Google Earth

Submitted: Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 12:50
ThreadID: 72928 Views:2553 Replies:7 FollowUps:3
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Does anyone know whether paying subscribers to Google Earth get newer satellite pictures?

Some of them appear to be not that new and there is certainly great variability in the resolution of the pictures. With some you can almost see the individual leaves on the trees but with others you can barely even see the trees!

If you get better pix I might think about paying, but if not I can't see a lot of point. Grateful any ideas.

Ta, Paul B, Kalgoorlie
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Reply By: Member - Allan B (QLD) - Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 13:29

Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 13:29
Hi Paul,

I believe all you get for your $400 google Earth Pro are some extra features but the resolution remains as in the free version.

The image resolution varies with the area with areas such as cities having a higher resolution than less populated areas. Oceans of course have the lowest resolutions. There is ongoing image updating with improving resolution.

Wikipedia has a comprehensive description of Google Earth, its features and shortcomings.

Cheers
Allan

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Reply By: Member - Mick O (VIC) - Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 15:08

Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 15:08
No difference in the resolution Paul. I have noticed that they do upgrade images from time to time giving better resolution in some swathes of the country.

Cheers

Mick
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Reply By: Bonz (Vic) - Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 15:45

Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 15:45
You can do a trial of the Google Earth "paid" version, for my money it wasn't worth it. No difference in the maps at all and that is what I was after.
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Follow Up By: Member - Oldplodder (QLD) - Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 20:25

Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 20:25
Same here, downloaded pro trial version for the 30 days.

Same images and the same resolution, only advantage is the pro allows you to save images to the hard disk in a better resolution instead of screen resolution (72 pdi?).
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Reply By: timglobal - Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 16:42

Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 16:42
Whilst it isn't the same as Google Earth, being closer to Google Maps, Microsoft's offering at Bing Maps has different image sources.

It also offers a "birds eye" view which is an angled aerial view. Try it and see if they have what you need for your specific search location.
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Follow Up By: Member - Andrew (QLD) - Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 21:43

Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 21:43
You're kidding :) ...the map images are WAY out of date in the 3 areas i checked out, including inner city brisbane where my old address is not even shown, even though the streets have been built for 5 years.

Andrew
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Follow Up By: timglobal - Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 22:03

Sunday, Oct 11, 2009 at 22:03
Depends on where you're searching.

Overall it's inferior, but in some places, they have better imagery and the birds-eye view is, literally, a different dimension.

Google Earth allows you to view the image dates if you choose, which allows interesting comparisons.

I'd lay my money on Google Earth / Maps as a rule, but Bing does provide better views occasionally.
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Reply By: Member - Damien L (Cairns) - Monday, Oct 12, 2009 at 20:00

Monday, Oct 12, 2009 at 20:00
Have you looked at Uluru, all the purple shaded area is fantasticly clear. You can see the pepole on the ground and the Qants plane on the tarmac. I have not seen any other place as clear as it is there.Take a gander.
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Reply By: Member - Damien L (Cairns) - Monday, Oct 12, 2009 at 20:01

Monday, Oct 12, 2009 at 20:01
Have you looked at Uluru, all the purple shaded area is fantasticly clear. You can see the pepole on the ground and the Qants plane on the tarmac. I have not seen any other place as clear as it is there.Take a gander.
Love the bush

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Reply By: Member - Paul B (WA) - Tuesday, Oct 13, 2009 at 00:26

Tuesday, Oct 13, 2009 at 00:26
Thanks for all the responses guys. Very interesting. The Bing thing actually wasn't too bad for what I wanted but generally Google Earth seems better.

Thanks again, Paul B Kalgoorlie
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