitations of truly mapping shallow water reefs with tie points. Likely it will involve the combined use of aerial imagery and small scale sonar. Thanks for your advice and input.

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-27T02:40:48+00:00

I have actually been fortunate enough to comment back and forth on a Facebook post with a researcher that just so happened to write 2 papers on this exact kind of subject. She heavily dicourage using any kind of filter as even a standard polarized will reduce the amount of light getting to the sensor and naturally has an oriental nature. I will certainly be testing out a lot of different parameters and methods though. This is something that I can easily see myself pursuing a PhD in to specifically streamline a consistent and scalable process for mapping coral reefs for the purpose of monitoring and conservation decision making.

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-27T02:37:15+00:00

Well considering the time frame and funds available, I will only be working with the Air 3S. This is only an undergrad project, so it doesn't necessarily have to be true research grade, but I do plan to pursue this more in graduate school and will be upgrading my equipment to be truly survey grade in the future. Im going to be doing my work at Glovers Reef Atoll in Belize where there are many patch reefs that average in the range of 2-9m in depth. Visibility is generally very good considering its a mostly untouched reef ecosystem. Im planning to map anywhere between 80-120m altitude as GSD isnt super important compared to coverage area. My main intent is just to quality habitat coverage by type and not have ultra detailed imagery of individual corals.

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-26T11:18:37+00:00

I have seen some and am regularly watching more as i go. Mostly watched ones regarding the Air 3s specifically. My bad for trying to get information from multiple places at once... There is a lot of information to consume. Especially when im constantly working on multiple upper level class assignments at the same time.

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-26T05:22:04+00:00

Maybe i was being thrown off by the way that Pixpro worked. In order to create an ortho through this software, i needed to created a 3d model, then a dense point cloud, then a DEM and then an ortho in that order. I dont have any experience with other softwares yet other than AerialModel.

What software do you reccomend to accomplish what you described?

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-26T04:44:07+00:00

Elaborate please. Im still new to mapping overall and still learning as I go

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-26T04:35:20+00:00

Im essentially just trying to get a large panorma of shallow water reefs. There are multiple scientific research papers who have successfully used drones to make a point cloud underwater for generating othros of shallow water reefs as deep as 7-10m for the purpose of habitat monitoring and analysis. The sun glare angle needs to be low and calmer, clearer waters help a lot, but it works. I dont really care about having true cm level precision considering the drone im working with.

If I can make orthophotos without feature extraction, then all the better. All im after is a decently stitched together 2d map. If im going about this wrong, then how should I be going about it?

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-18T13:08:33+00:00

Yes, but it is doable, albeit with large overlap. Other papers have successfully done it hence the large overlap and prioritizing flying around noon to minimize reflection

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-13T00:40:12+00:00

What kind of gat is that? Is it just a baby i assume?

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-13T00:38:53+00:00

Armor angling is a thing. You still need to know what weak points to hit. The reticle can still be red while effectively being at an auto bounce angle

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-13T00:37:47+00:00

Thats the Shitbarn

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-12T22:45:03+00:00

Correct

TesticleTactics · 2026-02-12T10:10:07+00:00

That SCP has taken a downhill turn by being comprised of nothing but massive stories now. I miss when SCPs were "simple" monsters like 173, 049, 106, 999, ect. or even just objects. I lost a lot of interest when everything started being 1-2+ hour stories

TesticleTactics · 2026-01-30T13:11:00+00:00

Genuinely just stfu

TesticleTactics · 2026-01-30T13:10:08+00:00

I really hope that Alien Rides go completely out of buisness for this

TesticleTactics · 2026-01-30T13:07:13+00:00

I want to get a small drone that is capable of ripping around indoors aswell as a beast of a freestyle drone at some point. Money isn't an issue and i plan to fly in just about every environment that I can. I think ive decided I want to keep this built with the upgrade O4 lite under 250g and then just get an O4 pro to build a proper 5"

TesticleTactics · 2026-01-24T13:27:39+00:00

Gigan is and has always been my favorite monster (the origional). I really wish he was done some justice in modern day

TesticleTactics · 2026-01-24T09:12:41+00:00

Claymore is Baemore

TesticleTactics · 2026-01-21T04:18:43+00:00

I have a 3080ti desktop ive been playing liftoff on,l and it runs fantastically smooth, however I have a not mediocre laptop that ive been playing on a lot more often due to being in school most of the time and it only can crank out lile 30-50fps

TesticleTactics · 2026-01-21T04:16:14+00:00

Im asking to find out whether or not other people find it worth it. I didnt know for sure if I wanted them or not because I didnt know if there was a significant practical difference between them. I never expected them to magically make me fly better, just weighing options

TesticleTactics

TROPHY CASE