ReCap Photo Frequently Asked Questions

Autodesk Support

Sep 25, 2024

Products and versions covered

Issue:

Autodesk ReMake is no longer available as a stand-alone subscription as of September 7, 2017, and is replaced by ReCap Photo. ReCap Photo is available through a subscription to ReCap Pro.
Current ReMake Pro subscribers can continue to use ReMake until the end of their current contract. However, the photo-to-3D cloud service is only available with Recap Photo starting December 1, 2017.

Solution:

What’s happening to ReMake?
What is ReCap Photo?
What are the differences between ReMake and ReCap Photo?
How do I get ReCap Photo?
Is the photo-to-3D cloud service being impacted?
Can I still use my free ReMake and for how long?
How much does ReCap Photo cost?
Can I try ReCap Photo for free?
I am an EDU user, what can I do with ReCap Photo?
What type of file formats can I create with ReCap Photo?
What companion Autodesk software do you recommend for ReCap Photo?
Can I combine laser scans with drone or UAV data?
Can I use Ground Control Points (GCPs) with ReCap Photo?
Can I set and change coordinate systems with ReCap Photo?
How accurate is the data produced with ReCap Photo?


What’s happening to ReMake?
Autodesk ReMake is no longer available as a stand-alone subscription starting September 7, 2017 and is replaced by ReCap Photo, available through a subscription to Recap Pro.
Current ReMake Pro subscribers can continue to use ReMake until the end of their current contract. However, the photo-to-3D cloud service is only available in Recap Photo starting December 1, 2017.

What is ReCap Photo?
ReCap Photo is a cloud-connected app with advanced features to generate geo-located textured meshes, point clouds, and ortho-photos. It also has powerful tools for mesh viewing and editing.

What are the differences between ReMake and ReCap Photo?
ReMake was developed to reconstruct and process photo-based 3D models of objects. In addition to the existing features of ReMake, ReCap Photo has new features to serve UAV and drone workflows for the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC) industry. These features include:

  • Set GCPs (Ground Control Points, survey points) in any coordinate system.
  • Process up to 1,000 photos for aerial reconstructions and up to 300 photos for object reconstructions with a new photogrammetry engine.
  • Optimized processing of oblique and nadir photos (photos taken by drones and UAVs at 90 degrees above the site).

Go to the ReCap Photo site to see a list of everything that is included.

Note: ReCap Photo does not support local computations.

How do I get ReCap Photo?
ReCap Photo is available through a subscription to ReCap Pro for the same price as ReMake.
ReCap Photo and ReCap Pro desktop apps install through a single installation process.

To access ReCap Photo:

  1. Sign in to your Autodesk Account and go to All Products & Services.
  2. Select the latest ReCap Pro version and click View downloads.
  3. The ReCap Pro installer installs both ReCap Pro and ReCap Photo desktop apps.

Is the photo-to-3D cloud service impacted?
Yes, in several ways:

  • Starting December 1, 2017, the only way to access the service is through ReCap Photo which requires a ReCap Pro subscription.

  • As of April 14, 2021, 3D photo reconstruction job pricing in ReCap Photo is being amended from its current 3-tiered model to a simpler multi-tiered model. Cost of jobs will continue to be determined by the number of photos processed. As of April 14, 2021, this is the new multi-tiered pricing:

    Price per 50 photos processedExample: Cost of a 140 photo job
    1 token3 Flex tokens

    Note: The maximum number of photos that can be processed in one job is 2000 for aerial reconstruction.

    Updating the consumption of Flex tokens through usage of ReCap Photo as such gives customers more flexibility in determining the quality setting desired and enables more economical consumption of tokens.

Note: The reconstruction process requires a minimum of 20 photos imported per job.

Can I still use my free ReMake and for how long?
Yes, you can continue to use ReMake for a short time. Starting December 1, 2017, the only way to access the photo-to-3D cloud service will be through ReCap Photo, available through a subscription to ReCap Pro .

How much does ReCap Photo cost?
You can get ReCap Photo by subscribing to ReCap Pro on a monthly, 1-year, or 3-year plan. For exact pricing, talk to your Autodesk reseller or visit the Autodesk Store.

