Matterport Scan: Is Good Enough; Good Enough?4002
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 WGAN ForumFounder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Hi All, A Member of the forum that is existing the business sent me this note ... Dan --- I did not participate in the forum, but I paid a lot of attention to what was written. I have enormous respect for you and for many of the forum members. You have developed a community that includes some remarkably capable people. One comment I can offer that might be of interest to the community is that many people who view the models do not demand perfection. Fundamentally, the technology and the models produce a "WOW" from viewers. Many, perhaps most, of those viewers are not hung up on whether the camera appears in a mirror or whether a stair rail is imperfectly stitched together. The overall experience generated from a Matterport model produced at low cost by an amateur photographer can be great for a viewer. I respect professional photographers who strive for perfection; however, my impression is that an enormous chunk of the potential market is satisfied with a "WOW" experience and those people do not require a perfect experience. The relative value of a perfect professional photographer produced Matterport model vs an imperfect amateur produced Matterport model is often marginal; many segments of the market will probably be very happy with good (at a moderate cost) vs perfect (at a high cost). That might not be what professional photographers want to hear, but there is a lot of truth in that concept. ---- What are your thoughts about the quality of Matterport scanning as described above? As a Pro, I could not imagine delivering anything other than the best that I can do. I could imagine at the lowest end of the pricing scale, it may be as few scans as possible and perhaps little attention to trimming or other details. Dan |
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 WGANStandard Member Bon Secour, Alabama |
Chemistrydoc private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I agree, Dan. This is the only way to push back against the price race to the bottom. I encourage every MSP to collect a series of bad scans from other providers, not as a primary line of argument, but to bolster your price when someone quotes it cheaper. | ||
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Orange, California |
craigsauer private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Sometimes we pros obsess over details that most viewers won't notice or appreciate. But I do frequently see things in Spaces by new guys that are glaring mistakes that really take away from the experience. The same can be said for still photography. Not every home deserves (or has the budget for) Architectural Digest quality photos. But paying attention to detail, bring careful, and taking pride in quality work should be basic principles. Craig |
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Rootsyloops private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I actually fervently agree with the poster. there's a choice that we need to make - are we artists, business-people, or both. I have found that with my business hat on, there is no doubt that I can create a higher ROI shooting a lower quality tour. Admittedly, there is not much competition in my area yet. To increase my quality, I would need to increase my price. The agents I shoot for are very happy with what I send them, and appreciate that I have "reasonable" prices. I have found the same to be true with my aerial and interior photos; I've built my photo company strictly as a business and I've left my artist hat at home. Then when I get home, I go out and shoot nature photos to satisfy the artist in me. I don't think there is necessarily a wrong or right answer here, but my personal situation and business model are certainly congruent with the "good enough" theory. I also feel like I take pride in my work, but it's pride in producing the greatest value for the agent, rather than providing the absolute best and most complete scan or photo shoot. | ||
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BrettMtn private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Unfortunately, it's mostly about the client and their threshold of tolerance for quality. Realtors, in general, will not expect, appreciate or pay for the perfection that most professionals will provide. I know that is a blanket statement, but I've found it to be true in my area. Case-in-point, I had my first big client (realtor) hire me to scan almost every listing he had. I did about 15 homes for him in 3 months. Then he stopped calling. Why? He got his own camera and was doing them himself. Were his scans perfect? Not by a long shot (I saw him in some of the scans...), but they were good enough that he didn't have to hire me anymore. I don't believe that pointing out the quality difference would have made him call again. He had the "wow factor" he wanted with Matterport. I'm not going to provide a less than professional quality scan, but it certainly has made me rethink whether I need to re-upload a scan where a wall is partially clipped in dollhouse view. For commercial clients (architects, designers, event venues, etc). I'm hoping that they appreciate the professionalism and perfection that I strive to provide. However, I think that focusing on the "my scan is better than everyone else" is a pretty minor argument and not a selling point for most clients. In my experience, good customer service and good business practices will win more clients than good scans, for better or worse. |
