GSD & Resolution Calculator
Work out Ground Sample Distance (cm per pixel) for any drone and flight altitude — or solve in reverse for the altitude needed to hit a specific GSD target.
UK regulatory ceiling for most Open Category flights is 120 m AGL.
Ground sample distance
—
—
- Ground footprint
- —
- Detectable feature
- —
- Best suited for
- —
About Ground Sample Distance
GSD is the real-world distance represented by one pixel in your aerial photo. A 2 cm/px dataset means every pixel covers a 2×2 cm patch of ground — so features smaller than that can't be reliably measured or identified.
The formula: GSD (cm/px) = (sensor width × altitude × 100) / (focal length × image width)
Camera specifications for the drone presets are hand-sourced from manufacturer datasheets. Drone product imagery from DroneCompare, licensed under CC-BY-4.0. For custom cameras, enter the values from your manufacturer spec sheet.