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Lens Angles

First posted Oct 23, 2006
Last update Jan 8, 2013

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All content, except as otherwise noted, is © Frank Harrell. Text may be reposted only if credit is given and a link is provided to CowboyFrank.net
How can I tell how wide an angle a camera will cover?
In my demonstration setup, the cameras were placed on a shelf which ended up 6 feet 4 inches from the wall behind me (+ - 2 inches). In the wide photo below, I marked off the back wall in feet from the corner on my left. Use that to compare the view each camera has from their individual images on the page. Since most of the cameras do not list the focal lengths of their lenses, and I didn't take measurements on earlier cameras, all we can do is estimate the angles from these views.

If you want to spend some time to find out what a given camera will show in your room you could do the following experiment.

  1. Measure 6 feet 4 inches from where your camera will sit, through where you will be sitting
  2. Lay a tape measure on the floor perpendicular to your camera's line of site
  3. Compare your room layout to the demo images on this page
  4. Stretch 2 lengths of string from your camera position to the point along the tape measure to represent the field of view for the camera you are interested in
  5. Or you could just eye-ball it
(All the markers on my image are truly one foot apart on the wall. They appear to be wider on either end due to the distortion of the wide angle lens in the camera used for the test image.)

This page for newer cameras
See this page for older discontinued cameras

Creative
Creative Live! Notebook Pro (2007) Creative Live! Video IM Pro (2007) Creative Live! Video IM (2007)
Creative Live! Optia Pro (2007) Creative Live! Optia AF (2007) Creative Live! Optia (2007)
Creative Live! Notebook Pro (2006) Creative Live! Voice (2006) Creative Live! Video IM Pro (2006)
Creative Live! Ultra (2005) Creative Live! Ultra for Notebooks (2005) Creative Live! Motion (2005)

 

Logitech
Logitech Webcam 9000 (2009) Logitech Webcam C905 (2009) Logitech Webcam C120 (2009)
Logitech Webcam C200 (2009) Logitech Webcam C250 (2009) Logitech Webcam C500 (2009)
Logitech Webcam C600 (2009)
Logitech QC Orbit AF (2007) Logetich QC Delux for Notebooks (2007) Logitech QC Pro 9000 (2007)
Logetich QC Pro for Notebooks (2007) Logetich QC Communicate STX (2006) Logetich QC for Notebooks Delux (2006)
Logitech QC Orbit MP (2005) Logetich QC for Notebooks Pro (2005) Logitech QC Pro 5000 (2005)
Logitech QC Fusion (2007) Logitech QC Fusion (2005) Logitech QC Ultra Vision (2006)
Logitech QC Chat (2006) Logitch QC Communicate Deluxe (2008)

 

Microsoft
LifeCam Cinema (2009)
LifeCam VX-1000 (2006) LifeCam VX-3000 (2006) LiveCam VX-6000 (2006)
LiveCam NX-6000 (2006) LifeCam VX-7000 (2007) LiveCam NX-3000
Others
HP Webcam for Notebooks PCs (2007) HP Elite Autofocus (2008)

 

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