Optical phase measurement depends on the phase reconstruction from fringe patterns to a great extent. Phase reconstruction means to eliminate the discontinuity of phase extracted from fringe patterns. Most phase-reconstructing (PR) algorithms might share a common research interest, namely, to construct an excellent phase-evaluating mechanism——quality map. Hence two kinds of experimental fringe patterns are studied for 3D measurement. It’s found that the gradient variance of log modulation amplitude (GVLMA) could be chosen as a phase indicator. Its reliability could be compared to the traditional phase derivative variance (PDV) quality map. Generally, it’s advised to choose the GVLMA as a guide or weight of PR. For further application, a new composite quality map(log modulation amplitude and phase derivative variance (LMAPDV) has been proposed. It combines the GVLMA and PDV and optimizes the parameter of combination. The LMAPDV could identify the minute defect or badness of phase data which could hardly be recognized by the PDV. Moreover, its identified outlines of poor pixels are much clearer than those of PDV and GVLMA. Then the LMAPDV is introduced into the PR algorithm. The calculated result proves that its solution enjoys higher consistency than that of GVLMA.