Computerized Topo Maps
How Good Are They?

Detail and Quality

By Dr. Brad DeLong
Author of 4-Wheel Freedom: The Art of Off-Road Driving

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To compare the programs, I created a line one mile long in each program. I then adjusted the zoom and magnification settings as much as possible until the lines were approximately the same length in each program. This provided a comparison of map detail at comparable settings.

I first adjust the images so that the one mile line was relatively small.

Small one mile line, magnification and zoom settings:

DeLorme 3-D TopoQuads, magnification 13-0, 100% zoom.

All Topo Maps, 1:24,000 button, 75% zoom.

Fugawi - Micropath Idaho, 1:24,000, 50% zoom.

Large one mile line, magnification and zoom settings:

DeLorme Topo USA 2.0, magnification 14-0, 100% zoom.

DeLorme 3-D TopoQuads, magnification 14-0, 100% zoom.

Fugawi - ChartTiff California, 1:24,000, 100% zoom.

Topo!, None. Can't zoom beyond 1:12,000.

Bottom line detail comparison: The detail in two of the programs using USGS topo maps was comparable, DeLorme 3-D TopoQuads and Fugawi, both with the Micropath or the ChartTiff CDs. I judged these programs the best in detail. Detail should theoretically be best at a zoom setting of 100%, since this is the size at which the map was scanned. 100% is the maximum zoom which Fugawi can do, and detail at this setting was very good.

DeLorme 3-D TopoQuads can zoom in considerably more than this without losing detail. This setting is at maximum magnification (15-0) and maximum zoom (200%):

DeLorme 3-D TopoQuads uses vectorized maps for the zoomed out views, up to a magnification of 12-7, then switches to the rasterized USGS DRG quad maps at 13-0 and above. (Each mag setting runs from 0 through 7, eg. 12-0, 12-1 … 12-7, 13-0, 13-1 etc.) This is an interesting approach. The vectorized large scale (zoomed-out) maps are more readable than zoomed-out topos, in my opinion.

All Topo Maps was next best in detail. Interestingly, even though both Fugawi and All Topo Maps use a scale indicated as 1:24,000, the All Topo Maps image was considerably smaller at a zoom setting of 100%, the same setting as the large Fugawi one mile line image. All Topo Maps had to be set at a zoom of 150% to give a size comparable to Fugawi's 100% zoom. In fact All Topo Maps can be set to zoom levels of 150%, 200%, and 400%, and doesn't lose much detail even at higher settings, nor does 3-D TopoQuads.

The maximum setting of Topo! was listed as 1:12,000, but at this level was much smaller than Fugawi's 100% zoom at 1:24,000 and All Topo's 150% zoom at 1:24,000. 1:12,000 on Topo! was comparable to 1:24,000 on Fugawi at 50% and All Topo at 75%. Detail on Topo! suffered from not being able to zoom closer.

DeLorme Topo USA 2.0 came in fourth in detail, though theoretically the vectorized maps of this program ought to be capable of greater detail than the rasterized USGS topo maps. But this requires entering a huge number of points and there is a limit, I guess, to the amount of person-hours a company can invest in programming map detail for the entire USA, and DeLorme has probably made a trade-off between more detail on the maps and being able to cover the entire country on six CDs. However, the detail available on the new DeLorme 3-D TopoQuads program more than makes up for any lack of detail in Topo USA 2.0.

Computerized Topo Maps Home Page
Part I: Introduction | Basic GPS w/ Terms | Interfacing with GPS | Contour Interval & Scale | Detail & Quality
Part II: Introduction | Installation and Technical Support | Ease of Use | Entering Waypoints and Routes
Part III: Introduction | Downloading Tracks from your GPS | Actively Tracking from your GPS | Printing Maps
General Comparison of the Programs

Product and Ordering Information from 4X4BOOKS.com
Topo USA 2.0 | 3-D TopoQuads | Wildflower TOPO! and TOPO! GPS | TrailSmart | ALL TOPO MAPS | Fugawi

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