HiFor many years I have been playing around with the external zoom in FSX (i.e. looking out of the flightdeck window at the scenery), and now don't know what the correct zoom level should be for a realistic view from the NGX. I currently have it set to 0.60 which seems reasonable but not having sat in a real 737-800 cockpit seat it could be wrong.Can anyone offer some advice please as to what is the most realistic zoom level and will this apply to all aircraft within FSX.Thanks, Glen

I prefer .70, I have more feeling, but this depends a lot on the aspect ratio of the monitor and the resolution/dimension. First of all you need to see the instruments, I find that .70 with trackir and ezdock is good enaugh and will give a good realistic view of the cockpit.Increasing more will reduce the visible parts, so you need then to move your head more.A lower zoom istead, will let you see more instruments at the same time, but you are far from them, and with a little monitor, you will have problems reading them. So you then need to move your head forward to zoom in..7 for me is sufficient to let me not going continously forward and aft with the head.

I would suggest .060.

Glen,For pre-flight activity I use the default zoom level, as it allows you to complete those flows without too much panning. After that, though, I use 1.00 in the VC. I started using this technique on the MD11 and found my approach stability and landings improved markedly, as it allows you to more accurately gauge the changes in aircraft trajectory further out from the runway.

do you guys mean the zoom when you press + and- at fsx?

1.0 is the most realistic zoom level, as it does not cause fisheye lens effects.

It depends also if you're using WideViewAspect = True vs False

It depends also if you're using WideViewAspect = True vs False

Not exactly. That setting effectively controls the horizontal field of view. To get the same field of view with it set to false, you do have to zoom out further, but the problem with this is that it distorts the image a lot more.See here:http://widescreengamingforum.com/article/screen-changeWideViewAspect=True makes FSX Hor+.

I use .45 with widecreen, this looks the most realistic for me. While we are on views i have a question, I remember in FS9 when you were in spot view you could turn your plane and the camera wouldn't move with the plane. Is there a way to get this in FSX?-Travis

what are you talking about?? which zoom??

Just 1.0 in flight. As already mentioned it improves accuracy on final For taxiing I sometimes go to 0.9. Gives a little more overview.Bert Van Bulck

1.0 is the most realistic zoom level, as it does not cause fisheye lens effects.

Exactly.Guys,If you're looking for realism, you have to compromise here. There are two issues at play:1 - The most realistic zoom will be 1.00, but it looks off because you can then only see about 20 inches horizontally of the real panel (which isn't much)2 - The most realistic depth isn't there. Look straight at this screen, hold an arm directly at your side (palms facing the ground) and wiggle your thumb. Even if you're looking straight at the screen, you can probably see the movement of your thumb (with your periph, you can detect something moving at that angle, but details are nearly worthless). So, your field of view is about 160 degrees for details, and 180 for awareness of movement. At zoom 1.00, you're seeing maybe a 20 degree view of the cockpit (much less than 180, so it seems 'fake'), but with the proper depth. As soon as you get more aggressive with the zoom (below 1.00), you pick up distortion of both lines and depths.i think half the reason people like the 0.50s and 0.60s is that it's somewhat of a compromise. While you sacrifice detail by zooming out (things become smaller), you also get the perception that you're "there" because the zoom also fisheyes, which allows you to "see" what would be in your periphery if you were actually sitting there.I personally don't like aggressive zooms (0.40, 0.50, 0.60). If I was going to look at the FO's side, I'd naturally turn my head to see it. Sure, it may be in my periphery before turning my head, but I prefer the more natural and realistic zoom (1.00) over the more "realistic" ability to have peripheral view. In order to more accurately see that, you'd need a parabolic display or in home cockpit setup anyway.For what it's worth, I use somewhere between 0.80 and 0.90 (just to introduce slight perception of the periph).

I was thinking this exact same question just this morning.I'm currently using .50 without widescreen (even though I have a widescreen monitor). I find that enabling widescreen gives the sim too much of a fish-eyed appearance but that's just my personal taste.Something I am having trouble with though is adjusting the pilot's height to be in sinc with the zoom setting. If I set the height to be what seems about right (going by youtube clips and guesstimating roughly where the average pilot's eye-line is) then the image in the HUD displays with the lower half missing because my height position must be too low. But if I adjust it so all the full image is visible, It then it makes the rest of the cabin look as if I'm sitting too high in the seat.Is there a way to adjust the HUD image position without having to change my current sitting height in the cabin?I'm using EZDok to adjust the view positions, etc.Cheers

Nigel,Remember that in YouTube videos, the camera is never the pilot's eye.

I find that TIR help's with this and allows you to use a closer to realistic zoom factor.