DJI Terra is capable photogrammetry software, but the interface doesn't explain itself well. If you've captured drone imagery and you're staring at Terra wondering what settings to use and in what order, this tutorial walks through the entire 3D model creation process from importing your photos to reviewing the final output.
This covers the full workflow: creating a project, importing photos, running aerotriangulation, configuring 3D reconstruction parameters, setting your region of interest, reviewing the completed model, reading the quality report, and previewing through DJI Modify.
What This Tutorial Covers
Project setup and photo import
The first step is creating a new project in DJI Terra and importing your drone imagery. The video shows the import process, file organization, and how Terra reads the metadata from your photos to position them spatially.
Aerotriangulation
Aerotriangulation is where Terra calculates camera positions and orientations from your imagery. The settings you choose here directly affect accuracy downstream. The tutorial walks through which settings to use and why, rather than just accepting defaults.
3D reconstruction parameters
This is where you configure how Terra builds the actual 3D model from the triangulated imagery. Resolution settings, mesh density, and texture quality all live here. The video explains what each parameter controls and the tradeoffs between processing time and model quality.
Region of interest
ROI definition is one of the least intuitive parts of Terra's interface. Setting it correctly means Terra only processes the area you care about, saving significant processing time and producing a cleaner model. The tutorial spends time on this because it's where most new users waste time or get unexpected results.
Model review and quality report
Once processing completes, you need to evaluate what you got. The video covers navigating the 3D viewer, checking for artifacts or gaps, and reading the quality report Terra generates. The quality report tells you whether your capture was sufficient or whether you need to go back and shoot more coverage.
DJI Modify preview
DJI Modify is a companion tool for sharing and viewing 3D models outside of Terra. The tutorial ends with a preview of how to move your completed model into Modify for client delivery or team review.
DJI Terra processes what you give it. If your capture has gaps, bad overlap, or inconsistent altitude, no amount of software settings will fix that. If you need help with the capture step, our Manifold 3 tutorials cover both horizontal and vertical capture workflows that feed directly into Terra.
DJI Terra is one of several photogrammetry platforms used in commercial drone work. If you're evaluating options, read our DroneDeploy vs Pix4D comparison for a side-by-side look at the two other major platforms in the AEC space.