For a land surveying company this questions has many different factors involved within it.
Paramount is accuracy. Also efficiency and of course price.
At my previous company we went down the faro route. The faro 130x was our scanner of choice. This was a helpful bit of kit. Collects a large amount of data, very fast, light, mobile and user friendly. I found the registration software that is associated with Faro (Scene) not particularly helpful in interrogating the accuracy of the registered point cloud. To wrestle these problems i had to apply a large amount of survey control. Is this still true with Faro Scene?
I have had limited experience with the other scanners on the market but have heard very good things about Leica’s range of scanners and supporting software. (P40’s+P50’s Cyclone Jetstream) Of course all Leica instruments are highly accurate but with this comes a much higher price compared to the Faro range. Is this additional price justified?
I have had little to no experience with Trimble’s options and would very much like feed back on this route?
One final factor that gets thrown in are the multi functional total stations that Leica and Trimble have thrown into the mix. Trimble SX10 and Leicas MS60. My initial thoughts on multi-stations was a negative one. Obviously they would have their benefits in accuracy and productivity but the idea of having a very expensive laser scanner used on a day to day basis on all the different types of survey that a land surveyor has to go through (woodland surveys, water courses) doesnt fill me with confidence of the longevity of said machine.
Thanks for reading and any feedback and suggestions would be very helpful on purchasing the right instrument for Vertex Surveys ltd needs.
Regards……
David Harwood
Vertex Surveys ltd
https://www.vertexsurveysltd.com/