Key points are not available for this paper at this time.
Abstract The conventional treatment of lens theory in photogrammetric textbooks is based upon over‐simplified notions of how an objective functions. Modifications to take account of distortion inevitably lead to the introduction of an arbitrary parameter, the calibrated principal distance, which prevents the adoption of universal specifications for cameras and leads to confusion about the meaning of lens distortion. This paper sets out a treatment that confines itself to the geometrical characteristics of the picture and, with one minor exception (Appendix 3), avoids discussion of the mechanism of image formation. This enables a logical theory to be built up, independent of arbitrary parameters and the design of particular lenses, and, furthermore, allows constructional defects and errors of observation in calibration to be included naturally. The paper falls into two parts, camera calibration and the problem of internal orientation, the successful solution of which is the ultimate object of calibration. The paper ends with a general treatment of transformation printers.
Edward H. Thompson (1957) studied this question.