Capture Hardware

Smartphone

A modern smartphone is often the easiest 3DGS capture device because it gives you stabilized video, high-resolution photos, and a fast way to cover objects or rooms.

Stage: CaptureFast captureObjects and roomsBeginner workflows

Open official linkFFmpeg->

What It Does

Phones are good enough for many 3DGS scenes if the capture is disciplined. The camera quality matters, but your path around the subject matters more.

The goal is not cinematic movement. The goal is redundant visual coverage from many angles so alignment tools can recover reliable camera poses.

How To Use It In 3DGS

Clean the lens and choose bright, even lighting without harsh reflections.
Move in slow arcs with 60% or more overlap between views.
Capture extra passes for thin objects, corners, and areas likely to be occluded.
Extract frames with FFmpeg or upload directly to an app that accepts video.

Things To Watch

Fast walking, autofocus hunting, and exposure pumping create bad training data.
People, cars, screens, trees in wind, and pets introduce moving content that confuses reconstruction.
Featureless white walls and shiny surfaces need extra texture, angle variety, or manual cleanup later.

Official And Related Links

FFmpeg COLMAP Polycam Gaussian Splats

Phone Capture Checklist

For objects, make two or three height rings: low, middle, and high, instead of one orbit at eye level.
For rooms, walk a smooth path around the perimeter and add extra passes around furniture, doorways, and corners.
If an app offers coverage heatmaps or AR guidance, use them as a missing-view detector, not as a replacement for slow movement.