Export your camera positions from DroneDeploy with browser developer tools

DroneDeploy's export menu offers your 3D model, orthomosaic and point cloud, but not the camera positions computed from your photos. Nira uses camera positions to place your original photos on the model for inspection. This guide shows how to save that camera data from your own DroneDeploy project using your browser's built-in developer tools, so you can upload it to Nira together with the model.

Before you start. This is your project data, but DroneDeploy does not offer this as an official export. Check that your DroneDeploy agreement allows it, and consider asking DroneDeploy support for a camera export first. DroneDeploy may change their site at any time, which would stop these steps from working. Nira is not affiliated with DroneDeploy. DroneDeploy is a trademark of DroneDeploy, Inc.

How this works

When you switch a DroneDeploy project from the 2D map to the 3D view, your browser downloads the camera positions to draw the photo locations. Every browser has a developer tools panel with a Network tab that lists these downloads and lets you save any of them as a file. Nothing is installed and nothing about your DroneDeploy account changes.

Two things must be true in every browser:

• Open the Network tab before you click the 3D button. It only lists downloads that happen while it is open.

• The 3D button must not have been clicked yet on this page load. DroneDeploy downloads the camera data only the first time you switch to 3D after loading the page. If you have already been in 3D, reload the page (it returns in 2D mode) and start over.

Google Chrome and Microsoft Edge

1. Open your DroneDeploy project in 2D (Map) mode.

2. Open developer tools: press F12, or Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (Mac). Select the Network tab at the top of the panel.

3. In the Filter box near the top of the Network tab, type camfile. The list is now empty.

4. Click the 3D button in the upper-right corner of DroneDeploy. One entry containing camfile appears in the list.

5. Right-click that entry and choose Copy → Copy response.

6. Open a plain text editor (Notepad on Windows, TextEdit on Mac in plain-text mode), paste, and save the file as cameras.json.

Mozilla Firefox

1. Open your DroneDeploy project in 2D (Map) mode.

2. Open developer tools: press F12, or Ctrl+Shift+I (Windows/Linux) or Cmd+Option+I (Mac). Select the Network tab.

3. In the Filter URLs box, type camfile.

4. Click the 3D button in the upper-right corner of DroneDeploy. One entry containing camfile appears.

5. Right-click that entry and choose Save Response As…, then save the file as cameras.json.

6. If that menu item is not offered, choose Copy → Copy Response instead, paste into a plain text editor, and save as cameras.json.

Apple Safari (Mac)

Safari hides its developer tools until you turn them on once.

1. Open Safari → Settings (or Preferences on older versions), select the Advanced tab, and turn on Show features for web developers (older versions call it Show Develop menu in menu bar).

2. Open your DroneDeploy project in 2D (Map) mode.

3. Open the Web Inspector with Cmd+Option+I, or choose Develop → Show Web Inspector. Select the Network tab.

4. In the Filter box, type camfile.

5. Click the 3D button in the upper-right corner of DroneDeploy. One entry containing camfile appears.

6. Click the entry to open its details, then select the Response tab. Click inside the response text, press Cmd+A to select it all and Cmd+C to copy.

7. Open TextEdit, choose Format → Make Plain Text, paste, and save the file as cameras.json.

Upload to Nira

Export the 3D model from DroneDeploy as described in the DroneDeploy export guide. Upload the unzipped model files, cameras.json and your original photos together in one Nira upload. Nira reads the camera file and places the photos on the model.

Troubleshooting

• No camfile entry appears after clicking 3D. You had already been in 3D on this page load. Reload the page, confirm it opens in 2D mode with the Network tab still open, and click 3D again.

• The entry appears but the response is empty. Make sure you are logged in to DroneDeploy in this browser and on a dronedeploy.com page.

• The saved file will not open in Nira. Check that it was saved as plain text (not rich text) and that the content starts with { or [.

• The Network tab looks different from these steps. Browser menus change between versions. Any option that copies or saves the response body works; the goal is simply the response text in a file.

• Nothing matches camfile at all. DroneDeploy has probably changed their site. Contact Nira support and we will update this guide.