OS MasterMap Imagery Layer

Digital colour-balanced and corrected for geometric distortions (orthorectified) aerial photography of OS MasterMap® Imagery Layer gives you the real-world view.

  • Height and imagery
  • Download and hard disk drive (HDD)
  • Premium Plan
  • Energy & Infrastructure Plan

This product is updated quarterly

Representation of data provided
Representation of data provided
© Crown copyright and database rights. Ordnance Survey 2024

What OS MasterMap Imagery Layer provides you with

Reduce the need for site visits

Using our aerial imagery to check road markings, tree canopies or site entrances cuts down the need for site visits, so you can save money and manage time more efficiently.

Revelation for engineers, surveyors and planners

For engineers, for surveyors, for planners, Imagery Layer is a revelation. It's aligned to OS MasterMap Topography Layer and is incredibly detailed, expertly colour-balanced and corrected for geometric distortions.

Ideal for projects

OS MasterMap Imagery Layer is an off-the-shelf product for the whole of Great Britain. You can get it under perpetual use terms – ideal for projects – as well as fixed-term licences.

Up-to-date imagery and data

OS MasterMap Imagery Layer uses the same source imagery that underpins our large-scale data updates. Our processing software produces true-orthorectified imagery, removing building lean from aerial imagery to give you a consistent top-down view.

Easily interpret the detail

You can easily spot properties with solar panels, conservatories and other home improvements, thanks to the layer's 25cm resolution. This makes the product ideal for planning and environmental monitoring.

Try this product with free sample data

Give it a try

Download a small area of OS MasterMap Imagery Layer.

Or try out the real thing by applying for a Data Exploration Licence

Need more technical information?

Read product guides, technical specification and further documents and support.

OS MasterMap Imagery Layer

Technical information

© Crown copyright and database rights. Ordnance Survey 2024

Specifications

Use cases

OS MasterMap Imagery Layer can be used in applications often reducing the need for costly site visits:

  • property insurance
  • risk analysis
  • asset management
  • site evaluation
  • land-use cover analysis
  • agricultural land use and crops inventory
  • property management and planning applications
  • route planning and accessibility assessments
  • location-based services
  • vegetation studies and environmental analysis
Access
  • Download and hard disk drive (HDD)
Data theme
  • Contextual
Data structure
Raster
Coverage
Great Britain
Scale
1:1250 to 1:10,000
Format
  • JPEG
  • TIFF
  • ECW
Ordering area
  • All of Great Britain or customisable area (1km2 tiles)
Publication months
  • February
  • May
  • August
  • November
OS Data Hub plan
  • Premium Plan
  • Energy & Infrastructure Plan

Documents and Support

Technical specification

Supporting documents

Additional information

Ensuring the quality of OS imagery

Ordnance Survey has invested considerable resources and worked closely with its imagery suppliers to provide orthorectified imagery that achieves the consistently high quality expected by our customers.

Unlike other data sources, such as topographic data, imagery can be very subjective. It is difficult to quantify specific tolerances for atmospheric conditions, such as haze. We ensure our suppliers adhere to a detailed set of quality levels for the key aspects of imagery with an emphasis on data quality over image appearance alone. For instance priority is given to ensuring detail such as road markings can be seen within shadows and to positional accuracy.

These acceptable quality levels are summarised in the user guide and include:

  • the photography and how it is captured;
  • the controls and height models used for orthorectification; and
  • geometric fidelity (shape), absolute accuracy (position), radiometric accuracy (colour) and image appearance (contrast, haze, cloud cover and distortions).

Active capture programme

More than 97% of our imagery is less than five years old; 90% is less than three years old. Check imagery currency on our interactive map.

OS MasterMap Layers are designed to be used together

As the OS MasterMap Imagery Layer is a raster product, unlike the other (vector) layers in the OS MasterMap product range, TOIDs® are not part of the data specification. However, OS MasterMap layers are designed to be used together in order to create a synchronised tool for analysis of many different types of data in a GIS. Thus other layers can be drawn over imagery to provide information, such as TOIDs.

All imagery since 2015 are 'True' Orthorectified (without building lean)

However, within these images there may be small patches of 'traditional' ortho (with building lean) which have been introduced to resolve geometric or image appearance/artefact issues. Whether 'True' or 'traditional' Ortho, buildings should always be geometrically correct, located in their correct geographical position and suitable for analytical interpretation.

Great care is taken to ensure that the images in the Layer meet our detailed Image Appearance criteria

However, on occasion and under certain circumstances, these rules are relaxed. For example, if opportunities to capture new imagery have been limited by poor weather and existing imagery in the Imagery Layer is deemed out-of-date, then imagery will be accepted provided detail is visible on the ground.In these circumstances, image currency takes precedence over image appearance.

OS MasterMap Imagery Layer

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What you get

Key features
  • Reduce the need for site visits
  • Revelation for engineers, surveyors and planners
  • Ideal for projects
  • Up-to-date imagery and data
  • Easily interpret the detail
Category
Height and imagery
Access
  • Download and hard disk drive (HDD)
Data structure
Raster
Update frequency
Quarterly

Try this product with free sample data

Give it a try

Download a small area of OS MasterMap Imagery Layer.

Or try out the real thing by applying for a Data Exploration Licence

How to access

Businesses

Ordnance Survey's commercial network of Partners can help you with bespoke location solutions, derived from OS data

Ranging from global giants to single entrepreneurs, our Partners all use our location data to create innovative products and services. Their expertise ensures customers can benefit from using our data for a range of services. Find a partner for height and imagery mapping requirements.

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Developers

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Our Partners

Download Premium data from the OS Data Hub

If you're an OS Licensed Partner you can use the OS Data Hub to access OS data products and manage your account all in one place.

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Government and public sector

Contact one of our OS Licensed Partners to access this data product

Our network of Ordnance Survey's Licensed Partners can help you to find the right solution for your geospatial needs. Find a partner for height and imagery mapping requirements.

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Utilities and Telecoms

OS Connect support

Our Ordnance Survey Account Managers have specialist knowledge of projects for utilities and telecoms customers and should be your first point of contact for product enquiries.

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Further support

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