Users can control the zoom, tilt, position, and rotation of the camera using gestures on the map. You can also configure the camera programmatically.
The Camera Position
The map view is modeled as a camera looking at a specific point in a 3D space. The position and orientation of the camera (and hence the rendering of the map) are specified by the following properties: center (a latitude/longitude/altitude location the camera is looking at), heading, tilt, range, and roll.
Center (Latitude/Longitude/Altitude)
The center defines the specific point in 3D space that the camera is observing. This is specified using values for latitude, longitude, and altitude. This allows for precise positioning of the camera's focal point in three dimensions.
The latitude can be between -90 and 90 degrees, inclusive. Values above or below this range will be clamped to the nearest value within this range. For example, specifying a latitude of 100 will set the value to 90. Longitude ranges between -180 and 180 degrees, inclusive. Altitude is specified in meters above sea level.
Heading
The camera heading specifies the direction the camera will point, measured in degrees clockwise from true North. North corresponds to 0 degrees, East to 90 degrees, South to 180 degrees, and West to 270 degrees. This determines the orientation of the camera around the vertical axis of the center point.
Tilt
The tilt specifies the angle of the camera with respect to the vertical axis, measured in degrees. A tilt of 0 degrees means the camera is pointing straight down towards the Earth (nadir). A tilt of 90 degrees means the camera is pointed horizontally in the direction specified by the heading.
Range
The range defines the distance in meters between the camera's own position and the center point it is looking at. The range can vary from zero meters (very close up) up to sixty-three million meters, allowing for views from very close up all the way to a truly global perspective. This effectively controls how "zoomed in" or "zoomed out" the map appears.
Roll
The roll sets the angle of the camera with respect to the horizon, measured in degrees. This parameter can be used to create effects like banking during flight simulations or even a full barrel roll, rotating the camera around its viewing axis.
Controlling the camera
The following code sample demonstrates how to control the camera programmatically.
Swift
public static var sanFrancisco: Camera = .init( latitude: 37.7845812, longitude: -122.3660241, altitude: 585, heading: 288.0, tilt: 75.0, roll: 0.0, range: 100)