ConverterHub

Field of View Calculator

How wide does your lens really see?

Result

39.60°

How it is calculated

The angle of view of a lens focused at infinity is AOV = 2 × arctan(d / (2f)), where d is the sensor (or film) dimension you are measuring along and f is the focal length, both in millimetres. The result is in degrees with two decimals.

Which dimension you pick sets which angle you get: the width gives the horizontal angle, the height the vertical, and the diagonal the diagonal one that manufacturers usually quote. Both values must be above zero. The formula ignores lens distortion and the focus-breathing effect, where the angle narrows when focusing close, so a real lens can differ a bit.

Worked example

Full-frame sensor width 36 mm and a 50 mm lens. d / (2f) = 36 / 100 = 0.36. arctan(0.36) ≈ 19.80°. Doubling it gives 2 × 19.80 ≈ 39.60°. The tool shows 39.60°, the horizontal angle of view of a 50 mm lens on a full-frame camera.

Try this example →

Common mistakes

  • Using the sensor's diagonal when you wanted the horizontal angle, or the reverse; the three angles differ for the same lens.
  • Entering the focal length in centimetres or the sensor size in inches; both must be in millimetres.
  • Using the "35 mm equivalent" focal length with the real sensor size, which counts the crop twice.
  • Expecting a zoom's angle to match the printed focal length at all settings; enter the actual focal length you shoot at.

About this calculator

Angle of view follows AOV = 2 × arctan(sensor dimension / (2 × focal length)), treating the lens as a simple pinhole projecting the scene onto the sensor or film plane; the wider the sensor dimension relative to focal length, the wider the angle of view captured. Because sensor sizes vary between formats, the same focal length frames very differently on full-frame, APS-C or Micro Four Thirds cameras — a fact often summarized loosely as the "crop factor."

Photographers and cinematographers use this calculation to choose the right lens for a shot before renting or buying it, translating an unfamiliar camera body's sensor size and a lens's focal length into the actual horizontal, vertical or diagonal field it will capture, rather than relying on focal length numbers that only mean something relative to a specific sensor size.

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