How do I calculate vertical field of view from a known horizontal field of view?
Asked 3/20/2012
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My camera’s specs list a horizontal field of view of 47° and the captured image size is 640×480. Can I calculate the vertical field of view from that information alone, and if so, what would it be for a 4:3 image?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
14y ago
2 Answers
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The formula John gives is correct, but as you can see from that answer and the comments, the precision and accuracy of the listed specs are in doubt.
That's not, actually, unreasonable of the camera manufacturer, given the state of the rest of the camera world. The sensor size is really a sensor class, and can't be relied on for calculating the actual size. In the comments to John's answer I guess that it's probably 4mm diagonal, but it could vary significantly from that and still be within the spec for a 1/4" sensor. Likewise, lens focal length is likely to rounded or approximate (although one could hope that with a number like 4.4mm, it's closer to 4.4 than it is to 4.0 or 5.0.). And we're unclear on whether 47° is really the horizontal field of view, but even if it is, expect it to be rounded at the very least.
Therefore, if this is important, you should actually measure the horizontal or vertical angle of view and work from there. (Some suggestions on how to do this are found at How to test actual focal length? — it basically comes down to the same formula.)
Originally by user1943. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1943
14y ago
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Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes—if the stated 47° is truly the horizontal field of view and the image is 640×480 (a 4:3 aspect ratio), you can derive the vertical field of view with trigonometry rather than simple proportional scaling.
Use:
vertical FOV = 2 × arctan[(image height / image width) × tan(horizontal FOV / 2)]
So for 640×480 and 47° horizontal FOV:
vertical FOV = 2 × arctan[(480/640) × tan(47°/2)] ≈ 36.2°
So the vertical field of view is about 36°.
It is not 32.25°—field of view does not scale linearly with pixel dimensions.
One caution: manufacturer specs may be rounded or based on a slightly different active sensor area, so the real-world value may differ somewhat. But based on the given numbers, ~36° is the correct estimate.
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