XIII Congress of the 
International Society for Photogrammetry 
Helsinki, 1976 
Commission V 
Working Group V/2 
Invited Paper 
M. C. VAN WiJk AND H. ZIEMANN 
National Research Council of Canada 
Ottawa KIA OR6, Canada 
The Use of Non-Metric Cameras 
in Monitoring High Speed 
Processes 
Formulations for interior and exterior orientation of 
non-metric cameras, and their application to high speed 
processes, are presented. 
INTRODUCTION 
Dy THE FACT that, in recent years, a wide selection of close-range photo- 
grammetric cameras has become available, it is expected that ordinary, non-metric, 
cameras will continue to be used in photogrammetric applications. These cameras generally 
offer a wide focusing range, often combined with a choice of different types of lenses. Some of 
them, including movie cameras, have electrical film transport and exposure control to provide 
a rapid sequence of exposures and remotely controlled operation. 
A drawback of non-metric cameras is that lens distortion generally exceeds the acceptable 
limits and that, as the result of dimensional instabilities and improper film flattening at the 
time of exposure, the interior orientation is poorly defined. As a result, it is usually not 
possible to calibrate these cameras with sufficient precision. 
These problems can, to a certain degree, be overcome by providing control points from 
which the elements of interior and exterior orientation can be determined for each individual 
photograph, and image coordinates can be corrected for effects of lack of film flatness, lens 
distortion, etc. This, of course, requires special precautions and time consuming preparations 
prior to the photography. It would therefore not be practical to use non-metric cameras in 
routine, close-range applications such as architectural photogrammetry and the recording of 
traffic accidents in which many different sites and camera stations are involved. There are, 
however, examples, particularly in research and development work, where the above control 
points can be provided. Since it is not always possible to purchase or to build special 
photogrammetric cameras, non-metric, “off-the-shelf” cameras often are used in this type of 
application. 
Other applications extract information from photographs taken with non-metric cameras for 
other purposes. In these cases it is usually not possible to establish control points prior to 
photography, so that the necessary information on interior and exterior orientation has to be 
collected after the photographs have been taken. 
This paper reviews various projects concerned with monitoring high speed processes, 
carried out by the National Research Council of Canada, in which non-metric cameras were 
used. The operations needed to provide the control data for establishing the elements of 
interior orientation during the experiment are described, and the accuracy of the photogram- 
metrically compiled information is evaluated. 
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING AND REMOTE SENSING, 91 
Vol. 42, No. 1, January 1976, pp. 91-102.