Google Earth Blog

The amazing things about Google Earth


field of view

Google Maps ‘Earth’ view FOV

We recently noticed that if you look at a given place in both Google Earth and Google Maps’ ‘Earth’ view, they look a bit different, with distant objects looking closer in Google Maps than in Google Earth. The main reason for this is that Google Earth by default has a different Field of View from Google Maps.

Last year we showed you how to change the field of view in Google Earth using a tour KML. After some experimentation we reckon that Google Earth by default uses a horizontal field of view (HFOV) of about 60° and Google Maps uses a HFOV of about 35° for its ‘Earth’ view.

So to match up a given location you need to download this KML file, which adjusts Google Earth’s HFOV to 35 degrees. In addition, you may want to try turning on ‘Photorealistic Atmosphere’ in Google Earth’s settings to get the colours to match up a bit better.

Google Earth default HFOV
Praia Grande, Brazil, with Google Earth’s default settings. Note how the marked building and hill in the distance look further away than in the Google Maps screen shot below.

Google Maps
Praia Grande, Brazil, in Google Maps’ ‘Earth’ view.

Google Earth 35° HFOV
Praia Grande, Brazil, in Google Earth with an HFOV of 35° and ‘Photorealistic Atmosphere’.

Using KML to change your field of view in Google Earth

Thank you to GEB reader Sebastien for letting us know that the Field of View can be adjusted in Google Earth by means of a tour. There are other techniques mentioned here such as a KML with transparent photo overlay, or changing an ini file, but the tour technique seems to be the easiest.

It is hard to describe the effects of changing the field of view, so instead we will just show you.

different fields of view
Google Earth with different fields of view.

In the above screen shots, the eye altitude varies from about 64,000 km with a field of view of 10°, to just 37 km with a field of view of 300°. Also, with the larger fields of view it is possible to zoom out a very long way from the earth, which has interesting effects on the background stars and galaxy. Using the 300° field of view and zooming in on an area with mountains or 3D buildings also has interesting effects.

300° field of view
3D buildings seen with a 300° field of view.

If you ever want to change the field of view yourself simply create a short tour in Google Earth, edit the KML and add <gx:horizFov>120</gx:horizFov> inside the <LookAt> tag, changing ‘120’ to your desired field of view.

Alternatively, just download one of the tours we have prepared for you, and if it doesn’t have your desired field of view, edit it in a text editor and adjust the number in the line with ‘gx:horizFov’. Here are the tours: 10°,30°,45°,60°,90°,120°,160°,200°,300°.

The field of view remains in effect until you either open a tour with another field of view, or restart Google Earth.