Specification sheets are written to sell. This page is written to help you choose, including the cases where the cheaper instrument is the right one. Every figure below is taken from the manufacturer's own published specification for the exact model we sell. Where a manufacturer does not publish a number, we say so rather than estimate it.

Jump to: Handheld LiDAR SLAM, terrestrial or photogrammetry GNSS receivers RTK, PPK or static Drones and payloads Total stations

Which handheld scanner do I need?

All three FJ Dynamics Trion scanners are SLAM instruments: you walk the site and the scanner solves its own trajectory as it goes, so no control network and no line of sight to a base are required. The difference between them is range, accuracy and whether the result needs to sit in real world coordinates.

How to read that table

• If the deliverable is a floor plan, a BIM model or a volume, and it does not need to sit on a national grid, the P1 is enough instrument. Two centimeters relative accuracy over a 40 meter range covers most interior and small site work, and it is the lightest way into SLAM capture.
• If you are working outdoors, or the spaces are large, the P2 is the better buy at $1,500 more. The range nearly doubles to 70 meters and the runtime doubles to four hours, which in practice is the difference between one battery swap a day and four.
• If the cloud has to be georeferenced, the S2 is the only one of the three that can do it without post processing against control, because it carries an IMU and an RTK module on board. That is what you are paying the extra $9,000 for. If your deliverable never leaves a local coordinate system, you do not need it.

SLAM, terrestrial or photogrammetry

Three ways to produce a point cloud, each with a different failure mode. Choosing badly is more expensive than choosing the cheaper instrument.

The honest summary: SLAM wins on time, terrestrial wins on accuracy, photogrammetry wins on area covered per dollar. Most firms end up owning two of the three, and the pairing that covers the most ground is a handheld SLAM scanner plus a drone.

Which GNSS receiver do I need?

Every Emlid Reach receiver we sell delivers centimeter positioning. The differences are tilt compensation, how long the battery lasts, how you get corrections in, and how rugged the housing is.

How to read that table

• You already have a base, or you work off a network. The RX2 at $2,399 is a rover and nothing else, and at 280 grams it is the lightest thing to carry all day. Do not pay for base capability you will never switch on.
• You need to set your own base on site. Start at the RS2+. The built-in LTE modem matters more than people expect: it removes the radio pairing problem entirely where there is cell coverage.
• You measure a lot of obstructed points. The RS3 is the value pick. Tilt compensation to 60 degrees at 20 millimeters means you stop leveling the pole, and over a day of boundary or utility work that is the single biggest time saving on this table.
• You want the best of it. The RS4 and RS4 Pro hold 18 millimeters at 30 degrees of tilt, which is tighter than the RS3, and they are rated from -40°C. The Pro adds dual cameras for augmented reality point guidance. Whether that is worth $700 over the RS4 depends on whether you are staking as much as you are measuring.

RTK, PPK or static

The practical advice: log raw data even when you are working in RTK. It costs nothing, and it turns a dropped correction link from a lost day into a processing job. Every receiver on this page can do both at once.

Drones and payloads

Two decisions, in this order. What sensor does the deliverable require, and what will carry it for long enough to be worth mobilizing.

VTOL against multirotor

• Multirotor takes off vertically from anywhere, hovers, and is the only option for inspection or anything requiring a stationary look at an asset. It pays for that in endurance and in area covered per flight.
• Fixed wing VTOL, the Wingtra WingtraOne Gen II at $21,194, takes off vertically and then flies on a wing. That is where the efficiency comes from. For large area and corridor mapping it covers several times the ground per battery. It cannot hover and inspect.

If your work is corridors, quarries or anything measured in square kilometers, the VTOL pays for itself in mobilizations saved. If it is measured in hectares, or you need to look at a structure, buy the multirotor.

Payload against drone

The pairing to understand: a 6 kilogram payload capacity against a 905 gram sensor is not overkill, it is what buys you the option of carrying LiDAR and a mapping camera on the same flight rather than flying the site twice.

Choosing a total station

Robotic against manual, honestly

A robotic instrument tracks the prism and is operated from the pole, so one person does the work of two. That is the entire argument, and it is a strong one: if you are running a crew, the instrument pays for the difference in labor inside a season. If you are a sole operator doing occasional control work, a manual instrument does the same measuring for considerably less money, and the robotic tracking is a feature you will use rarely.

Note the distinction between the 600 meter non-prism range and the 800 meter UltraTrac figure. The longer number is prism assisted. Manufacturers quote both and they are not comparable, so check which one a competing specification is showing you before you compare.