What zoom level are you all using in the cockpit?

[JYW 2,977]

The zoom level in the cockpit is one thing I feel I can never get quite right in MSFS, and I find myself adjusting it for different planes. 

So I was wondering what setting people use?   I've seen many YouTubers that use a very zoomed out level in the sim - for example, Q8Pilot's Sling S4 video - he looks so far away from the panel that it appears he's sitting on the horizontal stabilizer! 😄

At the moment I have the cockpit zoom level set to 50, but I don't know what true FOV this relates to, and in some aircraft it doesn't look right.   I know preconfigured camera views affects this too (eg. if the default view is too close to , or far from, the panel).

 

Edited June 2, 2022 by JYW

[snglecoil 1,828]

If you are using traditional screens without head tracking or VR, unfortunately it is alway going to be a compromise between seeing enough of the panel, and having an accurate zoom POV. i think I’m using 60-65 in most planes. The default 50 is good for seeing more of the panel without an unnatural fish-eye view of the surroundings…but it is too far  out in reality. And reading gauges is tough on my aging eyes. 

[JYW 2,977]

18 minutes ago, snglecoil said:

If you are using traditional screens without head tracking or VR, unfortunately it is alway going to be a compromise between seeing enough of the panel, and having an accurate zoom POV. i think I’m using 60-65 in most planes. The default 50 is good for seeing more of the panel without an unnatural fish-eye view of the surroundings…but it is too far  out in reality. And reading gauges is tough on my aging eyes. 

Cheers Chris.  Matches my experience fully.  I had settled for 50 in regards to the general visibility but as you say, it can be difficult to read the panel in some planes.    I will try 60-65 and see how it works/looks! 👍

[pmb 5,137]

There is a series of videos on Youtube on the correct (read "most natural") zoom setting for FSX (and Prepar3d) (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qjbCFNSofpk and two follow-ups). I set the zoom level exactly according to that video for my monitor at a certain point of view (beginning of Runway 28R in Prepar3d at KSFO) and took a screenshot from the view.

Next, I fired up MSFS, set the same plane (C172) to the very same point and adjusted zoom until I got the (approximately) same view. The result was a zoom value around 8.0.

However, there are more considerations like the fact that zoom also has an influence on performance, i.e. high values tend to degrade performance (certainly dending on your system and settings) notably with photogrammetry, where it also hurts visuals. Accordingly, I settled with a value of 0.75 for now.

Given I tend to fly more and more under VR the question becomes less important to me anyway.

Kind regards, Michael

[Gazzareth 808]

I've kept it at 50, then move my viewpoint back / forward slightly to get the view of the panel I want. Very close to what I was using in P3D I think !..

 

G

[odourboy 1,288]

It would somewhat based on the size of your monitor isn't it? I try for a close to real-world size appearance of instruments and cockpit. With my 58" screen, the default 50 zoom is pretty close.

[Farlis 2,280]

Zoom level?

There is no zoom level in VR. 😉

[MrBitstFlyer 3,834]

6 hours ago, JYW said:

The zoom level in the cockpit is one thing I feel I can never get quite right in MSFS, and I find myself adjusting it for different planes. 

So I was wondering what setting people use?   I've seen many YouTubers that use a very zoomed out level in the sim - for example, Q8Pilot's Sling S4 video - he looks so far away from the panel that it appears he's sitting on the horizontal stabilizer! 😄

At the moment I have the cockpit zoom level set to 50, but I don't know what true FOV this relates to, and in some aircraft it doesn't look right.   I know preconfigured camera views affects this too (eg. if the default view is too close to , or far from, the panel).

 

There is only one correct FOV for your screen size and seating position. Some of the videos I see are quite silly, with C172's taking off at 300mph.  Luckily there are plenty of FOV calculators available for XPlane, so I set that sim up with the correct FOV.  I then placed the same aircraft in the same position in MSFS and the correct FOV was 80.