Note: ReCap Pro annual and multi-year subscriptions do not include tokens. Flex tokens can be purchased from Autodesk Resellers or the Autodesk Store.

Can I try ReCap Photo for free?
ReCap Photo has many mesh viewing, editing and export features that are available for free without a subscription. 3D photo reconstruction requires a subscription to ReCap Pro, Autodesk Drive cloud storage (which comes with the ReCap Pro subscription), and Flex tokens. There is no Trial mode for ReCap Photo. Please refer to the table below for a detailed comparison:

ReCap Photo FeaturesFreeSubscribed
Mesh Viewing√√
Mesh Editing√√
Mesh Decimation√√
Texture Re-baking√√
Mesh export to various formats (OBJ, FBX, STL, PLY, PTS)√√
3D photo reconstruction √
- Automatic scaling and geolocation using EXIF GPS tags
 √
- Import Ground Control Points
 √
- Mesh output
 √
- Point Cloud output
 √
- Orthophoto with depth map
 √
- 3D reconstruction quality report
 √
- Run multiple projects in parallel
 √


I am an EDU user, what can I do with ReCap Photo?
As an EDU user, you get ReCap Pro and ReCap Photo desktop apps free. You are, however, limited to 100 photos per project for cloud processing.

What type of file formats can I create with ReCap Photo?
ReCap Photo produces the following files from drone and UAV photos:

  • Geolocated orthographic view (and its elevation map) of the site in GeoTIFF format
  • Geolocated 3D point cloud in RCS (Autodesk point cloud format)
  • Geolocated 3D photo-textured mesh in RCM (Autodesk high-resolution mesh format)

Through the ReCap Pro desktop app, you can edit your RCS point cloud and export it to other formats (E57, PTS, PTG).
Through the ReCap Photo desktop app, you can edit RCM meshes (including healing tools) and export it in other sizes, with decimation, and other formats (OBJ, FBX, Quads, STL).
Through ReCap web, you can:

  • View a light version of your 3D photo-textured mesh.
  • View the geolocated orthographic view, zoom in and out, and add measurements, tags, and annotations.
  • Share the mesh with anyone and include extra metadata (measurements, tags, and annotations).

What companion Autodesk software do you recommend for ReCap Photo?
For orthographic views in GeoTIFF, we recommend Autodesk Infraworks, AutoCAD Civil 3D, or any other GIS software to create measurements and overlay drawings or CAD models.
RCS point clouds can be imported into any Autodesk software for design, such as Revit, AutoCAD, Navisworks, Civil 3D, or InfraWorks.

3D Meshes can be imported in 3ds Max or Stingray after being edited and exported from ReCap Photo in FBX or OBJ.

Can I combine laser scans with drone or UAV data?
You can merge laser scan point clouds with UAV-based point clouds with ReCap Pro desktop app and ReCap Photo. This is useful for appending your laser scans with drone data for areas that are difficult to reach, such as rooftops. To merge the data, match visual features that appear in both point clouds or use the same survey points in each registration and stitching process. The ReCap Pro desktop app includes the necessary user interface for this visual matching and automatically chooses the best fit to align the two point clouds.

Can I use Ground Control Points (GCPs) with ReCap Photo?
Yes, ReCap Photo includes all the necessary UI components to import your GCPs into any coordinate system. Each GCP must be visually matched with at least four photos. The GCPs are used to enhance accuracy. If you don’t add GCPs, the geolocation and scale of your scene are computed from the GPS information attached to each photo.

Can I set and change coordinate systems with ReCap Photo?
Yes, ReCap Photo now supports the standard geographic coordinate system used across all Autodesk products like Civil 3D and InfraWorks, which allows the following:

  • GCPs to be specified in spherical coordinate systems like WGS84 and projected coordinate systems like UTM and State Plane.
  • Target coordinate system for the outputs (orthophoto/mesh/point cloud) to be specified in projected coordinate systems like UTM and State Plane.

How accurate is the data produced with ReCap Photo?
Reconstruction is accurate within ±1 pixel of the input images. Accuracy and resolution rely on the ground sampling distance in the images and other image capture variables like the quality of the camera and lens system, camera shake, focus, and deviation information for each input Ground Control Point.

Products:

ReCap;

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