Make a site easier to read on the map by adjusting the brightness and contrast of the high-resolution aerial imagery. You open the High-Resolution Imagery Filters panel from the map toolbar, move the Brightness and Contrast sliders until the detail you need is clear, then either save those settings for future sessions or reset the imagery back to default. The High-Resolution Imagery Filters are available on Advanced and Enterprise plans.
What the High-Resolution Imagery Filters Do
The High-Resolution Imagery Filters are two sliders, Brightness and Contrast, that change how the high-resolution aerial imagery is displayed on your screen. Brightness makes the whole image lighter or darker. Contrast increases or reduces the difference between the light and dark parts of the image, which sharpens the edges between surfaces such as a roof line, a driveway and a garden bed.
The filters are a display adjustment only. They change what the aerial imagery looks like to you on the map, they do not alter the source imagery, and they do not change any property, planning or title data shown alongside it.
Adjusting brightness and contrast is useful when the imagery is hard to read as captured. Aerial imagery flown in strong sunlight can wash out pale roofs and concrete, and imagery flown in overcast conditions or late in the day can leave shaded areas, tree canopy and southern boundaries too dark to interpret.
Turn On High-Resolution Aerial Imagery First
The High-Resolution Imagery Filters only apply to high-resolution aerial imagery, so turn that imagery on before you look for the filters.
1. Open the map controls in the bottom left corner of the map.
2. Under Map Type, select High Resolution Aerial Imagery.
The map redraws in high-resolution aerial imagery and an imagery timeline appears along the bottom of the map showing the capture date you are viewing. If the option appears locked on your account, your account admin needs to enable high-resolution aerial imagery for you.
High-resolution aerial imagery is supplied by Aerometrex through MetroMap and is roughly six times higher resolution than the best available satellite imagery. It covers metro and key regional areas of Australia, so coverage varies by location. Where high-resolution imagery has not been flown, the map falls back to standard satellite imagery, which covers all states.
Open the High-Resolution Imagery Filters
With high-resolution aerial imagery turned on:
1. Go to the map toolbar on the right side of the map.
2. Click the imagery filters icon.
The High-Resolution Imagery Filters panel opens over the map. It contains a Brightness slider, a Contrast slider, a RESET button and a SAVE SETTINGS button, with a close icon in the top right corner of the panel.
Adjust Brightness and Contrast
Inside the High-Resolution Imagery Filters panel:
1. Drag the Brightness slider left to darken the imagery or right to lighten it.
2. Drag the Contrast slider left to flatten the difference between light and dark areas or right to sharpen it.
The map updates as you drag, so you can watch the imagery change behind the panel and stop when the detail you need is clear. There is no separate apply step. You can keep the panel open and adjust both sliders as many times as you like while you pan and zoom around the site. Both sliders start in the middle by default, which is the imagery exactly as it was captured.
Save Your Filter Settings
Filter settings are not kept automatically. To keep the brightness and contrast you have set:
1. Adjust the Brightness and Contrast sliders to the settings you want.
2. Click SAVE SETTINGS in the High-Resolution Imagery Filters panel.
Your saved settings are applied to the high-resolution aerial imagery the next time you view it, so you do not need to set the sliders again each session.
Reset the Imagery Back to Default
To return the high-resolution aerial imagery to how it was captured, click RESET in the High-Resolution Imagery Filters panel. Both sliders return to the middle and the map redraws with no brightness or contrast adjustment applied.
Use RESET before you take a measurement, export an image or compare capture dates, so you are working from the imagery as flown rather than an adjusted version of it.
What the Imagery Filters Do Not Change
The High-Resolution Imagery Filters have some deliberate limits worth knowing before you rely on them:
They apply to the high-resolution aerial imagery layer only. They do not adjust standard satellite imagery, Lidar or any other map layer.
They are a visual adjustment, not image processing. The imagery Landchecker holds is unchanged, and other members on your account see the imagery at their own settings, not yours.
They cannot recover detail that was not captured. Where an area is fully shadowed or blown out in the original capture, brightening or darkening it will not reveal what is underneath. In that case, use the imagery timeline at the bottom of the map to check an earlier or later capture date of the same site.
How Adjusting Imagery Brightness and Contrast Supports Your Work
Being able to read the imagery clearly changes what you can assess from your desk. Here is how the High-Resolution Imagery Filters support common ways different professionals use Landchecker.
Real Estate Agents
Lift the brightness on a shaded or tree-covered property so you can see the roof, the driveway and the rear yard before an appraisal. Clearer imagery also makes it easier to describe a site accurately to a vendor or a buyer who has not visited it.
Property Developers
Increase contrast to pick out the edges of existing structures, hardstand, easement corridors and vegetation on a potential site. This makes it easier to judge the developable area and the constraints on it before you commission a survey.
Valuers
Adjust brightness and contrast to confirm improvements such as a pool, a shed, a carport or an extension that sits in shadow on the imagery as captured. Reset the filters before you capture imagery as evidence, so your file reflects the imagery as flown.
Legal Professionals and Conveyancers
Make fences, driveways, structures near a boundary and encroachments easier to see when you are getting early visual context on a property. Use the imagery alongside the title and plan of subdivision, not in place of them.
Architects and Town Planners
Sharpen contrast to read neighbouring built form, setbacks, roof forms and canopy cover around a site. Clearer imagery gives you a more reliable read of the existing context before you start designing to it.
Common Questions
Which plans include the High-Resolution Imagery Filters?
The High-Resolution Imagery Filters are available on Advanced and Enterprise plans.
Where do I find the imagery filters on the map?
Turn on High Resolution Aerial Imagery from the map controls in the bottom left corner, then click the imagery filters icon in the toolbar on the right side of the map. The High-Resolution Imagery Filters panel opens over the map.
Why can't I see the imagery filters?
The filters only appear when high-resolution aerial imagery is turned on. If you are viewing standard satellite imagery, or if high-resolution aerial imagery is locked on your account, the filters are not available. Where the option is locked, your account admin needs to enable high-resolution aerial imagery for you.
Do the brightness and contrast settings stay next time I log in?
Only if you click SAVE SETTINGS. Saved settings are applied the next time you view high-resolution aerial imagery. Without saving, the adjustment applies to your current view only.
If you have questions or need help, use the live chat in the platform and our team will be happy to assist.