Field of View Calculator: Camera Angle of View in Degrees
The angle of view (AoV) of a camera lens tells you how wide a slice of the world fits into your frame, measured in degrees. A 14 mm ultra-wide lens on a full-frame sensor captures about 104 degrees horizontally, wide enough to include sweeping landscapes in a single shot. A 200 mm telephoto narrows that to around 10 degrees, isolating distant subjects. The AoV depends on two things: the focal length of the lens, and the physical dimensions of the sensor. Larger sensors capture more of the scene for a given focal length, which is why the same 50 mm lens looks "standard" on full frame but "short telephoto" on a smaller APS-C body. The formula for rectilinear lenses is AoV = 2 x arctan(sensor_dimension / (2 x focal_length)), applied separately to the horizontal, vertical and diagonal sensor dimensions. This calculator also converts the angle into coverage: the physical width and height of the scene captured at a chosen subject distance. Select a sensor preset or enter custom dimensions, enter your focal length and subject distance, and the results update instantly.
Horizontal AoV: --° | Coverage at distance: -- m wide
How angle of view is calculated
The formula assumes a rectilinear lens, which is the standard for most photographic lenses. All sensor dimensions are in millimetres; the focal length is in millimetres.
Horizontal AoV (deg) = 2 × arctan(sensor_w / (2 × f)) × (180 / π)
Vertical AoV (deg) = 2 × arctan(sensor_h / (2 × f)) × (180 / π)
Diagonal AoV (deg) = 2 × arctan(sensor_diag / (2 × f)) × (180 / π)
where sensor_diag = sqrt(sensor_w² + sensor_h²)
Coverage width (m) = 2 × distance × tan(H_AoV_rad / 2)
Coverage height (m) = 2 × distance × tan(V_AoV_rad / 2)
Worked example
50 mm lens, full-frame sensor (36 x 24 mm), subject at 10 m:
- Horizontal AoV = 2 x arctan(36 / (2 x 50)) x (180 / π) = 2 x arctan(0.36) x 57.296 = 2 x 19.80° = 39.60°
- Vertical AoV = 2 x arctan(24 / 100) x (180 / π) = 2 x arctan(0.24) x 57.296 = 2 x 13.50° = 27.00°
- Diagonal = sqrt(36² + 24²) = sqrt(1296 + 576) = sqrt(1872) = 43.27 mm; Diagonal AoV = 2 x arctan(43.27 / 100) x 57.296 = 46.79°
- Coverage width = 2 x 10 x tan(0.3455) = 20 x 0.3564 = 7.13 m
- Coverage height = 2 x 10 x tan(0.2356) = 20 x 0.2401 = 4.80 m
Focal length and typical uses on full frame
| Focal length | Horizontal AoV (full frame) | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| 14 mm | ~104° | Ultra-wide: landscapes, architecture interiors, astrophotography |
| 24 mm | ~74° | Wide: landscape, environmental portrait, travel |
| 35 mm | ~54° | Street, documentary, environmental portrait |
| 50 mm | ~40° | Standard: closest to normal human vision perspective |
| 85 mm | ~24° | Portrait: flattering compression, subject isolation |
| 135 mm | ~15° | Telephoto portrait, event, stage performance |
| 200 mm | ~10° | Wildlife, sports, compressed background |
| 400 mm | ~5° | Wildlife at long range, birding, motorsport |
AoV figures are approximate and computed using the rectilinear formula for a 36 x 24 mm sensor. Individual lens designs may vary slightly due to optical distortion and exact focal length tolerances.
Sensor format and equivalent focal lengths
The AoV of any lens depends on both focal length and sensor size. A 50 mm lens on an APS-C Canon body (crop factor 1.6x) has the same AoV as an 80 mm lens on full frame. The crop factor is calculated as the ratio of the full-frame diagonal (43.3 mm) to the sensor's own diagonal.
When comparing cameras, photographers use "full-frame equivalent focal length" to describe a lens's AoV in terms a full-frame user would recognise. To convert: multiply the actual focal length by the crop factor. A 25 mm Micro Four Thirds lens (crop factor 2.0x) is equivalent to a 50 mm full-frame lens. This calculator works directly with the actual focal length and sensor dimensions, so no crop factor conversion is needed: simply select your sensor format and enter your lens's focal length.
Custom sensor dimensions allow you to calculate AoV for medium format, cinema sensors (Super 35, 2/3 inch, etc.) or any other format where you know the physical dimensions.
Field of view calculator: frequently asked questions
What is angle of view?
Angle of view (AoV) is the angular extent of the scene captured by a camera lens, measured in degrees. It describes how wide or narrow the lens sees. A 14 mm ultra-wide lens on a full-frame sensor has a horizontal angle of view of about 104 degrees, capturing a very wide panoramic scene. A 500 mm telephoto has a horizontal AoV of only about 4 degrees, isolating a narrow slice of the scene at long range. Angle of view depends on both focal length and sensor size: a shorter focal length and a larger sensor both produce a wider AoV.
What focal length gives a 90-degree field of view?
On a full-frame (36 x 24 mm) sensor, a 18 mm focal length gives a horizontal AoV of approximately 90 degrees. On an APS-C Canon sensor (22.3 x 14.9 mm) you need about 11 mm for the same 90-degree horizontal view. On Micro Four Thirds (17.3 x 13 mm) approximately 9 mm gives 90 degrees horizontally. The formula is: focal length = sensor_width / (2 x tan(45 degrees)) = sensor_width / 2. A 90-degree AoV means the lens captures exactly the width of the sensor distance from the subject.
What is the difference between angle of view and field of view?
Angle of view (AoV) is the angular extent of the scene, measured in degrees, independent of subject distance. Field of view (FoV) or field width/height at a given distance is the physical size of the scene captured, in metres or feet, at a specific subject distance. They are related by geometry: field width = 2 x distance x tan(AoV / 2). This calculator provides both: the AoV in degrees for the lens/sensor combination, and the coverage dimensions at the subject distance you specify.
How does sensor size affect field of view?
A larger sensor captures a wider angle of view with the same focal length lens. A full-frame sensor (36 x 24 mm) with a 50 mm lens has a horizontal AoV of about 40 degrees. The same 50 mm lens on an APS-C sensor (crop factor approx 1.5x) captures only about 27 degrees horizontally, as if it were a 75 mm lens on full frame. This is why photographers talk about 'equivalent focal length': a 35 mm lens on APS-C is roughly equivalent to a 50 mm lens on full frame in terms of angle of view. To get the same composition on a smaller sensor you need a shorter focal length.
What is rectilinear projection?
Rectilinear projection is the standard lens model used in photography. A rectilinear lens renders straight lines in the scene as straight lines in the image. The angle-of-view formula used by this calculator assumes rectilinear projection: AoV = 2 x arctan(sensor_dimension / (2 x focal_length)). Most standard, wide-angle and telephoto lenses are rectilinear. Fish-eye lenses use a different projection (equidistant or equisolid-angle) and have a wider AoV than the formula predicts. For fish-eye lenses the formula on this page will underestimate the actual field of view.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Angle of view.
- Cambridge in Colour: Digital camera sensor sizes.
Reviewed by the CalculatorHub team, edited by James Graham, 14 June 2026. See our methodology. General information only.