FOV Opinions Please

[Ian Cameron]

Have played around with FOV settings since the beginning. Have used the calculators, one suggests 31, one says 35 and another says 59 according to my monitor size and position from me.
Width 19" Height 10.5" Distance to eyes 30". None have felt right.
So I decided to try and go for a more natural look as you would see behind the wheel. Set FOV to 65
set seat position to how I think it would look. Have uploaded a video for some feedback on this, apologies for quality it was recorded using frapps, and forgive the spin off. Also used is FaceTrackNOIR.
Not my best lap but I go more for realism than breaking records, although any feedback on this would be appreciated.

 

[Georg Siebert]

Looking at the video you have a single screen setup.
Your correct FOV is 35°, +/- 5°.
Which calculator said 31 or even 59?

 

[Frank]

Correct FoV usually doesn't feel right at the start, it takes some time getting used to it .

 

[Ian Cameron]

Looking at the video you have a single screen setup.
Your correct FOV is 35°, +/- 5°.
Which calculator said 31 or even 59?

Not sure which ones just googled or followed links to them

 

[Connor Caple]

The problem with using your correct FoV is that sometimes it shows too little if you have one small 19" monitor that is 30" away. It may ruin the realism, but I'd rather see more of the road/car than that.

 

[Chris James]

Get in your car, hold your hands 30" from your face, and make a square with your hands about the size of your monitor. With a small monitor, you'll notice that your viewing area is small, and you may not be able to see much of the dash or steering wheel. Good luck. I know how frustrating setting up FOV is when you're going for realism.

 

[Ian Cameron]

The problem with using your correct FoV is that sometimes it shows too little if you have one small 19" monitor that is 30" away. It may ruin the realism, but I'd rather see more of the road/car than that.

Think thats why i set it to 65 then adjusted seat position seems from the video thats the view i would have sat in my own car. Perhaps not ideal but it felt right. Spend most of my time altering settings in this game but i guess that's part of the fun.

 

[Georg Siebert]

Not sure which ones just googled or followed links to them

I don't know how the other ones did it, but 35° is using some simple trigonometry and is correct for horizontal FOV using a single monitor. Remember to adjust it +/- 5° for comfort.

 

[David Cordell]

I have the same setup as the op with a 19" monitor about 24" from my eyes and the calculation said correct fov was like 45deg and I settled on 55deg. Before I knew anything about fov, I would run a high fov of around 80-90 to be able to see more of the dash and side mirrors but then I saw the video on FOV on youtube by Matt Orr (empty box) where he explained how important it is for your lap times to be as close as is possible to your calculated correct fov. It's not just a comfort thing.

When you run a fov that is way too high, your view of the track stretches out, track appears narrower and turn radius's less sharp. It basically destroys your ability to hit brake points consistently, if at all.

When I started running a fov closer to reality, my lap times dropped dramatically and It became much easier to drive and race. I used to be 3-6 seconds off the pace from the fastest guys in iracing and now I am usually 1 to 1.5 seconds off the fastest q times.

This week in iracing at Road Atlanta in the Star Mazda, the majority of the fast guys are running high 1:17's with the super fast guys at high 1:16's. I am averaging low 1:18's with a few laps in the 1:17's. Back when I was running a FOV of 85deg, I was lucky to turn a lap of 1:21.500 and I certainly couldn't string together 22laps with 0 incidents. Now I can run 22laps with an overall average lap times of 1:18.500 +/- .200 with 0 incidents pretty easily.

Don't underestimate a proper FOV.

 

[theravenousbeast]

Proper FOV may help with braking points but it sure doesn't help in hitting apexes, especially on very tight hairpins and long radius corners. I use 65 on all sims, anything more distorts the view. 23 inch monitor with a 16:9 ratio.

Also, iRacing has a spotter, which helps with side by side racing with a low FOV, most other sims don't.

 

[Aris Teidis]

Just my opinion:
More FOV = more speed sensation = less time to react
Less FOV = the sensation that car runs slower = more information from the track so more time to react, although if you overdo it you will feel like driving through binoculars...

I used to drive on a 23" monitor at 50 - 45 FOV (at 30-35" 80-90cm distance) . Now I use a 35-33 FOV and become much more stable and competitive on track.

