How to define lens distortion in photogrammetry

✍ Scribed by Percy H. Tham

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1952
• Weight: 281 KB
• Volume: 9
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0031-8663
• DOI: 10.1016/s0031-8663(52)80007-9

✦ Synopsis

The object of this paper is to propose a method of defining the quality of lenses from a photogrammetric point of view. For lenses for photogrammetric purposes the lens distortion curve is of little direct value. It merely classifies the lens to a certain degree. Since the influence of the lens distortion on the stereo-measurement depends on two pictures in combination, it is necessary to examine the total effect of both the distorted images in order to estimate the quality of the lens.

In view of present-day requirements for great accuracy, no lenses are to be considered as free from distortion. On the contrary, even lenses of specially high quality need a compensation of the distortion when used for large-scale mapping.

For the photogrammetrist, however, it is desirable to have a guide for judging the performance of the lens for a special purpose. With nomograms indicating the resulting horizontal and vertical parallaxes, it will be possible to obtain these systematical errors and compare them with the mean error fixed for the map plotting in question. It is proposed that these nomograms be of the type describid below.