Prepare a clear existing-conditions view for a proposal or briefing. Keep georeferencing, measurements, and reality data in Bentley.
Page media shows general RENDERCAD examples, not ContextCapture footage or a Bentley integration.
Bentley renamed ContextCapture to iTwin Capture Modeler in 2023 and introduced iTwin Capture Modeler Flex with iTwin Capture Engine or cloud processing in 2026. Legacy Modeler and Center remain supported through May 4, 2027. RENDERCAD starts from a prepared image from either project track.
A processed reality model can make existing conditions easier to discuss before a design proposal takes over the conversation. One clear view may help an owner, planner, engineer, contractor, or public audience understand a bridge approach, rail corridor, industrial site, utility area, facade, terrain feature, or active construction zone.
Choose a view that answers one location question. A high oblique angle can explain corridor alignment or site access. A lower angle can show how a structure meets surrounding ground. Keep recognizable roads, buildings, vegetation, or terrain in frame when they help people orient themselves.
Use the captured view to explore a clearer presentation treatment: restrained lighting, stronger separation, simplified context, or a briefing-board composition. RENDERCAD works from that one raster image. It does not ingest or reconstruct a photogrammetry image set, lidar point cloud, aerotriangulation data, ground control, or a native reality model.
Before sharing a result, compare it with the approved source view. Check the asset outline, terrain breaks, approaches, neighboring structures, and visible condition cues. Keep measurements, coordinates, quality reports, survey records, and engineering decisions in the reality-modeling and project workflow.
Start by identifying the project track. Existing ContextCapture or legacy Modeler projects must stay in their compatible legacy application; Bentley says iTwin Capture Modeler Flex cannot open or import them. New work begins in Flex, where imagery or lidar can be organized, georeferenced, reviewed, and prepared for processing.
For a new project, review available flight metadata and camera calibration, select the appropriate spatial reference, and add and verify ground control when it was acquired. Run the task locally with iTwin Capture Engine or use iTwin Capture Cloud Services, then inspect alignment and quality results inside the Bentley workflow before choosing a presentation view.
Select one processed output and one communication goal. A textured mesh suits an oblique site view; a true orthomosaic explains plan context; a point-cloud view can communicate point distribution and captured 3D structure; a Gaussian splat can represent visually complex assets. Pick the output that already fits the technical task.
Frame a clean viewport with enough context for location and scale. Hide measurement graphics, clipping tools, selections, and interface panels. Check thin structures, vegetation edges, holes, water, and capture artifacts at display size. Save a sharp PNG or JPEG, then check the presentation image against the processed source.
The clip shown here starts with an Onshape model, not Bentley reality data. Generated movement cannot inspect georeferencing, capture quality, measurements, or unseen site conditions.
Use a mask for visible ground, facade, vegetation, water, or background pixels. It cannot select mesh triangles, point classes, source photographs, control points, or measured features.
Compare terrain breaks, structure outlines, approaches, openings, vegetation edges, and neighboring assets against the verified source. Set aside results that change the site relationship being explained.
| Feature | RENDERCAD | iTwin Capture Modeler Flex 2026.0.3 and iTwin Capture Engine |
|---|---|---|
| Engine | Generative image models | Photogrammetry and lidar processing through local iTwin Capture Engine or iTwin Capture Cloud Services |
| Output | Presentation images and optional generated video | Reality meshes, Gaussian splats, orthomosaics, digital surface models, point clouds, and interoperable reality-data formats |
| Resolution | HD / 4K | Detail and precision depend on source quality, overlap, lidar density, calibration, control, georegistration, and processing choices |
| Image Speed | About 60 seconds | Processing varies with input volume, quality, settings, hardware, output, and local or cloud execution |
| Optional motion example | Usually 2-5 minutes | Imported video can provide source frames for reality modeling; it is not a presentation image-to-video feature |
| Scene Set Up | Flat existing-conditions view and instructions | Import and organize reality data, configure alignment and processing, review quality, retouch outputs, and prepare a project view |
| Input | One submitted image | Photographs, video, lidar point clouds, flight metadata, camera calibration, ground control, and project configuration |
| Hardware | Cloud processing | iTwin Capture Modeler Flex on 64-bit Windows 11 or Windows Server 2022; local iTwin Capture Engine processing on Windows or Linux, with optional iTwin Capture Cloud Services |
| Install | Web app or capture tool | iTwin Capture Modeler Flex prepares new projects. iTwin Capture Engine processes locally; iTwin Capture Cloud Services is separate. Legacy projects remain in legacy Modeler or Center |
| Cost | From $9/mo | iTwin Capture Modeler Flex is free for project setup and editing; processing requires iTwin Capture Engine access or iTwin Capture Cloud Services |
Keep source imagery, lidar, georeferencing, quality reports, measurements, and processed outputs in Bentley. RENDERCAD receives one flat image for a separate presentation workflow.
Frame the relevant bridge approach, corridor segment, facility, facade, terrain zone, or work area with enough context for orientation. Match the view to the audience's question.
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RENDERCAD™
Inspect thin structures, surface holes, vegetation, water, and capture artifacts at final display size. Capture or save the clean viewport as a PNG or JPEG rather than uploading reality-model files.
Get StartedBentley ContextCapture naming, processing, outputs, and image limits
Yes. The name changed in 2023. Bentley's 2026 offering separates project preparation in iTwin Capture Modeler Flex from processing in iTwin Capture Engine or iTwin Capture Cloud Services. Older projects stay in Modeler or Center, which Bentley supports until May 4, 2027, because Flex cannot import them.
iTwin Capture Modeler Flex imports, organizes, edits, and prepares imagery or lidar projects. iTwin Capture Engine performs the processing that creates reality meshes and other outputs. Processing can run locally, or iTwin Capture Cloud Services can provide the cloud processing option.
Bentley lists 3D reality meshes, Gaussian splats, orthomosaics, digital surface models, and point clouds. Choose the output for the project task first. A RENDERCAD image is a separate presentation result.
No. Upload one PNG or JPEG of a prepared view. Source imagery, lidar points, mesh data, spatial reference, control points, camera information, quality reports, and measurements stay in the Bentley project.
No. Use Bentley's alignment, control, calibration, quality, and measurement tools with the underlying survey records. A generated image can shift edges, terrain, openings, vegetation, or small site features.
Use an oblique mesh view when people need depth and surrounding context, an orthomosaic for plan relationships, or another processed view that already supports the technical discussion. Keep one clear subject.
No. A mask selects visible image pixels. It does not select mesh triangles, point classes, photographs, control points, coordinates, or measured objects.
No. It may illustrate movement from a flat still, but it cannot derive or validate an actual sequence or site change without dates, hidden geometry, engineering models, or construction logic. Use it as presentation material and review any changed relationship against the source.