Current status/opinion of the BLK360?

Discuss Leica Geosystems hardware here.
Post Reply
Martin_au
V.I.P Member
V.I.P Member
Posts: 316
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:51 pm
14
Full Name: Martin Ankor
Company Details: Anon
Company Position Title: Surveyor
Country: Australia
Has thanked: 6 times
Been thanked: 24 times

Current status/opinion of the BLK360?

Post by Martin_au »

I've seen a bunch of criticism from around the release time about poor registrations, problems with Recap, and various other problems.
I've also seen some very average data, and some very decent data from the units.

Now that it's been out for a couple of years, has the situation improved? Does anyone have any recommended, bulletproof(ish) workflows?

Also, what else is out there in that market segment?
JonMag
I have made 60-70 posts
I have made 60-70 posts
Posts: 63
Joined: Mon Jun 03, 2019 10:32 am
4
Full Name: Jonathan Magal
Company Details: GeoMJ
Company Position Title: Géomètre
Country: Belgique
Has thanked: 5 times
Been thanked: 11 times

Re: Current status/opinion of the BLK360?

Post by JonMag »

Hello, I use BLK360 for one year now and I'm happy with this unit if you consider its size and its price.
Most of the time, I use it for 2D as-built plans. Due to its size and weight, you can put it almost everywhere. You can take a scan in 40 seconds (25mm@10m), it's sometimes enough; I prefer 12mm@10m : 1min40. I use it with an iPad Pro and the Field360 application. Recap for iPad is not good, it's an unfinished app.
Even if I'm happy, don't get me wrong, it has his limits. It's not RTC360 or S150plus or all the high-end units. But I think that it's a good device to start in the scan world.
For some work, I used paper targets that I had measured with my total station and the control is good (often 3mm error max).

If you have questions, feel free to ask.
User avatar
Mike Annear
V.I.P Member
V.I.P Member
Posts: 800
Joined: Mon Jun 08, 2009 5:45 am
14
Full Name: Mike Annear
Company Details: The Yard Brisbane
Company Position Title: Manager - 3D Design and Scanning
Country: Australia
Linkedin Profile: Yes
Location: Hemmant, Queensland, Australia
Has thanked: 122 times
Been thanked: 196 times
Contact:

Re: Current status/opinion of the BLK360?

Post by Mike Annear »

Hi Martin,
Good to see you back !
It is a great scanner for the price . (emphasis on "for the price")
I have used it a lot for scanning boats, it is brilliant for that task, small, fast, good camera.
It is great for international travel, not that we are going to be doing any of that for a while :)

Cons.. I don't like Recap/Field360 , especially if you are used to old school Cyclone with proper site notes :)
The data is on the fuzzy side, if you are used to P-Series data it might be hard to adjust.
File transfer is awkward and slow.
No compensator to speak of.

You could hire one from Techrentals, they have a good fleet of scanners these days, but I don't think they have a Tassie office.
Francois is also in Tassie I believe, he might be able to get one for you to have a look at.
Regards,
Mike.
Mike Annear
www.mikeannear.com
QLD, Australia.
Martin_au
V.I.P Member
V.I.P Member
Posts: 316
Joined: Thu Oct 15, 2009 12:51 pm
14
Full Name: Martin Ankor
Company Details: Anon
Company Position Title: Surveyor
Country: Australia
Has thanked: 6 times
Been thanked: 24 times

Re: Current status/opinion of the BLK360?

Post by Martin_au »

Thanks Mike, Jon

What are the current registration options? Recap and Register360? Anything else?
VXGrid
V.I.P Member
V.I.P Member
Posts: 544
Joined: Fri Feb 24, 2017 10:47 am
7
Full Name: Martin Graner
Company Details: PointCab GmbH
Company Position Title: Research and Development
Country: Germany
Linkedin Profile: No
Has thanked: 160 times
Been thanked: 175 times
Contact:

Re: Current status/opinion of the BLK360?

Post by VXGrid »

mjankor wrote: Sun Jul 05, 2020 11:14 pm Thanks Mike, Jon

What are the current registration options? Recap and Register360? Anything else?
You can register with anything you just need to get the data in an exchange format.
To get the exchange format you can go via Leica or AutoDesk as mentioned above, meaning:
If you use the Ipad + ReCap, copy the files to your computer, open them in ReCap Desktop and save the project. If your registration software is able to import RCP/RCS files then you are good to go, otherwise you need to export it as an E57, so you need ReCap desktop Pro.

