I see that it is always mentioned that the iGuides are extremely fast when it comes to shooting a home, I find it literally takes twice as long as the marketing says. Am I alone in this? should we be skipping closets? or only shoot one scene in a bedroom? In my case I almost always scan closets unless I am confident that the drafting team will extrapolate on what is behind a hidden space. I also often shoot at the door of a room and also near the window in a bedroom, maybe you don’t need to do this I feel you are cheaping out on a job by not covering the space properly.
That depends on what the marketing says. What does it say?
I recently completed approx 5500 sq feet of house in under two hours (2 stories and outdoor). I probably took more scans that the average person might due to the nature of our business. I also took a small break in the middle of it.
Chris markets the scans saying 20min for 3000sqft. My numbers are much closer to yours.
IMS-5 or Planix?
With my IMS-5 most average-sized properties are about 30 minutes. I know the Planix is much faster.
There are many variables that can change this number…
There are many variables that can change this number…
Absolutely. Ironically, I sometimes find that shooting larger properties can be faster than shooting smaller properties because the open space allows for ease of mobility and I’m able to shoot fewer panos.
1 Like
I’ve never used the previous cameras, but with the Planix it is very quick.
I have the camera set to make a sound when the pano is shot and I jump back in the room and move to the next spot. All while the software says it’s processing the image.
You save a ton of time if you don’t wait for that and just keep going.
Typical 3 bedroom 2 bath on main floor and a rec room, laundry utility room in basement. 30 minutes. Tops.
I’m on IMS-5, I’m waiting on IMS-6 if that is in the pipeline?? The res on the Planix just isn’t doing it for me.
The Planix is the IMS-6.
Alex posted in the forums that the IMS-5 HDR code is being ported to Planix this year. I’m looking forward to that.
Plantix HDR seems pretty good other than the colour balance shift from tungsten to daylight and vice versa (i.e. window views). The lack of clarity is my main concern but I do understand why they made the choices then did, I look forward to seeing the changes to come.
1 Like
I agree the Planix results are pretty good. But I shot two properties with both my Planix and my IMS-5 and could see a clear difference, so I’ve continued shooting with my IMS-5 for now. I’m looking forward to seeing what Planitar comes up with on that front.
Honestly unless I can walk inside of a closet (walk in closet) im not scanning it. Most of the time there is too much stuff in the way to see the back wall anyways, the drafters can clearly see the (dead) space where a closet is. Ive never had an issue.
I usually only do 1 scan per room unless there is a good view or a reason to get deeper inside the room (understand the size), all intersections. The way I see it, peoples attention spans are short. Having a scan every 6 feet seems great but people are looking at so many properties that it becomes annoying, in most cases less than more is the better route IMO. If your scanning in every location that you would stand in to perhaps take photos or stand if you were showing the home to someone I’m sure your taking enough. Most iguides take me about 30-1 hour
30 mins for average houses (2500 sq ft).
Closets really slow me down. I usually take 3 Panos per closet which may be overkill. Back wall, move clothes and do the two sides. Especially for closets on exterior walls. Maybe I’m overdoing it but I never want to have to go back to a property to redo it. On interior closets, I started doing less scans if I feel the drafting team has enough data.
Planix here as well. Pick it up after the beeps and drop it down while it’s processing. Works great. Also, aligning scans as I go to cut down on post processing time.
Using IMS5, I allocate an hour for a 3,000 s.f. home (including basement).
I try to take a pano on the front porch and 2-3 panos in back, depending how nice it looks.
I take only one image of the closets, unless its a walk-in.
Invariably there will be something to slow me down - seller or agent cleaning up, changing light bulbs, chasing people out of camera range etc.
Then there’s “doh” moments. Thinking I took three panos when I only took two and having to re-shoot. Forgetting to change from HDR Outdoor to HDR Indoor when moving from outside to inside or vice versa. Kicking the tripod on the third image etc.
Using IMS5, I allocate an hour for a 3,000 s.f. home (including basement).
That’s about the same for me with my IMS-5 + photos, with smaller buildings taking less time, and larger buildings taking more time (depending on the layout and complexity).
I take only one image of the closets, unless its a walk-in.
I take two so it’s easier to auto-align in Stitch.
Forgetting to change from HDR Outdoor to HDR Indoor
I used to switch modes between indoor and outdoor but I realized that’s unnecessary. I do adjust the exposure for outdoor shots with the dial before the first shot.
Kicking the tripod on the third image etc.
Yoga and meditation can help with anger management… 
1 Like
I’m with you on the one hour to shoot a 3000 st home, I’d need another 1.5 hours for stills. I choose to light each room with multiple flashes and exposure blending, occasionally I can get by with HDR for certain areas.
I’m with you on the one hour to shoot a 3000 st home, I’d need another 1.5 hours for stills.
So 2.5 hours?
I’m in and out with iGuide + stills in 45-90 min for 95% of properties. Very large homes can take longer, but sometimes not, given that I can shoot large, open spaces faster than small, cramped spaces.
I’m using up to 5 flashes so that adds time when shooting with a Flambiant technique. It’s a PIA but the results are great IMO. I’m always tweaking things and looking at other ways of dong things but this gets me what I am looking for.
Geoff
That’s alot of flashes to work with!.
On the shoots that I flash (about 75% of them) I use one main flash behind me somewhere, and then I walk into the frame and take a small speed light handheld and pop in the dark areas. Two pops usually does the trick
When shooting flash in large rooms I usually take 3 exposures using 2 flash units:
- 1 ambient (no flash)
- 2 with flash (one with me on left of room, then one with me on the right)
- maybe a 3rd for a nice window pull if looks good.
Stack in Photoshop, mask myself out, blend in the ambient. Done.
I can’t imagine working with so many lights!
Yeah that is what I carry but I usually get by with 3, main secondary and a centre shot in the middle of the room if it’s large. I’ll replace the ceiling and drop in the windows if needed. The extra flashes are needed to light distant rooms and stairwells etc.
I created a feature request asking for a Plantix HDR engine for doing stills, it would be great to get some input on that forum.
This picture has a few mistakes but it is a representation of how I light rooms.
There is an on camera flash, a centre room flash, hall way flash and sunroom flash at the back.
1 Like