It is often the best means for mapping such characteristics as vegetation, land use, wetlands, and other visually discernible surface phenomenon. It is also becoming more common for digital images to be used cartographically as map bases, offering greater detail and visual content at a lower cost than detailed vector bases. These and an assortment of other image processing software products allow for image enhancement, format translation, and geometric manipulations.
Final products can be digital imagery at any resolution or high quality plots on paper or film.