Ordinary mapping does not demand such exquisite rendering of detail as
does trench mapping. Nor is it necessary to fly in peace-time at such
high altitudes as in war. In consequence, mapping cameras are preferably
of the short focus, wide angle type, say, 25 centimeter focus for an 18
× 24 centimeter plate. Film is to be preferred over plates because of
the greater number of exposures it is possible to make on a flight. The
shutter of the mapping camera must be extremely uniform in its rate of
travel so that the elements of the map may match in tone (Fig. 140). A
mount which permits the camera to be turned normal to the direction of
flight, such as the British turret mount (Fig. 87), is particularly
desirable if flying across the wind is necessary, as will often be the
case in mapping strips between towns or between flying fields. Devices
to indicate compass direction and altitude are called for in new and
poorly mapped territory, and may be expected to receive intensive study
in the future. The question of their utility is, however, bound up with
the whole question of the sphere of aerial photographic mapping. Up to
the present this has been almost entirely a matter of filling in details
on maps obtained by the regular surveying methods, or of making
pictorial maps for aviators. To what extent primary mapping can be done
by the airplane is yet to be determined.
[Illustration:
FIG. 140.—A strip map, showing effect of uneven focal plane shutter
action.]
At this point mention must be made of special cameras for securing
extremely wide angle views, thereby minimizing the number of flights.
The _Bagley camera_, devised by Major Bagley of the U. S. Engineers, is
an example. It has three lenses, a middle one pointing directly
downward, and one to either side at an angle of 35 degrees. The pictures
obtained with the side cameras are of course greatly distorted, and must
be rectified in a special rectifying camera. The resultant definition is
not good, but as the maps are made on a much smaller scale than the
original pictures, this is not a serious objection. It is a matter for
the future to decide whether the additional labor on the ground
necessary for the rectifying process is to be more expensive than the
extra flights which must be made with the ordinary types of cameras
covering a smaller angle.
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