 

[Ernie]

Just try out this FOV calculator -> http://www.projectimmersion.com/fov/
For a single screen setup it is hard to drive with correct FOV, because of the very limited sight. I would recommend to raise the FOV a little bit, to find your sweet spot, where you feel comfortable with.
I think, a good compromise for single screen user is to multiply the real/calculated FOV with factor 1.5. That's what i'm using for my own screen setup.

I use 65 on all sims...

It should depend on if the Sim is using vertical or horizontal FOV.

 

[Ian Cameron]

I understand AC uses vertical FOV

 

[Ian Cameron]

Just try out this FOV calculator -> http://www.projectimmersion.com/fov/
For a single screen setup it is hard to drive with correct FOV, because of the very limited sight. I would recommend to raise the FOV a little bit, to find you sweet spot, where you feel comfortable with.
I think, a good compromise for single screen user is to multiply the real/calculated FOV with factor 1.5. That's what i'm using for my own screen setup.

It should depend on if the Sim is using vertical or horizontal FOV.

Interesting calculator not seen that one before. Will give it a go

 

[Terry Rock]

@Ian...
No one POV suits all in simulations.
I never follow the calculators, since their best position doesn't take into account the fact that a real-life driver's eyes move left/right.
I instead, park at the entry to the turns with the biggest deviation and elevation changes...positioning the car to the outside of the entry with a slight turn in.
I then adjust to the point I can just see through the turn.
After that is complete I view the steering wheel (relative to scale), of what my own car would produce and then drop the driver's view two points, since most race cars position the driver lower to preserve center of gravity. This is the result....

 

[Niki Đaković]

It would be good if you could make it closer then 30'', but I can't see that happen if you're a tall person.
Your camera position seems to be far too distant in the car. You should be sitting in the seat, not behind it. Periferal vision is all right, but on a 22'' it's crutial to make things as big as possible. I see you're using the virtual mirror. So sitting far back is no excuse. My suggestion, move the seat far forward as much as you can. only seeing the edges of windscreen. You'll see when you sit in your real car, this is exactly what your eyes see. Also move the camera up and down as much you can. If you want to look at the dash, you look down. The eyes are focused on the road. It's the most intuitive view you can give yourself.
For the fov, I think going under 40 warps the picture out too much. I'm on 46fov bcos the screen is 27'' now, but when it used to be 22'' I was on 42. Find your compromise, between 40 and 42. You don't need to sit far back and look at your virtual wheel. You need to be feeling your wheel in your hands as youre looking where youre going.

 

[Hany Alsabti]

Use this http://www.projectimmersion.com/fov/ but select Pcars instead of ac.

I'm using a 24" screen from 68cm distant. FOV 43 feels perfect to me in ac and in rf2.

 

[JoelGL]

Use this http://www.projectimmersion.com/fov/ but select Pcars instead of ac.

I'm using a 24" screen from 68cm distant. FOV 43 feels perfect to me in ac and in rf2.

Can you pls post a screenshot(s) (AC and PCars). Does it still show the driver side mirror? Thanks.

 

[Cote Dazur]

@Ian Cameron Use the proper FOV, as calculated by Mr. pix calculator, it is the best and only way to get a simulation out of driving a SIM and it is also the more rewarding experience.
If you want to see more get a bigger screen and stay close to it. 22 inch for driving simulation is too small
Proper ( narrow) FOV is only strange at the beginning, once you live with it for a while, wide FOV is clearly not the way to go,
Sense of speed ( which is highly relative, try it in your car, drive at 140 kmh for a while and then go to 100, you will feel like you have stopped.) or seeing the car mirrors are not the way to judge Field Of View, the proper perspective and right apex radius is.

 

[Ian Cameron]

@Ian Cameron Use the proper FOV, as calculated by Mr. pix calculator, it is the best and only way to get a simulation out of driving a SIM and it is also the more rewarding experience.
If you want to see more get a bigger screen and stay close to it. 22 inch for driving simulation is too small
Proper ( narrow) FOV is only strange at the beginning, once you live with it for a while, wide FOV is clearly not the way to go,
Sense of speed ( which is highly relative, try it in your car, drive at 140 kmh for a while and then go to 100, you will feel like you have stopped.) or seeing the car mirrors are not the way to judge Filed Of View, the proper perspective and right apex radius is.

Shame you cant see mirrors so you can see whos at side of you in races i use facetracknoir but even with that when you move your head you can easily loose control.
I will give the calculator a go but cant till sunday owing to work.