DEFINITION

Photogrammetry is the technique of measuring objects from photogrammes. It is also defined as the first
remote sensing technology ever developed, in which geometric properties about objects are determined
from photographic images. Furthermore, it's the process of preparing accurate maps or obtaining precise
measurements from photographs.

COMPONENT PARTS OF CAMERA

 Camera Body: A one-piece casting that houses the drive mechanism for the shutter assembly and the
magazine.
 Magazine: A light-tight container that holds the supply of exposed and unexposed film.
 Lens Cone Assembly: Contains the lens, filter, diaphragm, nodal points, and the shutter.
 Shutter: Controls the length of time that light is permitted to pass through the lens.
 Diaphragm: Controls the amount of light striking the emulsion of the film, which is positioned in the
focal plane.
 Filter: Consists of colored glass placed in front of the camera lens to prevent stray and undesirable light
from entering.

fiducial marks which are mounted on the frame of metric cameras and are used to define the image coordinate
system and locate the principal point of the photograph.

TYPES OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY

Based on lens setting:

 Far Range: Camera distance is set to indefinite values.

 Close Range: Camera distance is set to finite values.

Based on object class:

 Aerial Photogrammetry.
 Terrestrial Photogrammetry.

HISTORY OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY

The history of photogrammetry includes several key milestones:

 1851: Invention of the Daguerrotype by Dauerre and Niepce (developed by Louis Daguerre) – an early
type of photograph. Aime Laussedat developed the first photogrammetical devices and methods and is
considered the Father of photogrammetry.
 1858: Meydenbauer developed photogrammetrical techniques for the documentation of buildings.
 1866: Ernst Mach published the idea to use the stereoscope to estimate volumetric measures.
 1885: The ancient ruins of Persepolis were the first archeological object recorded photogrammetrically.
The Royal Prussian Photogrammetric Institute was established by Meydenbauer, the first
photogrammetric institute.
 1889: C. Koppe published the first manual of photogrammetry.
 1896: Eduard Gaston and Daniel Deville presented the first stereoscopical instrument for vectorized
mapping.
 1897/1898: Theodor Scheimpflug invented the double projection.
 1901: Pulfrich invented the Stereocomparator – a stereoscope with adjustable scales for determining
distances and dimensions from stereoscopic photographs.
  1903: Theodor Scheimplug invented the Perspectograph – an instrument for optical rectification to
obtain and transfer points and outlines of objects in their proper geometrical relations.
 1910: The ISP (International Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) was founded by E.
Dolezal in Austria.
 1911: Theodor Scheimpflug found a way to create rectified photographs and was the first to succeed
in applying photogrammetrical principles to aerial photographs, making him the Father of Aerial
Photogrammetry.
 1970s: Development of Analytical Plotters and their use in photogrammetry, including
aerotriangulation, bundle-adjustment, and the use of amateur cameras.
 1980s: Birth of Digital Photogrammetry.

PARTS OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY

key aspects or techniques within photogrammetry:

 Data Acquisition: Obtaining photogrammes (photographic images). This involves choosing the
appropriate camera (metric, stereometric, amateur) and flight parameters for aerial photography
(altitude, overlap, etc.).
 Measurement: Extracting geometric information from the photographs, such as coordinates, distances,
and angles. Instruments like stereocomparators are used for precise measurements.
 Processing: Using various techniques to create maps, digital terrain models, rectified photographs, and
other outputs. This includes methods like bundle adjustment, optical rectification, numerical
rectification, and digital rectification to create orthophotos.
 Interpretation: Recognizing and identifying objects on the photograph and judging their significance
(Interpretative Photogrammetry).

AREAS OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY

two main areas of photogrammetry:

 Metric Photogrammetry: Refers to the measurements made on aerial photographs to obtain

quantitative data on the earth’s surface.
 Interpretative Photogrammetry: Focuses on recognizing and identifying objects on the
photograph, as well as judging their significance.

Terrestrial photogrammetry also has specific applications, including supervising buildings, documenting their
current state, deformations, and damages, as well as in plastic surgery and documentation of traffic accidents
and crime scenes.

CLASSIFICATION OF PHOTOGRAMMETRY

Photographs used in photogrammetry can be classified based on the platform from which they are taken and the
camera orientation.

