Abstract: Portable devices for capturing images of a surface of a building material and associated methods are disclosed. In some embodiments, the portable device includes (i) a housing, (ii) an image sensor positioned in the housing and configured to capture images of the surface at multiple time points when the housing is moved along a trajectory on the surface; (iii) a lighting component configured to illuminate the surface; (iv) an encoder configured to measure a distance travelled by the housing; and (v) a controller communicably coupled to the image sensor and the encoder. The controller instructs the image sensor to capture the images of the surface at least partially based on the measured distance travelled by the housing.