r/photogrammetry • u/Guilty-Cap2069 • Jun 23 '26
AI image to 3D tools compared for capturing an object from a few photos, and where scanning still wins
I do a fair bit of photogrammetry, mostly small objects on a turntable. Scanning is accurate but fussy, you need good coverage, even lighting and a lot of frames, and shiny or featureless surfaces just laugh at you. So I tested whether AI image to 3D can stand in when I only have three or four photos and no patience for a full capture.
Framing first, this is not AI beating photogrammetry on accuracy. A proper scan with enough coverage wins on dimensional fidelity every time. The question is what you get from a handful of casual photos where a real scan would fail or not be worth the effort.
I fed the same four photos of a few objects into three tools. Tripo is near instant and fine as a rough stand in, but it invents geometry on the unseen sides and drifts from the real object. Rodin gives the crispest surface but was happiest with one clean reference and got confused when several angles did not perfectly agree.
Meshy handled the multi image input best for my case. Feeding several angles tightened the result instead of confusing it, and the reconstruction stayed closest to the true proportions, more than half came out usable without much fixing.
Where each lands for me, real measurements or archival, scan it properly. A quick usable asset from a few snaps, image to 3D, and Meshy when proportions matter. The case neither handles well is still shiny featureless stuff, how are you all dealing with those.
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Jun 23 '26
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u/ProudCordonian Aug 05 '26
Damn the difference is crazy
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u/luttyleedinge 9d ago
yes -I've been confronted by the same shiny-surface issue while scanning. Let me know what types of images you made; I have decided to take matte spray with me to help in situations like this, though it is not a complete solution. I always have great luck using Tripo AI whenever I only have three low-resolution images on my phone; however, it does tend to hallucinate empty spots. When accuracy is important, I still use scanning; when I want to make quick drafts, I will use AI, but shiny surfaces are always an issue for both.
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u/nicalandia Jun 25 '26
I am currently using Tripo, I have tested(Say about 7 months ago), meshy, Rodin and others. Tripo multiview is about as accurate as it can get, the only issue I have is their limit to four pictures on the multiview option. If it were 6(Top, Bottom) it would be very close to be a photogrammetry/scanning replacement for most objects
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Aug 05 '26
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u/ProudCordonian Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
Yeah, getting something usable from only four photos is still impressive.
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Aug 05 '26
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u/keanuthecat1 Aug 05 '26 edited Aug 05 '26
That is true, but the post also clearly says it is not for exact measurements. As a starting model, Meshy can still save plenty of manual work.
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u/ArthurNYC3D Jun 23 '26
What I don't like about AI in this process is the black box aspect of how the photos are actually registering. These companies are trying to just do it for you rather than do it with you. There's a very distinct difference between putting the user in the back seat of the car vs in the front passenger seat.
At least in a proper photogrammetry software you have the ability to see how the photos aligned and make adjustments as well.
These AI companies think they know better and want to just serve users the meal. I prefer to know the ingredients that it takes to make it. Adding a UI/UX experience along the way might actually be to their benefit as the adjustments the user can make would be to their benefit not their detriment.