 Terrestrial Photographs: Taken with ground-based cameras from known positions, with the camera
axis horizontal or nearly so.
 Aerial Photographs: Taken by a precision camera mounted in an airplane, balloon, or spacecraft flying
over an area. These can be further classified as:
o Vertical Photographs: The optical axis is pointing vertically downwards or perpendicular to the
earth’s mean surface.
 o Oblique Photographs: The camera lens axis points at an angle to the ground. If the horizon is
included, it's a HIGH OBLIQUE; if not, it's a LOW OBLIQUE.
 Extraterrestrial Photographs: Result of space exploration, taken from spacecraft, satellites, the moon,
or near planets, or even with a camera fixed on Earth looking at celestial bodies.
 Composite Photographs: Made by joining several photographs taken at a single camera station, usually
by a multi-lens camera. Examples include:
o Dual Strip Photographs (Twinned): Two cameras mounted on each side of the aircraft with
axes at right angles to the flight direction.
o Triple Strip Photographs: Three cameras employed, one vertical and two tilted as in dual
photography.
o Trimetrogon photographs: A system with three wide-angle cameras exposed simultaneously:
one vertical and two oblique.

SOLVING OF PHOTOGRAMMETRIC PARAMETERS

 Scale of Photograph (Photoscale):

o The scale of a photograph is the ratio of a distance on the photograph to the corresponding distance on the
ground. For a vertical photograph over flat terrain, the scale (S) is given by S = f / (H - h), where 'f' is the focal
length of the camera, 'H' is the flying height above a datum, and 'h' is the elevation of the ground above the
same datum. If 'H' is the flying height above the average ground, then S ≈ f / H.
o Sample Problem 2: Flying height above average ground (H) = 2575 m, focal length (f) = 165 mm = 0.165 m.
Scale (S) = f / H = 0.165 m / 2575 m = 1 / 15606.06 (approximately).
o Seatwork Problem 1: A section line of 5280 feet measures 9.84 cm (0.3228 feet) on the photo. Photo scale =
photo distance / ground distance = 0.3228 feet / 5280 feet = 1 / 16357 (approximately).

 Map Scale:
o Map scale is the ratio of a distance on the map to the corresponding distance on the ground. It is often
expressed as a representative fraction (e.g., 1:50000) or as an equivalent scale (e.g., 1 inch = 5000 feet).
o Sample Problem 1: Equivalent scale of 1 inch = 5000 feet. To find the scale ratio, convert feet to inches: 5000
feet * 12 inches/foot = 60000 inches. So, the scale ratio is 1:60000.
o Sample Problem 2: A 6 km stretch of road on a 1:50000 scale map will appear as (6 km * 1000 m/km * 100
cm/m) / 50000 = 12 cm.

 Angular Field of View (α):

o The formula for the angular field of view (α) is α = 2 * arctan(d / 2f), where 'd' is the diagonal of the square
format photograph and 'f' is the focal length of the camera. The diagonal of a square format of side 's' is d = s *
√2.
o Sample Problem 1: Square format = 230 mm, focal length (f) = 150 mm. Diagonal (d) = 230 * √2 ≈ 325.27
mm. α = 2 * arctan(325.27 / (2 * 150)) = 2 * arctan(1.084) ≈ 2 * 47.35° ≈ 94.7° (closest to A. 94.63°).
o Sample Problem 2: Square format = 19 cm = 190 mm, focal length (f) = 90 mm. Diagonal (d) = 190 * √2 ≈
268.7 mm. α = 2 * arctan(268.7 / (2 * 90)) = 2 * arctan(1.493) ≈ 2 * 56.23° ≈ 112.46°.

 End Lap (%) & Side Lap (%):

o End Lap: The percentage of overlap between consecutive photographs along a flight line. It is calculated as
((Base - Distance between exposures) / Base) * 100% or ((Ground length covered by one photo - Ground
distance between photo centers) / Ground length covered by one photo) * 100%. Where Base is the
ground distance covered by one photograph.
o Side Lap: The percentage of overlap between adjacent parallel flight lines.
o Sample Problem 2: Flying height (H) = 2575 m, focal length (f) = 165 mm, format size = 210 mm x 210 mm,
distance between exposures = 1305 m, spacing between flight strips = 1960 m.
 Ground coverage of one photo = (210 mm / 165 mm) * 2575 m = 3278.79 m.
 End Lap (%) = ((3278.79 m - 1305 m) / 3278.79 m) * 100% ≈ 60.2%.
 Side Lap (%) = ((Ground width of one photo - Spacing between flight strips) / Ground width of one
photo) * 100% = ((3278.79 m - 1960 m) / 3278.79 m) * 100% ≈ 40.2%.
 No. of Exposure:
o The number of exposures needed to cover an area depends on the area size, photo scale, format size, end lap,
and side lap. Formulas are used to calculate the number of photos per flight line and the number of flight lines.
o Sample Problem 4: Area = 8 km x 4 km, focal length = 150 mm, format = 225 mm x 225 mm, Scale =
1:10000, end lap = 60%, side lap = 30%.
 Ground coverage of one photo = (225 mm / 150 mm) * 10000 mm = 15000 m = 1.5 km.
 Linear advance = 1.5 km * (1 - 0.60) = 0.6 km.
 Number of photos along the 8 km length = (8 km / 0.6 km) + buffer = 13.33 + buffer. Considering 4
extra photos per line, the calculation would be more complex depending on the exact layout.
o TEST – 1ST Seatwork: Area = 12 km x 5.8 km, focal length = 17 cm, format = 23 cm, Scale = 1:15000.
Determining the exact number of exposures and flight lines requires more detailed calculations involving
ground coverage and overlaps.

