Aerial imagery gives customers the option of contracting for coverage when they choose, as opposed to going with satellites, which have set fly-over schedules, or depending on stock satellite images, which could be out of date. Aerial imagery will also retain its hold on commercial, and particularly government, accounts that require higher resolution than 1 meter. Businesses are not typically looking for images that come down to resolution in the inches, said Stringham. Most business customers, he said, are using imagery for site selection or market analysis, and simply need to get a good lay of the land. But the value add that aerial imagery provides still gives aerial an edge over satellite, he contends.
Various industries use both aerial and satellite imagery, depending on the situation.
Williams explained that for insurance companies that are primarily interested in assessing post-storm damage, satellite imagery is suitable, because it's timely, it features broad area coverage and it has a high enough resolution to see the damage. Williams can think of applications where aerial imagery would also work well in insurance, though. Users of film-based imagery, in comparison, typically contract with a service to scan their frames into a digital format. Taking processing out of the picture, said Stratman, reduces turnaround time. According to Stratman, digital imagery is ideally suited for sites with long, linear features, such as utility right of ways or corridors, and for spot targets.