The camera model

In this work the perspective camera model is used. This corresponds to an ideal pinhole camera. The geometric process for image formation in a pinhole camera has been nicely illustrated by Dürer (see Figure 3.1). The process is completely determined by choosing a perspective projection center and a retinal plane. The projection of a scene point is then obtained as the intersection of a line passing through this point and the center of projection ${\tt C}$ with the retinal plane ${\cal R}$.

Figure 3.1: Man Drawing a Lute (The Draughtsman of the Lute), woodcut 1525, Albrecht Dürer.

Most cameras are described relatively well by this model. In some cases additional effects (e.g. radial distortion) have to be taken into account (see Section 3.2.5).