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Mapping & survey

GSD Calculator

Ground sample distance and footprint from your camera and flight altitude.

Planning aid only — not certified flight-planning software or airspace clearance. Always verify results against your own aircraft's manual and check current regulations before flying. Full disclaimer.

Mode

Fill in every camera field above to calculate.

What GSD means

Ground sample distance (GSD) is the real-world size one pixel of your image represents on the ground — a smaller GSD means finer detail. It's the standard way to compare mapping resolution across different cameras, altitudes and drones.

How it works

GSD depends on your sensor width, image resolution, focal length and flight altitude — enter your camera's specs (from its manual/spec sheet) and either an altitude to get GSD, or a target GSD to get the altitude needed to hit it.

Limitations

This calculates nadir (straight-down) GSD only — oblique/angled shots and lens distortion aren't modeled. This app doesn't maintain a database of camera specs; enter your own camera's real numbers for an accurate result.

It depends on the use case — construction/survey mapping often wants 1-3 cm/px, general orthomosaics 3-5 cm/px, and broad-area surveys can use 5-10+ cm/px. Check your specific project or client requirements.

More pixels across the same sensor width does improve GSD at a given altitude, but sensor size and focal length matter just as much — a larger sensor or shorter focal length also affects the result.

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