Is SfM photogrammetry really the tool we've waited 30 years for?

SFM photogrammetry has evolved rapidly in the last few years, to the point where it is beginning to surpass terrestrial laser scanning for capturing 3-D models of natural surfaces. The ability to generate high resolution digital terrain models using just a consumer grade digital camera, or even a smart phone, is an important advance. The fact that this can be achieved at a range of scales and resolutions and from a variety of platforms, whilst using software which is freely available, appears almost incredible.