If you are going via Leica, you can either capture the data using the Ipad with the Leica app, or just by pressing the button and using the Desktopmanager tool from Leica to get the data out of there and then using Register360 on the Desktop. I think you can import the .BLK files in Cyclone as well but not sure. And from there export it as an E57.
If you want to use something beside ReCap / Register360, I'd go with ReCap --->pricing.

I've seen a registration done by Scantra with E57 data from the BLK.
Daniel wrote an article using the data:
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/taming-e ... iel-wujanz
User avatar
Brett
Forum Supporter
Forum Supporter
Posts: 110
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 2:57 pm
12
Full Name: Brett D
Company Details: Omega Geomatics
Company Position Title: Director
Country: England

Re: Current status/opinion of the BLK360?

Post by Brett »

Mike Annear wrote: Tue Jun 30, 2020 8:27 am File transfer is awkward and slow.
That is being generous!
Sent from my Sinclair ZX Spectrum+ using tapatalk
User avatar
gsisman
V.I.P Member
V.I.P Member
Posts: 898
Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2016 1:51 pm
7
Full Name: Steve Long
Company Details: Montgomery County DOT _ MD
Company Position Title: Land Survey Supervisor
Country: United States
Skype Name: gsisman1
Linkedin Profile: Yes
Has thanked: 767 times
Been thanked: 148 times

Re: Current status/opinion of the BLK360?

Post by gsisman »

Brett wrote: Wed Jul 08, 2020 1:56 pm
Mike Annear wrote: Tue Jun 30, 2020 8:27 am File transfer is awkward and slow.
That is being generous!
File Transfer From BLK to Computer is limited by the internal WIFI ability of the BLK. = SLOW (we average 3-5 min per Hi-res scan.
The iPAD Pro which is used for both Recap Pro Mobile (we dumped this workflow as soon as the BLK Data-manager became available) and Field 360 can speed some things up, but only if you are downloading the BLK scans to the iPAD while you are doing something else and then using Lightning to IP transfer to the computer (also Sometimes it's easier to align visual C2C using the the Field360 app than the Reg360 app (especially the profile tilt option. We are always scanning at full resolution scan and non-HDR when scanning outside (most of our scans are outdoors). That being said, our jobs are pretty small 12-40 scans and we ALWAYS shoot 3 visible targets from each scan -target placement planning takes some experience ,but once you've done it a few times it become back of hand. Most of ours are intersection scans, or small topos so we usually shoot reflectoreless to 4" BW Leica targets on poles or mag targets, which we have been able to extract at up to 70' on Hi-Res). We've been regularly hitting less than 0.10' in global and C2C registration residuals with this process.
User avatar
[email protected]
I have made <0 posts
I have made <0 posts
Posts: 5
Joined: Tue Dec 29, 2015 3:15 am
8
Full Name: Chad Snoke Geopro
Company Details: Geopro
Company Position Title: Owner
Country: United States
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Current status/opinion of the BLK360?

Post by [email protected] »

Sorry to resurrect a thread from the dead, but wanted to respond to the download speed is limited to wifi" comment, you can buy an USB-C adapter that has an ethernet port on it and plug the cat6 directly into an iPad Pro. Much faster transfer speeds.
When things get weird, the weird turn pro.
http://geopro.xyz
miguel.antunes
I have made 30-40 posts
I have made 30-40 posts
Posts: 39
Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2018 9:50 am
5
Full Name: Miguel Angelo Morais Antunes
Company Details: Engineering
Company Position Title: Surveyor
Country: Portugal
Linkedin Profile: No
Been thanked: 1 time

Re: Current status/opinion of the BLK360?

Post by miguel.antunes »

Hello,

I use BLK for almost 3 years, in the beggining was ok, now I only use for rooftops
hunenkonig
I have made 30-40 posts
I have made 30-40 posts
Posts: 33
Joined: Tue Dec 01, 2020 4:18 am
3
Full Name: Att
Company Details: Private
Company Position Title: Team Lead
Country: Canada
Linkedin Profile: Yes
Has thanked: 10 times

Re: Current status/opinion of the BLK360?

Post by hunenkonig »

Anyone know of a new product release?
Considering that the BLK360 was released in 2017 and is over 4 years old, what is the usual update or upgrade of firmware?
I've been looking at purchasing a second hand unit, any thoughts of what they are worth?
Much appreciate any replies.

Thanks
Post Reply

Return to “Leica Geosystems”