PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
April 2015
273
BOOK
REVIEW
Close-Range Photogrammetry and 3D
Imaging, 2nd Edition
Thomas Luhmann, Stuart Robson, Steven Kyle
and Jan Boehm
Walter De Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston, 2014. xviii and 684 pp.
Softcover. $112.00. ISBN 978-3-11-030269-1, e-ISBN 978-3-11-
030278-3. 619 figures and 21 tables.
Reviewed by:
Stewart Walker, MA, MScE, PhD,
MBA, FBCartS, FRGS, FRICS, FRSPSoc, CP, BAE
Systems, San Diego, California, USA.
After having found the first edition a surprisingly easy read, not
only accessible but packed with interest, your reviewer eagerly
anticipated the arrival of this substantial textbook. The first
intimation of change is in the list of authors: owing to the sad
passing of Ian Harley in 2011, the team has been replenished
by Jan Boehm, from the faculty of University College London,
a powerhouse of close-range photogrammetry since before
the Thompson years, when the discipline was grappling with
issues such as the suitability of analog stereoplotters for close-
range work and the transition from glass plates to film!
The first edition was published in 2006, an extended version
of the German text
Nahbereichphotogrammetrie
, and was well
received, leading to the authors being awarded the ISPRS
Karl Kraus Medal in 2010. This new edition was required to
cover huge advances in computer and imaging technologies –
hence the
and 3D Imaging
in the title. The revision has been
conscientious and thorough, with a wealth of new material
in every chapter – this is no minor revision and prospective
purchasers should not vacillate just because they already own
the first edition.
After a short introduction chapter, the heart of the 684 page
book consists of six long chapters. The sequence of topics treated
follows that adopted in the first edition. Chapter 2 covers the
underlying mathematics and does well to limit the treatment to
methods that will be useful elsewhere in the book. With minor
changes in the order, it covers the same topics as the first edition
– coordinate systems, coordinate transformations, geometric
elements and adjustment techniques. Chapter 3, on imaging
technology, the longest in the book, includes both analog and
digital systems, with a detailed description of systematic
image errors. The chapter begins with the physics of image
formation and proceeds through photogrammetric imaging
concepts, geometry of the camera as a measuring device, system
components, imaging systems, targeting and illumination, and
3D cameras and range systems. Some would quibble with this
order, where physical principles and aberrations are followed by
systematic errors, after which the imaging systems themselves
are described, but it worked well for your reviewer and there is
considerably more here than in the first edition.
Chapter 4 covers “Analytical Methods” with sections of
roughly equally length on processing single and stereo images
followed by a longer section on processing multiple images and
bundle adjustment. The chapter ends with shorter sections on
panoramic and multi-media photogrammetry.
The 110 pages on digital image processing that comprise
chapter 5 are a pleasant read as the coverage is broad and
the mathematics not too daunting. The concepts are clearly
described and well illustrated. Appropriate space is devoted
to least squares matching. While some readers will desire
more detail in particular areas, the authors have done well
to summarize considerable material, much of it in vibrant
research fields, in a compelling way.
The rapid coverage in chapter 6 of measuring tasks and
systems reflects the authors’ experience, the chapter proceeds
through single-camera, stereoscopic and multi-image systems
to passive surface-measuring systems. Two final sections
in the chapter are a glimpse of two areas of innovation that
command worldwide attention in the geospatial community,
mobile mapping systems and unmanned aircraft systems, too
young for more than scant coverage in the first edition. It is
fluent and well illustrated - readers will expect much more in
the third edition!
Chapter 7, “Measurement Design and Quality” is brimming
with authoritative advice on project planning and camera
calibration. The authors’ almost unequalled experience is
brought to bear here as they examine project planning, quality
measures and performance testing, and strategies for camera
calibration. New material relative to the first edition includes
a sub-section on Monte Carlo simulation and importantly an
