Ground Sampling Distance Calculator
Calculate Ground Sample Distance (GSD), image footprint, flight parameters, and overlap distances for drone mapping missions.
Flight Parameters
Input speed → Capture rate calculated
Maintains 80% forward overlap
Optimal capture rate calculated
Current Drone Specifications
Sensor Width: 17.3 mm
Sensor Height: 13 mm
Focal Length: 12.29 mm
Image Width: 5280 px
Image Height: 3956 px
Flight Duration Planning
16.5 km
Calculation Results
Ground Sample Distance (GSD)
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Expert Advice - Zoom Level Reference (45° Latitude):
ZoomTile Width~ScalePixel Res
133.46km1:13.1M13.5m
141.73km1:6.53M6.76m
15864m1:3.27M3.38m
16432m1:1.63M1.69m
17216m1:817k84.4cm
18108m1:408k42.2cm
1954m1:204k21.1cm
2027m1:102k10.5cm
2113.5m1:51k5.28cm
226.7m1:25.5k2.64cm
233.4m1:12.8k1.32cm
241.7m1:6.4k6.6mm
2585cm1:3.2k3.3mm
21.33 mm/pixel
2.133 cm/pixel • 0.840 inches/pixel
Single Image Footprint on Ground
112.6 m
Width
84.4 m
Height
Total area: 9501.5 m²
Camera Field of View (FOV)
70.3°
Horizontal FOV
55.7°
Vertical FOV
FOV = 2 × arctan(sensor dimension / (2 × focal length))
Forward Overlap Flight Parameters (80% Forward Overlap)
11.0 m/s
Speed
39.6 km/h
1.5 sec
Capture Rate
Side Overlap Flight Spacing
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Expert Advice: For flat terrain with minimal elevation changes, side overlap between 60-66% is adequate for most photogrammetry software processing requirements.
50% overlap:56.3 m
60% overlap:45.0 m
66% overlap:38.3 m
75% overlap:28.2 m
85% overlap:16.9 m
How It Works
Ground Sample Distance (GSD)
GSD represents the ground distance covered by each pixel in your image. Formula: (Sensor Width × Flight Height) / (Focal Length × Image Width)
Image Footprint
The actual ground area covered by a single image at the specified flight height. Calculated using GSD × image dimensions.
Field of View (FOV)
The angular extent of the observable world that is seen by the camera lens. Formula: FOV = 2 × arctan(sensor dimension / (2 × focal length))
Flight Planning
Choose to calculate either optimal speed (from capture rate) or optimal capture rate (from speed). Both ensure 80% forward overlap for proper mapping coverage and photogrammetry processing.