Field of view (FOV)
Also known as: FOV, angle of view, digital lens
How much of the scene a camera captures, measured in degrees. Action cameras range from ultra-wide fisheye views to narrower, flatter linear crops.
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What it means
Field of view describes how wide a slice of the world ends up in the frame, usually given as a diagonal or horizontal angle in degrees. A typical phone main camera sees around 80 degrees diagonally; action cameras go far wider, often past 150 degrees, so a camera stuck on a helmet still catches the trail, your hands and the sky.
On action cameras FOV is mostly chosen in software. The sensor sees one fixed wide image, and settings such as Wide, Linear, Narrow or SuperView crop, stretch or flatten it. Wider views feel faster and more immersive; narrower ones look more natural and make distant subjects larger.
How it works in practice
GoPro calls these settings digital lenses, while DJI and Insta360 cameras offer their own ultra-wide, wide and dewarped or linear options. Linear-style modes correct fisheye distortion so horizons stay straight, in exchange for a narrower crop of the sensor.
A good rule of thumb: go wide on helmet and chest mounts, where the camera sits close to the action, and go linear for selfie-stick shots, scenic angles and anything with people near the frame edges. Stabilization also eats into FOV - HyperSmooth, RockSteady and horizon leveling all crop the image to give themselves room to rotate.
What to watch out for
Ultra-wide views make everything look farther away and flatter. The drop that felt huge on the day turns into a gentle slope on screen, and a buddy ten meters ahead becomes a speck. If a feature matters, get closer or narrow the FOV.
Changing FOV mid-session creates clips that do not cut together smoothly, and narrow or zoomed settings are just crops that lower effective detail. Decide your FOV before you drop in, and if in doubt record the widest native aspect ratio so you can crop later instead of wishing you had more picture.
How RawClip handles it
RawClip works with whatever field of view you recorded - it does not dewarp clips or change the lens look. Upload wide, linear and Max Lens Mod clips together, and the AI chooses the strongest moments from each angle for your highlight.