A Flexible, Generic Photogrammetric Approach to Zoom Lens Calibration

Abstract

Abstract:Compared with prime lenses, zoom lenses have inherent advantages in terms of operational flexibility. Zoom lens camera systems have therefore been extensively adopted in computer vision where precise measurement is not the primary objective. However, the variation of intrinsic camera parameters with respect to zoom lens settings poses a series of calibration challenges that have inhibited widespread use in close-range photogrammetry. A flexible zoom lens calibration methodology is therefore proposed in this study, developed with the aim of simplifying the calibration process and promoting practical photogrammetric application. A zoom-dependent camera model that incorporates empirical zoom-related intrinsic parameters into the collinearity condition equations is developed. Coefficients of intrinsic parameters are solved in a single adjustment based on this zoom lens camera model. To validate the approach, experiments on both optical-and digital-zoom lens cameras were conducted using a planar board with evenly distributed circular targets. Zoom lens calibration was performed with images taken at four different zoom settings spread throughout the zoom range of a lens. Photogrammetric accuracies achieved through both mono-focal and multi-focal triangulations were evaluated after calibration. The relative accuracies for mono-focal triangulations ranged from 1: 6300 to 1: 18,400 for the two cameras studied, whereas the multi-focal triangulation accuracies ranged from 1: 11,300 to 1: 16,200. In order to demonstrate the applicability of the approach, calibrated zoom lens imagery was used to render a laser-scanned point cloud of a building façade. Considered alongside experimental results, the successful application demonstrates the feasibility of the proposed calibration method, thereby facilitating the adoption of zoom lens cameras in close range photogrammetry for a wide range of scientific and practical applications.

Distortion correction method of a zoom lens based on the vanishing point geometric constraint

“…In recent years, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence, more and more researchers are engaged in this field [1,2]. Since machine vision plays an important role in artificial intelligence, the zoom lens are widely used in aerial photography, tracking and measurement [3,4]. During the manufacturing process of the camera optical imaging system, factors like design, adjustment and environmental control can cause nonlinear distortion in the image imaging process and the distortion will have a great impact on the geometric position accuracy of the imaging.…”