120° FOV: wide coverage and a smaller central image
120° horizontal FOV covers 60° on either side of the forward direction. At 16:9, it gives about 89° vertical coverage and a center target about 58% as tall as at 90°.
A 120° horizontal camera is a wide example that makes the coverage and size tradeoff easy to see. It adds 30° overall compared with a 90° reference. The central target gets noticeably smaller, and objects toward the edges can look stretched. The purpose of the preview is to make those effects visible before you choose a setting, not to label the largest supported number as the best one.
By TechCompare · Updated
Field of view preview
90° versus 120° horizontal FOV at 16:9. Side boxes help show the additional directions entering the frame.
- Horizontal
- 90°
- Vertical
- 59°
- Horizontal
- 120°
- Vertical
- 89°
Drag either scene to look around. Camera movement is synced. Arrow keys work when focused, and Home resets the view.
Read height and coverage separately
At the same image dimensions, the center target has about 58% of its 90° image height in the 120° view. That is roughly 42% smaller in height. Meanwhile, the visible width at a fixed forward plane grows by about 73%. Those numbers describe different measurements and should not be swapped. More angular coverage does not mean that the same target receives more pixels in the frame.
Inspect the edges without changing the scene
The range includes boxes well to either side of the camera so a wide view has nearby geometry to reveal. Rotate either scene and look at how those boxes approach the borders. A rectilinear projection preserves straight lines, but a very wide flat image can make off-center objects appear stretched. Compare with the narrower view at the same rotation to separate perspective effects from an object changing shape.
Camera references: horizontal and vertical conversion and view size at a distance. The worked examples use the visualizer’s own camera math.
How this is calculated
The width of the view at 20 m (66 ft) forward is about 69 m (227 ft) for a 120° horizontal camera. At 90°, it is 40 m (131 ft). The central target height ratio is 1 ÷ tan(60°), approximately 58%. Vertical FOV is calculated from the selected aspect ratio and rounds to 89° at 16:9. These are model results with no game-specific zoom, crop, or weapon camera applied.
Verdict
Use the 120° preview to examine a wide candidate and the cost in central image size. If the change from your current setting feels too large, compare nearer values instead of jumping straight to this example. A game’s supported range, camera rules, and the way you use your screen decide whether that candidate is worth keeping.
More FOV scenarios
Frequently asked questions
Does 120° show twice as much as 60°?
Why do the side boxes look stretched at wide FOV?
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