I use TrackIR so no problem moving the head around to see the cockpit of any plane.  Most people appear to have the FOV too small, so their depth & speed perception will be incorrect.  If you want to see out the cockpit with a realistic view, it is well worth setting the FOV correctly.  Once the FOV is correct, you can then move your camera view so your head is resting, or just forward of the headrest.  Adjusting the FOV for different aircraft means your depth and speed perception will be different every flight.

I have a 27 inch monitor 20 inches from my eyes which means a FOV of 80 is accurate.  Your setting of 50 sounds way too low for a realistic view, unless you are very close to a very large screen.

[MrBitstFlyer 3,834]

5 minutes ago, Farlis said:

Zoom level?

There is no zoom level in VR. 😉

The size of the lens and distance from the eyes means the FOV can be set by the software for a realistic view, so no adjustment is required.

[MrBitstFlyer 3,834]

5 hours ago, JYW said:

Cheers Chris.  Matches my experience fully.  I had settled for 50 in regards to the general visibility but as you say, it can be difficult to read the panel in some planes.    I will try 60-65 and see how it works/looks! 👍

If you are setting the FOV for the panel, it will be way out for the outside view.  Get a realistic outside view first, then adjust the camera position in the cockpit.

[JYW 2,977]

8 minutes ago, MrBitstFlyer said:

There is only one correct FOV for your screen size and seating position. Some of the videos I see are quite silly, with C172's taking off at 300mph.  Luckily there are plenty of FOV calculators available for XPlane, so I set that sim up with the correct FOV.  I then placed the same aircraft in the same position in MSFS and the correct FOV was 80.

I use TrackIR so no problem moving the head around to see the cockpit of any plane.  Most people appear to have the FOV too small, so their depth & speed perception will be incorrect.  If you want to see out the cockpit with a realistic view, it is well worth setting the FOV correctly.  Once the FOV is correct, you can then move your camera view so your head is resting, or just forward of the headrest.  Adjusting the FOV for different aircraft means your depth and speed perception will be different every flight.

I have a 27 inch monitor 20 inches from my eyes which means a FOV of 80 is accurate.  Your setting of 50 sounds way too low for a realistic view, unless you are very close to a very large screen.

Great post.

I completely agree, and agree also that setting the correct POV was much easier in XP11.  And yes, those YouTubers who all seem to fly with a zoom level of about 20, and at 20kts while taxying it looks like they're doing 120kts towards the runway 😄

The point about getting the POV right and then adjusting the seating position is aggrevated in some planes, because the seat is located too close to the panel, for the correct POV.  The Fenix is bad for that.   With a zoom level of 60, you are literally on top of the panel.   If you then move the camera back, you go "in to" the seat, when you look to the left (I'm a TrackIR user too), the view is distorted due to you being inside the seat!

That is one thing I love about the PMDG 737 - they have the option to remove the captains seat, within the setting - which completely solves this problem.

Edited June 2, 2022 by JYW

[pmb 5,137]

5 hours ago, pmb said:

Next, I fired up MSFS, set the same plane (C172) to the very same point and adjusted zoom until I got the (approximately) same view. The result was a zoom value around 8.0.

This referred to a slider setting of 80, of course, as @MrBitstFlyer agrees to .

Kind regards, Michael

[Ohmsquare 101]

I have a 32 inch monitor ~65 cm (26 inches) from my eyes. Realistic horizontal FOV for that setup should be 57° (Modern FOV Calculator (dinex86.github.io)). I spent hours in the sim using various means to find the correct zoom level for that FOV, and then comparing it to RL etc.  I found that a zoom level between 75 -80 seems to be the most realistic.

I ended up using zoom level at 80 with Tobii headtracker and I actually like it very much when flying in 2D. The main advantage is the right size of the scenery and a realistic feeling of speed. 

 

 

 

Edited June 2, 2022 by Ohmsquare

[Flic1 974]

I have settled on using 50 as my default zoom setting and then each aircraft I will set my custom views based on that.  I can simply just move closer to the panel or further away depending on aircraft but on my 49" Ultra Wide this works best and I don't have to keep changing the zoom in the menu options for different aircraft.  

[snglecoil 1,828]

One advantage to having real world experience is that you can generally get away using the TLAR method…

That Looks About Right 😄