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Lighting conditions and specific 3D-scanning scenarios

Our team sometimes receives questions about the recommended lighting conditions, so let's try to summarize all necessary information into a single article. If you are aiming to 3D print your model later on, we recommend to additionally check this article about colour adjustments for 3D printing.

 

General information

Artec 3D scanners use LED flash to highlight the scanned area and record the texture of the scanned object on the go. That's the way, how almost all our customers use our 3D scanners :)

Also, it's worth mentioning, that it's also possible to scan in the dim or even completely dark environment with Artec3D scanners without an extra lighting system, since they utilize their own LED flashes.

texture_LED.JPG

However, if your 3D scanning project requires the best possible texture/colour output, then completely dark or unevenly lit environment is not an option. In such 3D scanning scenarios, we recommend avoiding:

  • Dim lighting
  • Shadows (for example, when a scanned person is standing between 2 bright fluorescent lamps, lighting from the ceiling) and the unevenly lit environment in general:

not_good_lighting_conditions.JPG

Note: check this video for more information about the most efficient human body scanning with Artec Eva, including the recommended setup & lighting conditions.

 

Disabling of the texture LED flash

Some specific 3D scanning scenarios require capturing an object or a person with the external lighting setup only (i.e. the texture LED flash switched off). In this case, the ambient lighting should be set correctly to avoid too dark or yellowish colours.

The minimum intensity of ambient light in this scenario is as follows:

  • 50 Lx and less is the lowest possible lighting conditions for 3D scanning with the disabled LED flash, so if it's important to receive the best possible texture, you should either enable texture LED or add the extra lighting
  • More than 1000 Lx is the good lighting conditions
  • With the intensity between 50 Lx and 1000 Lx, it's still possible to receive good results, but the most likely, you'll need to adjust "Texture exposure time" and "Texture brightness" values in Scan section prior to a 3D scanning session.

Note: more information about "Texture exposure time" parameter is available here in Artec Studio user's guide.

 

A custom lighting setup for a specific 3D-scanning project

Here are a couple of examples from our customers' experience:

1) A dedicated "room" with a special lighting conditions setup, like the one shown in this Google Art project video: http://www.artec3d.com/news/3d-models-made-using-artec-eva-featured-google-art-project

texture.png

2) Extra studio lighting, which is essential for projects, involving further 3D-printing. Below is an example of MiniMe3D setup:

YUb5J32AlbtTt3Sgb_1g4A-wide.jpg

 

Our team is here to help! If you have any questions or issues, please do not hesitate to contact us by emailing support@artec3d.com or by clicking on the "Submit a request" button at the bottom right side of the screen. We will always be happy to assist you and will get back to you as soon as we can.

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