New SKP Importer won't import 'Match Photo' scenes from Sketchup as cameras

[ROM_RRR]

Please fix it ASAP:

New SKP Importer won't import 'Match Photo' scenes as cameras, while the old importer does it just fine!

It would be extremely helpful  if Max 2025 would receive this fix as well.

Thanks

[RobH2]

Have you reported it officially using the links Hagen provides in the top of the main 3ds Max Forum? This is primarily a user-to-user forum and it's not reliable to expect the devs to see our posts here. Reporting it here is like walking in to the woods and yelling, "don't grow here anymore." Notning will happen if you don't report it. 

I'm just a user like you but I'll try to help in the meantime if I can. Can you give more details? What task did you perform in Sketchup and what version?

This could be a code issue on Sketchup's side. It's not the first time. They've had to release a few updates in the past to correct issues that were caused in Max. Have you posted there?

Can you provide the Max file and the specific steps to take to recreate what you are doing so I can look at it?

[RobH2]

I think it might be Sketchup 2024. I just spent an hour trying this and I can do a Photo Match, but I can't create a camera. A Google search said enable "Advanced Camera Tools" and I don't have that in my licensed version of Sketchup 2024. I can't create a camera so when I import the SKP into Max, there is no camera to import. I'm not sure it's a Max importer issue, it may be that Sketchup has changed. 

I have SketchupPro 20.0.594

[ROM_RRR]

@RobH2firstly, thanks for reply. I'll try to contact support via Hagen links, no problem.

Actually, maybe by mistake they were extremely helpful  (although it took more than a year) after I initially posted *here*:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/3ds-max-forum/the-new-skp-importer-is-disaster/m-p/11558644

I'm pretty sure that this is the new skp importer causes problems, not Sketchup. it was discussed here in the past, I simply skipped it:

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/3ds-max-forum/3dsmax-2024-legacy-sketchup-importer/m-p/12093969

Photo matching has nothing common with advanced camera tools, watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJuLDppNfto

BTW this is the best photo matching utility out there - better than max, syntheyes, or fspy - highly recommend!

P.S. meanwhile I found a workaround (apart from the old skp importer) - import cameras only via collada,

but again it's not OK that they loose features introducing new versions

[RobH2]

Lot’s of really good info and links there. yes, I’ll go read and educate myself more. I do a lot of Perspective Matching so this is something I need to stay on top of. I’ll check out the info you supplied and report back. 

Thank you ROM_RRR

[ROM_RRR]

@RobH2  Some tips: inside SU photo matching utility, pay attention to the scaling while dragging along axes, ability to move horizon line and vanishing points. sometimes before the matching its important to temporally set the model axes close to the point of interest.

In short we all know still matching could be a real PITA, but it works wonderfully inside SU.

[Diffus3d]

It is good @ROM_RRR , agreed.  

[RobH2]

@ROM_RRR 

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@ROM_RRR wrote:

Photo matching has nothing common with advanced camera tools, watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJuLDppNfto

---

 Yes, I had seen this already. What I can't figure out how to after matching is to create a camera to export to Max. That's where Advanced Camera Tools came into play. I read a post that you could take the existing viewport and then use those tools to create a camera from what you were seeing in the viewport so you could export that. I think those tools have been revamped, renamed or removed. I still can't find a way to create and export a camera from a Photo Match from SKP. I'm obviously overlooking something simple I think. 

[RobH2]

I'm no expert in Sketchup Pro 2024 but I did spend a few hours trying to sort this out. I don't know now it used to work and apparently it worked much better. But I was finally able to export a camera from SKP that had been Photo Matched. However, it was not frustration free.

First, I had to use Advanced Camera Tools. But, they are not visible by default. I had to go to the Extensions Warehouse and enable it. Once I had it, I placed a camera in the scene and did a Photo Match. I wanted to compare and match a scene I had in Max to see if the SKP camera would line up and be positioned the same as the Max camera. 

Bringing things in was a challenge. Even as both programs' units were CM, things came in the wrong size and misorineted. Once I spent time adjusting, I was able to get a fairly good alignment. But, this destroys precision. I should be able to just import/export back and forth and have things instantly drop into place. I expect if I spent time developing a proper workflow, I could achieve this, but, on initial efforts it was not a friendly process. 

So, to go back to the original post, "New SKP Importer won't import 'Match Photo' scenes as cameras", you can. But it's not fun. 

Here's what I suggest @ROM_RRR. Write up a detailed overview of how it used to work and then one of how it works (or fails to work) now. Send that off to support using the links Hagen provides in the main Max Forum. I think there is a lot of room for improvement and if it used to work seamlessly and well, it certainly does not do that now. As I often mention in the forums, and did above, this is a user-to-user forum and the best way to get the Devs attention is not here, it is to report it as a bug or just report it to support in hopes it gets put on the Defects list to be looked at. 

[ROM_RRR]

@RobH2again, you shouldn't mess with ACT - all your difficulties come from this. I have nothing to add to the things I wrote above,

Thank you