 No. of Flight Line:

o The number of flight lines depends on the width of the area to be covered, the ground width covered by each
photograph, and the side lap.
o From Sample Problem 4 with a 30% side lap, the effective width covered by one photo strip = 1.5 km * (1 -
0.30) = 1.05 km. Number of flight lines = (4 km / 1.05 km) ≈ 3.8, so 4 flight lines would likely be needed. The
problem statement assumes 3 flight lines.

 No. of Photos:
o This is the total number of photographs needed for the project, calculated by multiplying the number of photos
per flight line by the number of flight lines, including any extra photos for coverage beyond the project
boundaries.

 Relief Displacement (dr):

o Relief displacement is the apparent shift in the position of an object in a photograph due to its height above or
below a reference datum. For a vertical photograph, the relief displacement (dr) is radial from the principal
point and is given by the formula: dr = (r * h) / (H - h), where 'r' is the radial distance from the principal point
to the image of the top of the object, 'h' is the height of the object above the datum, and 'H' is the flying height
above the same datum. If 'h' is much smaller than 'H', it can be approximated as dr = (r * h) / H.
o Sample Problem: Altitude of observation plane (H) = 2840 m, distance from principal point (r) = 8 cm = 0.08
m, elevation of the top of the tower (h) = 130 m. dr = (0.08 m * 130 m) / (2840 m - 130 m) = 10.4 / 2710 ≈
0.00384 m = 3.84 mm.
o QUIZ: Height of observation plane above ground (H) = 1200 m, relief displacement (dr) = 4.54 mm = 0.00454
m, distance from principal point (r) = 54.60 mm = 0.0546 m. Height of the tower (h) = (dr * H) / r = (0.00454
m * 1200 m) / 0.0546 m ≈ 100 m.

 Velocity (v):
o Velocity is the speed of the aircraft during photography.
o Sample Problem 3: Speed = 450 km per hour. This needs to be converted to appropriate units (e.g., m/s) if
used in other calculations. 450 km/hour = 450 * 1000 m / 3600 s = 125 m/s.
o Sample Problem 5: Speed = 160 kph = 160 * 1000 m / 3600 s ≈ 44.44 m/s.

 Image motion (s):

o Image motion is the displacement of a point on the photograph during the exposure time due to the aircraft's
motion. It is given by s = v * t, where 'v' is the velocity of the aircraft and 't' is the shutter speed. Acceptable
image motion is usually a small value (e.g., 0.05 mm).
o Sample Problem 3: Speed (v) = 125 m/s, shutter speed (t) = 1/125th of a second, acceptable image motion (s)
= 0.05 mm = 0.00005 m. To assure acceptable image motion, the flying altitude needs to be determined. The
ground speed is related to the image motion and focal length by v / H = s / (f * t), so H = (v * f * t) / s = (125
m/s * 0.1524 m * (1/125 s)) / 0.00005 m = 1524 / 0.00005 = 30480 m. This seems unusually high, indicating a
potential misunderstanding or error in applying the formula or units. Let's re-evaluate using consistent units: v
= 125 m/s, t = 1/125 s, f = 152.4 mm = 0.1524 m, s = 0.05 mm = 0.00005 m. The angular velocity is v/H, and
the angular image motion is s/f. So, v/H ≤ s/(ft) => H ≥ (vf*t)/s = (125 * 0.1524 * (1/125)) / 0.00005 =
0.1524 / 0.00005 = 3048 m. The provided text asks for flying altitude above the ground, so H = 3048 m.
 C-factor:
o The C-factor is a measure of the vertical accuracy that can be achieved in photogrammetric mapping with a
given photo scale. It relates the contour interval (CI) to the photo scale (S): CI = H / C, where 'H' is the flying
height and 'C' is the C-factor, or CI = (1/S) * (H - h) / C or approximately CI = (H/f) * (f/S) / C = (1/S_photo)
* H / C. A higher C-factor indicates higher potential accuracy.
o Seatwork Problem 2: C-factor = 1400, photo scale (S) = 1/26250, focal length (f) = 16 cm = 0.16 m. We need
to determine the contour interval (CI). Using the relationship CI = Flying Height / C. We know S = f / H, so H
= f / S = 0.16 m / (1/26250) = 4200 m. Therefore, CI = 4200 m / 1400 = 3 m.

 Tilt Displacement:
o Tilt displacement is the shift in the position of an object in a photograph caused by the camera axis not being
perfectly vertical at the time of exposure.