The matter of reasonable choice of parameter values for an aerial camera is considered, in particular, those of principal distance for specific tasks under certain conditions. These typical tasks are making a plane orthophoto and a digital elevation model. Conditions that affect the selection of the optimal values of the parameters can be: the map scale, required accuracy of the digital terrain model, the restrictions associated with the use of a particular aircraft, for example, and the maximum flight altitude. The given analysis shows how the values of the parameters and their combination influence the productivity and the cost of aerial photography. This makes enables justifying the most appropriate values of parameters for the certain tasks.