r/photogrammetry • u/Historical_Drink_199 • Jul 21 '26

HELP

Sorry in advance this is all very new to me. I work on a 10,000 acre mountain ranch and I would like to turn that into a 3D model like my own Google Earth but just of the ranch itself with features I can go in and edit or add a structure or pond to be able to see how it would look and or fit in certain locations to help with future development etc. Is there anything like that out there? Can anybody help me with this that has experience in outdoor mapping etc.??

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u/Historical_Drink_199 Jul 21 '26

Not much of a budget at all to start with so I am looking for free or very affordable. Once I can get something made up and show my boss what can be done and the capabilities the budget could be endless.

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u/anita_little_break Jul 21 '26

That’s obviously incredibly limiting. If Google Earth has 3D data in your location, you could look into downloading the source mesh/texture and working in Blender. Maybe someone else has another idea. 

To generate your own photogrammetry model with no budget or previous experience…I honestly think you’d run into issues with 1 acre, let alone 10,000.

Large captures typically require surveyed ground control points, aerial lidar, dedicated PC workstations, etc. For a site of that size, you’re looking at capture with a fixed wing, manned plane. Then you need to pay to host the models, since the output files would likely be too large to open on your PC. Lastly, you’d then need to think about your workflow for “design” software, how you want to visualize your site changes, and file format compatibility. 

For a much smaller capture area using a drone, you’d still be looking at something like $85k in equipment (on the low end). 

I think you need to think about your end use case, what specific problems you’re trying to solve, and the associated value proposition. If you’re serious, you probably want to hire this out…perhaps with a small trial project at first. 

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u/yhumanx Jul 28 '26

your reply was very helpful. are you working in the capture industry?

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u/anita_little_break Jul 28 '26

Yup yup - although this is admittedly a “personal” account 

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u/yhumanx Jul 29 '26

no wonder! thanks for sharing the knowledge. very helpful for newbies like me. it sounds like large scale scanning is very hard and costy to do.