Tools

Field of View (Imaging) Calculator

What This Calculator Tells You

Calculate exactly how much sky your camera will capture when attached to your telescope. This helps you choose the right focal length for your target and understand what will fit in your frame.

Calculator

×
×
2.55° × 1.71°
(153' × 102')
1.53"
per pixel
3.72 μm
pixel size
5.1
Moons across (width)

What Fits in Your Frame?

ObjectSize (approx)Frame FillFits?
Full Moon31' × 31'30%Yes
Orion Nebula (M42)85' × 60'59%Yes
Andromeda Galaxy (M31)178' × 63'116%No
Pleiades (M45)110' × 110'107%No
North America Nebula120' × 100'98%Yes
Carina Nebula120' × 120'117%No

Common Sensor Sizes

FormatSize (mm)Diagonal
Full Frame36 × 2443.3mm
APS-C (Canon)22.3 × 14.926.8mm
APS-C (Nikon/Sony)23.5 × 15.628.2mm
Micro Four Thirds17.3 × 1321.6mm
1" (Popular astro cams)13.2 × 8.815.9mm

Click a row to use those sensor dimensions.

Framing Tips

  • Leave some margin: Aim for the object to fill 60-80% of the frame for good composition and cropping flexibility
  • Consider mosaics: For objects larger than your FOV, plan a mosaic with 20-30% overlap between panels
  • Focal reducers: A 0.8x reducer increases FOV by 25% and decreases image scale proportionally
  • Check rotation: Remember you can rotate the camera to fit elongated objects

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