PHOTOGRAMMETRIC CAMERA CALIBRATION 
by 
William P. Tayman 
U.S. Geological Survey 
Reston, Virginia, 22092, 
U.S.A. 
and 
Hartmut Ziemann 
National Research Council 
Ottawa, Ontario, KIA OR6 
Canada 
ABSTRACT 
Section 2 (Calibration) of the document "Recommended Procedures for Calibrating Photogrammetric 
Cameras and Related Optical Tests” is reviewed in the light of recent practical work, and suggestions 
for changes are made. These suggestions are intended as base for a further discussion. 
1. INTRODUCTION 
Commander 0.S. Reading pointed out during the sixth congress of the International Society of 
Photogrammetry held in The Hague in 1948 - which elected him to be president of the society from 1948 
to 1952 - that it was urgently necessary to standardize test procedures for photogrammetric cameras and 
to introduce an international system of classification. In the following four-year period, the 
principal activity of the society's Commission I was the preparation of a specification of methods of 
calibrating cameras and of measuring their resolution, image illumination and veiling glare, under the 
leadership of Dr. L.E. Howlett and P.D. Carman of the National Research Council of Canada, president 
and secretary, respectively, of the commission. Extensive research related to the subjects under 
specification was carried at that time at the National Research Council and elsewhere. The proposed 
specifications were discussed intensely at the seventh congress in Washington, D.C., in 1952, accepted 
in the modified form and reaffirmed by each of the following congresses but the last. 
There has been in the past and will continue in the future to be many variations in test 
procedures. Only compromise can bring about acceptance and understanding by all those engaged in 
calibration activities. The press of work and the need for speed have, in general, precluded close | 
cooperation between the various calibration laboratories. In consequence, many methods of camera 
calibration have been developed. Sometimes there is only a fine line of distinction | 
between different calibration procedures. In each instance, the method is capable of yielding the 
information required, but these methods are not all equally simple or capable of handling the same Wi 
volume of work. 
Aerial photography negatives are the foundation of photogrammetry and aerial-surveys, the | 
foundation from beginning to end; hence, their quality will always be of primary importance. It is for 
this reason, that new test methods will always be developed. In Canada and the United States, the 
emphasis has been on the photographic method of camera calibration while in Europe greater emphasis has 
been placed on visual goniometer methods. However divergent the-approaches to the problem of precise 
camera calibration, the end results are necessarily nearly the same because all are seeking the 
accurate values to be used in photogrammetry. Since early 1974, a working group of Commission I, 
chaired by one of the authors, has carried out the calibration on two front-projected reseau type pou d 
cameras. These cameras were sent to organizations that routinely perform camera calibrations. A total 
of eleven different methods were used; goniometer, collimator bank, real and artificial stellar 
calibration, and vertical and oblique aerial photography taken over test ranges. Because of the 
different methods, format area on which results were based, and diversity of reporting (Merchant 1977), 
it was impossible to unambiguously interpret or arrive at true comparisons. Hence, the working group 
has turned its attention also to standargization of the parameters describing the geometric-optical 
performance of a lens/camera system. Changes to the document now known as "Recommended Procedures for 
Calibrating Photogrammetric Cameras and Related Optical Tests" were made during the following 
congresses, however, section 2 (Calibration) has been modified only slightly since acceptance in 1960. 
We feel that certain changes to this section should be made and will therefore critically review it 
sub-section by sub-section. 
2. REVIEW OF SECTION 2 (CALIBRATION) OF THE "RECOMMENDED PROCEDURES FOR CALIBRATING PHOTOGRAMMETRIC 
CAMERAS..." 
We shall list each paragraph in its present form and discuss it afterwards, where appropriate. 
2.1 Calibration should preferably be done photographically under conditions approaching 
closely those which the camera will encounter in service except that magazine imperfections are 
excluded. The temperature should be 20°C. A visual method will be permissible if it has been 
extablished that it gives the same values as the following photographic method to within the 
required accuracy. 
89