This page uses the terms native resolution and achieved resolution
Native resolution seems to be simply the result of the raw calculation of how much area on the ground is captured per pixel.
Achieved resolution seems to be the resolution achieved after stitching images together to form the orthomosaic. (Please correct anything that is wrong up to this point!)
So precisely, what is the relation between the two types of resolution? For example, is achieved resolution always (or even typically) higher or lower than native resolution?
In this article, the terms native resolution and achieved resolution are referring to the exact same thing. We use the term native resolution to refer to the higher resolution achieved by the photogrammetric stitcher.
You can export lower than the native resolution, and we downsample the results.
Example: I fly a mission and achieve a native resolution of 1.2 cm/px. My client wants a small version of the map to embed in a slide so I export the jpg at 20 cm/px which doesn’t look as sharp as the native resolution, but is much easier to send because the file size is much smaller.
With all due respect, the terminology choice seems a little unfortunate. To my mind, Native seems like it should indicate images that are entirely pre-processing; **Achieved ** seems like it should indicate post-processing (i.e. post-stitching).
This is pure conjecture on my part, but further, achieved resolution seems like it could vary within a map, based on how it is processed (e.g. terrain or structures processing). Some areas could stitch better, and have better resolution.
In any case, if this is a instance of perfect synonymy, to avoid confusion, it would be good to have this perfectly clear in the original article that I cited.
From my original question, I am still wondering if:
"For example, is achieved resolution always (or even typically) higher or lower than native resolution?
A question arising from this discussion, since Native = Achieved, do we refer to the resolution of the original photo as original resolution, or is there another more appropriate term?
You’re quite welcome. Good feedback regarding how this may be confusing terminology.
To answer the dangling question of whether the resolution your map achieves is higher or lower than that of your original photos: It is typical that the achieved resolution is slightly lower than the original resolution of the source images.
I refer to the original resolution of the source images to be clear and specific.