Andy Laycock wrote:
> I was using an earlier BETA release last week and have to agree with you earlier comment that 3D
> looks better in Memory Map with the aeriel photographs insted of OS maps.
Yeah, and the light source is more controllable too. Anquet's light source seems to give you a sun
that rises due east, sets due west and passes directly above at midday (instead of the 60 degree
maximum altitude that we see in summer).
MM is easier to control with the mouse rather than the clumsy keys in Anquet, but the view is very
limited, and the resolution is terrible when you zoom in.
Anquet's 3D doesn't look so good (being a map) but is far more versatile, with far more different
viewing angles possible. At one extreme you can increase the height and point directly downward,
giving almost the same as the 2D map view, but with shading so that you can still see the 3D shape,
even though looking directly down.
At the other extreme you can reduce the height so that you see the view as though you were standing
on the ground (well slightly higher actually). If you input the grid ref of a summit (I cut and
paste them from Excel) you can then use the rotate keys to view the panorama from that summit. This
really does give a good impression of what you'd actually see (allowing for the fact that you're
looking at contour lines with text scrawled all over it rather than aerial photos).
Naturally this is really cool for finding photo viewpoints, which is what I've always wanted. I can
now wander over the virtual landscape checking out the views from various crags and bumps. When I
find a good viewpoint I can use the split screen view to mark a waypoint at the camera position, to
help me find the exact spot with my GPS. Although the lighting is very simplistic, it can at least
give me a rough idea of what the light may look like during morning or evening (the best times to
shoot photos). I can even take a "virtual photograph" by printing the result out (seems to be
roughly equivalent to a 28mm lens).
> I like the idea of being able to fly over your route though.
Yes, that's pretty cool. I've already relived a few walks using this feature, and when the camera is
at ground level it really does look very close to the real thing (allowing for it being a map of
course), so I presume I can trust it for planning new walks. Unfortunately it doesn't tell me how
boggy the ground is going to be.
Paul
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