diff --git a/src/Viewer.js b/src/Viewer.js
index 79a1f462..a8b04e61 100644
--- a/src/Viewer.js
+++ b/src/Viewer.js
@@ -209,6 +209,8 @@ export class Viewer {
         const maxPrecision = this.integerBasedSort ? 20 : 24;
         this.splatSortDistanceMapPrecision = clamp(this.splatSortDistanceMapPrecision, 10, maxPrecision);
 
+        this.isUpdatedForDropInMode = false;
+
         this.onSplatMeshChangedCallback = null;
         this.createSplatMesh();
 
@@ -1623,7 +1625,7 @@ export class Viewer {
     }();
 
     update(renderer, camera) {
-        if (this.dropInMode) this.updateForDropInMode(renderer, camera);
+        if (this.dropInMode && !this.isUpdatedForDropInMode) this.updateForDropInMode(renderer, camera);
 
         if (!this.initialized || !this.splatRenderReady || this.isDisposingOrDisposed()) return;
 
@@ -1649,6 +1651,7 @@ export class Viewer {
         this.camera = camera;
         if (this.controls) this.controls.object = camera;
         this.init();
+        this.isUpdatedForDropInMode = true;
     }
 
     updateFPS = function() {
diff --git a/src/splatmesh/SplatMesh.js b/src/splatmesh/SplatMesh.js
index 1170f7d4..99a8e9ef 100644
--- a/src/splatmesh/SplatMesh.js
+++ b/src/splatmesh/SplatMesh.js
@@ -233,7 +233,7 @@ export class SplatMesh extends THREE.Mesh {
             this.disposeSplatTree();
             // TODO: expose SplatTree constructor parameters (maximumDepth and maxCentersPerNode) so that they can
             // be configured on a per-scene basis
-            this.baseSplatTree = new SplatTree(8, 1000);
+            this.baseSplatTree = new SplatTree(12, 1000);
             const buildStartTime = performance.now();
             const splatColor = new THREE.Vector4();
             this.baseSplatTree.processSplatMesh(this, (splatIndex) => {