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 StandardMember Portage, MI |
Senojev private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Only a newbie but for what it's worth, I consider myself to be "professional" and my goal is to provide the best quality product to a client. Sure it takes a little longer as I get familiar with the process but each model I have shot gets better. I feel really comfortable planning for 50 scans per hour, marking as I go, planning the next scan location for a smooth transition, etc. The incremental effort to go from "good enough" to "excellent" is not that great in my mind for an experienced person and guarantees you will have clients who will not hesitate to recommend your services. | ||
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Regina, Saskatchewan Canada |
Queen_City_3D private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I am certainly less obsessed with perfection as I once was. Case in point, I was looking at one of my models today that we had done a month ago where I couldn't get into the garage from the entrance room. If I went to the dollhouse view I could drop into the garage no problem, and I could go from the garage to the entrance room, but not from entrance room to garage. I doubted that enough people would be able to recreate the same problem I had and I didn't particularly care whether they were able to see into the garage anyhow so long as it was in the dollhouse view and they could navigate through the rest of the house... That was one example where good was good enough. That said, we have had the good fortune recently of having some contracts that are out-of-market where we've had to sub-contract to other MSPs, and you can better believe that I looked at some of their work before hiring them. I've sent work to 4 other MSPs in the past 3 weeks and have another job to send out next week. While everyone does things a little different than the way you would have done it, I absolutely passed by calling some MSPs by looking at their portfolio. For my client I want a complete dollhouse view, and if they took shortcuts and had black spots behind doors or in the bathtubs or showers I didn't even consider calling them. So yeah... I think it's a fine line between being lazy and doing the bare minimum of scans and going overboard and demanding absolute perfection. |
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Frisco, Texas |
Metroplex360 private msg quote post Address this user | |
| When I have to deliver a scan with the camera in a mirror, it's always with regret. When I have to deliver a scan to a client wherein the color/lighting is really off due to a combination of warm lighting and questionable paint choices, it's also awkward for me. I'd go the extra mile to remove the camera from the mirrors in photoshop and substitute that graphic files -- and I'd go the extra mile in photoshop to better white balance and even recolor images depending on the client. I hope that 'mirror fixing' is a service that Matterport considers; and I hope that in the future, Matterport might offer us some 'shaders' to play with in Workshop in order to boost brightness, contrast and saturation at the very least. |
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WGAN Forum Founder & WGAN-TV Podcast Host Atlanta, Georgia |
DanSmigrod private msg quote post Address this user | |
| Hi All, I received an update form the Member that sparked this discussion ... Dan --- Dan - When you posted an edited version of my comments in the forum, I read the responses. I realized that I had done a poor job of stating my concerns regarding market requirements for quality. I did not mean to suggest that MSPs should deliver less than their best or that they should be satisfied delivering mediocre quality work; the point was that much of the market does not require perfection. Real estate agents and other potential MSP clients will increasingly opt for acceptable products and services that are available at a lower cost. I am not suggesting that MSPs should lower their standards, only that they should be prepared to accept that much of the potential market will accept lower quality from other providers and from other technologies. If I were an MSP, I would try to deliver excellent quality every time and I would focus my marketing efforts on the segments of the market that are willing to pay for perfection. Best regards, [redacted] |
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Dana Point, CA |
RPOceanic private msg quote post Address this user | |
| I completely agree that a good number of agents aren't so concerned or even aware of the little details that an MSP may sweat over trying to get right. I think there are numerous reasons for this. An Agent isn't going to spend nearly as much time as the pro within the tour, won't likely walk through an entire model. An Agent will only be associated with most tours they buy for a short period, then will move on to the next listing or sale, will never see the scan again. An MSP will however, have his/her name on it and it will live in their portfolio forever. All that said, attention to detail, pride in what one produces aren't isolated to one aspect of a person or ones business. Buyer beware.... typically, someone who is sloppy, lacks attention to detail or is willing to compromise quality in one regard, is willing to do so in another. And.... those that are meticulous in one area are likely much the same across the board. |
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