Vertical FOV conversion: why the same number can show a different view
At 16:9, 60° vertical FOV is approximately 91° horizontal. Entering 60 in a horizontal control gives a much narrower view.
Vertical FOV measures the angle between the top and bottom edges of the camera image. Horizontal FOV measures across the left and right edges. A setting of 60 can therefore describe two quite different cameras. To move between them, you need the viewport aspect ratio as well as the original angle. This example shows the difference instead of treating the numbers as interchangeable.
By TechCompare · Updated
Field of view preview
View A is 60° horizontal. View B is 91° horizontal, which is approximately 60° vertical at 16:9 after whole-degree rounding.
- Horizontal
- 60°
- Vertical
- 36°
- Horizontal
- 91°
- Vertical
- 60°
Drag either scene to look around. Camera movement is synced. Arrow keys work when focused, and Home resets the view.
Convert the axis before matching a setting
First find out what the original setting measures. An engine's camera API and a game's menu do not have to expose the same convention. A game may also describe its setting relative to a reference screen shape. Once you know that the value is an actual vertical angle, multiply tan(v / 2) by the viewport width-to-height ratio, take atan, and double the result to obtain horizontal FOV.
Use the preview as a rounded example
The visualizer accepts whole horizontal degrees. The exact conversion of 60° vertical at 16:9 falls between 91° and 92° horizontally, so this example uses 91°. The vertical readout rounds back to 60°. That is close enough to demonstrate the axis difference, but it is not a lossless conversion for a camera editor that accepts decimals. Preserve the exact converted result when a production workflow needs it.
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 relationship is h = 2 × atan(tan(v / 2) × aspect), where aspect is image width divided by height. The reverse relationship divides by aspect. A 60° horizontal camera at 16:9 has only about 36° of vertical coverage. A 60° vertical camera at 32:9 needs about 128° horizontally. The axis can therefore matter much more than a small adjustment of a few degrees within the same convention.
Verdict
Treat the axis and aspect ratio as part of the setting. Convert a vertical value before entering it in this tool, and expect a small rounding difference because the controls use whole degrees. For a fair comparison, avoid placing a raw vertical number in one view and a raw horizontal number in the other unless the purpose is to show that mismatch.
More FOV scenarios
Frequently asked questions
Is 60° vertical the same as 60° horizontal?
Can I multiply the angle by the aspect ratio?
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