# Camera Field of View Calculator

URL: https://speedycalculator.com/calculators/other/camera-field-of-view/
Last updated: 2026-10-30

> The camera field of view calculator finds the horizontal, vertical and diagonal angle of view of a lens on your sensor and the width, height and diagonal of the area it covers at a given distance, with a top-view diagram of the shot.

## Inputs

- Sensor size — Choose your camera's sensor format – crop factors are relative to full frame.
- Sensor width (mm, in, cm)
- Sensor height (mm, in, cm)
- Lens focal length (mm, cm, in)
- Distance to the subject (m, cm, mm, ft, in, km, yd, mi)
- Camera orientation

## Results

- Horizontal angle of view
- Vertical angle of view
- Diagonal angle of view
- Field of view – width covered
- Field of view – height covered
- Field of view – diagonal covered
- Area covered
- Top view of the horizontal field of view
- Crop factor
- Full-frame equivalent focal length
- Sensor dimensions

## Formula

```
Angle of view = 2 · arctan(sensor size ÷ (2 · f)) · Field of view at distance d = 2 · d · tan(angle ÷ 2) = d × sensor size ÷ f
```

## Explanation

Angle of view and field of view describe how much of a scene your camera sees. The angle of view is an angle – it depends only on the sensor size and focal length – while the field of view is the actual width and height of the area covered at a particular distance, so it grows the farther away the subject is.

A wide-angle lens (short focal length) takes in a broad sweep; a telephoto lens (long focal length) narrows the view and magnifies distant subjects. The same lens shows less on a smaller sensor: a 24 mm lens covers about 74° horizontally on full frame but only about 50° on a Canon APS-C body. Knowing the exact coverage helps you choose a lens for a room, plan where to stand at a wedding, size a backdrop, or set up security, drone and trail cameras.

Choose your sensor (including phone sensors), switch between landscape and portrait orientation and enter the subject distance to see the covered area and a diagram of the horizontal view.

### How to use the Camera Field of View Calculator

- **Sensor size** — Choose your camera's sensor format – crop factors are relative to full frame.
- **Sensor width**
- **Sensor height**
- **Lens focal length**
- **Distance to the subject**
- **Camera orientation**

Everything is calculated in your browser, so results appear instantly and nothing you type is sent to a server.

### How it works

The sensor width, height and diagonal are each divided by twice the focal length; the arctangent doubled gives the angles. Multiplying the tangent of each half-angle by twice the distance gives the size of the covered area. This assumes a rectilinear lens focused at a distance much larger than the focal length.

### Worked example

A full-frame camera (36 × 24 mm) with a 35 mm lens photographs a group 10 m away.

Horizontal angle = 2 × arctan(36 ÷ 70) = 54.4°; vertical = 2 × arctan(24 ÷ 70) = 37.8°; diagonal = 2 × arctan(43.27 ÷ 70) = 63.4°. At 10 m the frame covers 10 × 36 ÷ 35 = 10.29 m by 10 × 24 ÷ 35 = 6.86 m – about 70.5 m².

### Angles of view on full frame

Focal lengthHorizontalVerticalDiagonal14 mm104.3°81.2°114.2°24 mm73.7°53.1°84.1°35 mm54.4°37.8°63.4°50 mm39.6°27.0°46.8°85 mm23.9°16.1°28.6°200 mm10.3°6.9°12.3°

## Worked example

Inputs — Sensor size: Full frame (35 mm) – 36 × 24 mm (crop 1.00×); Lens focal length: 35 mm; Distance to the subject: 10 m; Camera orientation: Landscape (horizontal).

Results — **Horizontal angle of view = 54.43 °**; Vertical angle of view = 37.85 °; Diagonal angle of view = 63.44 °; Field of view – width covered = 10,285.7143; Field of view – height covered = 6,857.1429; Field of view – diagonal covered = 12,361.8901.

## Key terms

- **Angle of view**: The angle of the scene recorded by the sensor, horizontally, vertically or diagonally.
- **Field of view**: The linear size of the scene covered at a given distance.
- **Rectilinear lens**: A lens that keeps straight lines straight; almost all non-fisheye lenses.
- **Crop factor**: Full-frame diagonal (43.27 mm) divided by the sensor diagonal.

## FAQ

**What is the difference between angle of view and field of view?**
The angle of view is an angle (for example 54°) fixed by the lens and sensor. The field of view is the size of the area covered at a distance – for example 10.3 m wide at 10 m.

**What is the angle of view of a 50 mm lens?**
On full frame it is about 39.6° horizontally, 27.0° vertically and 46.8° diagonally.

**Which angle do lens makers quote?**
Usually the diagonal angle of view, which is the largest of the three.

**Does a crop sensor change the angle of view?**
Yes. The lens is the same, but the smaller sensor records only the centre of the image, so the angle is smaller by roughly the crop factor.

**How wide is a phone's main camera?**
Most main cameras are about 24–26 mm full-frame equivalent, giving roughly 69–74° horizontally and 80–84° diagonally.

**Why does my result differ slightly from the lens specification?**
Lenses breathe (change angle) when focused close, and real sensor sizes differ by a few tenths of a millimetre between models.

**Does this work for fisheye lenses?**
No – fisheye lenses use a different projection. The formula here is for normal (rectilinear) lenses.


## Sources

- [Wikipedia – Angle of view](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angle_of_view)
- [Wikipedia – Image sensor format](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image_sensor_format)
- [Cambridge in Colour – Digital camera sensor sizes](https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/digital-camera-sensor-size.htm)