SHARE3DCAM C1/S20 Field Manual
SHARE3DCAM C1/S20 Scanner -- Practical User Manual
Compiled from the SHARE3DCAM Discord Community
Source: #3dgs, #pointclouds-studio, #technical-support, #workflow, #share3dcam-bot channels
Date range: March 4 - May 30, 2026
Last updated: May 30, 2026
About This Manual
This is a community-sourced practical guide for the SHARE3DCAM C1 and S20 SLAM LiDAR scanners. Every workflow, troubleshooting step, best practice, and known limitation in this document comes directly from user discussions in the official SHARE3DCAM Discord. Where official answers from the support team (Frank, Luna) or the @SHARE3DCAM bot exist, they are cited.
C1 and S20 are treated as one device throughout this manual. The only confirmed hardware difference is camera resolution (S20 has higher-res sensors). Differences are called out explicitly where users have observed them.
Table of Contents
| # | Section | Description |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 01-Hardware-Setup | Device specs, firmware, SD cards, batteries, connectivity, accessories |
| 2 | 02-PointCloud-Studio | Installation, versions, settings, project management, data processing |
| 3 | 03-Scanning-Workflows | Field scanning strategies, movement, environment, multi-scan projects |
| 4 | 04-3DGS-Workflow | Gaussian splat generation -- settings, GPU requirements, processing time, quality |
| 5 | 05-Hybrid-Workflows | Combining LiDAR with external cameras, drones, RealityScan, Postshot pipelines |
| 6 | 06-RTK-GCP | RTK setup, GNSS fusion, coordinate systems, control points, accuracy |
| 7 | 07-Troubleshooting | Common issues and community-verified solutions -- hardware, software, processing |
| 8 | 08-Third-Party-Tools | CloudCompare, RealityScan, Postshot, LFS, D5 Render, Blender, BricsCAD |
| 9 | 09-Bot-Knowledge | Official answers, product specs, known limitations from the SHARE3DCAM bot and support team |
| -- | pose2colmap.py | C1/S20->COLMAP converter script — see Bot Knowledge section for latest version. Work in progress — known bugs and limitations exist. |
Quick Reference: Key Numbers
| Metric | C1 | S20 |
|---|---|---|
| LiDAR range | 40m @ 10% / 70m @ 80% reflectivity | Same |
| Photo interval (Point Cloud mode) | 0.2s minimum | 0.5s minimum |
| Photo interval (3DGS mode) | Fixed at 0.5s | Fixed at 0.5s |
| Camera sensors | Dual fisheye, ~5MP effective | Dual 1-inch, higher resolution |
| Image format | 8-bit JPEG only (no RAW) | 8-bit JPEG |
| Stereo baseline | ~79 mm | Not documented |
| Max scan duration (recommended) | 30 minutes | 30 minutes |
| 3DGS max scan (in PCS) | ~10 minutes reliably | ~10 minutes reliably |
| GPU requirement (3DGS) | NVIDIA, 12GB+ VRAM | Same |
| CUDA version (3DGS) | 12.8+ | Same |
Key Versions (as of May 30, 2026)
| Software | Latest |
|---|---|
| PointCloud Studio Beta | V2.5.0-Beta.9 (May 28, 2026) |
| PointCloud Studio Stable | v2.2.4 |
| C1 System Firmware | v2.7.5 |
| COLMAP | v4.0.2 |
| Postshot | v1.1 (May 13, 2026) |
| RealityScan 2 | v2.1.1 |
Community Contributors
The following Discord users contributed the knowledge in this manual (in order of appearance):
AVsupport (Peter Graf) -- extensive technical analysis, feature requests, C1->COLMAP conversion development
urienofrheged -- scanning workflows, CloudCompare, SuperSplat examples
iris.digital.pl (Monika) -- RealityScan->Postshot hybrid pipeline pioneer
ser0ka -- SLAM theory, scanning best practices, detailed technical explanations
tool_guy_365 -- field testing, RTK evaluation, troubleshooting documentation
mr_red1991_63830 -- hardware testing, CAD workflows
pierro5261 -- RTK/GCP testing, BricsCAD BIM workflows
jrameau -- third-party tools, Osmo/Drone integration
Frank (frankx42) -- official support/admin
Luna (lunashare3dcam_22361) -- official support
bjarnebob8515 -- GPU compatibility testing
olahaldor -- S20 user feedback, Houdini workflows
fotofly_04750 -- S20/C1 scan examples
lucapoia -- beginner questions, drift issues
jyst_mike -- RTK/NTRIP expertise
SHARE3DCAM bot -- product specs, official answers