Heading, Pitch & FOV
A visual camera-orientation reference explaining the three core parameters that govern viewpoint framing, perspective extraction, and spherical camera alignment in PanoView Editor.
Heading (Yaw Axis)
Heading represents your horizontal viewing direction along the 360° circle of the panorama. As you rotate left or right, the Heading value indicates where the camera points relative to the center origin of the equirectangular bitmap.
Continuous 360-degree rotation. Moving past 360° wraps smoothly back to 0° with seamless seam handling across the 2:1 bitmap boundary.
0° corresponds to the center column of your source equirectangular image, while 180° points directly toward the outer left and right edges.
PanoView Editor showing a panorama with the Heading control and readout highlighted while facing a recognizable horizontal direction.
Pitch (Tilt Axis)
Pitch represents the vertical tilt angle of the camera, allowing you to look straight ahead, up toward the ceiling, or down toward the floor.
Zenith (Straight Up)
Points directly to the top pole of the sphere, corresponding to the entire top border of the 2:1 image.
Level Horizon (Straight Ahead)
Eye-level viewing angle aligned with the vertical centerline of your equirectangular panorama.
Nadir (Straight Down)
Points directly downward to the bottom pole, where tripods and camera rigs are typically located.
PanoView Editor showing the Pitch control and readout with an upward or downward camera orientation clearly visible.
Field of View (FOV)
Field of View controls the angular span of the scene captured inside the viewport. Adjusting FOV functions like a photographic zoom lens, determining how much of the surrounding sphere is visible at once.
Narrow focal perspective ideal for precise spot retouching on fine details, logos, or distant architectural elements.
Balanced perspective matching natural human vision. Recommended starting point for most perspective view extractions.
Broad perspective useful for framing large objects, room interiors, or broad sky patches in a single editing document.
The same panorama framing shown at two verified FOV values (e.g. 45° and 90°) demonstrating narrow versus wide field of view.
Reset View Action
Clicking the Reset View button instantly restores the virtual camera to its verified default orientation:
Use Reset View whenever you want to re-orient yourself along the horizon line or return to the natural center origin of the panorama.
PanoView Editor immediately after Reset View, with Heading (0°), Pitch (0°), and FOV (75°) readouts clearly visible.
Camera Angle Reference Matrix
Common real-world retouching scenarios and their recommended camera orientation settings:
| Editing Scenario | Target Heading | Target Pitch | Recommended FOV |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tripod / Nadir Patch | Any (0° to 360°) | -90° | 60° to 75° |
| Ceiling / Zenith Patch | Any (0° to 360°) | +90° | 60° to 75° |
| Horizon Architecture | Centered on Subject | 0° (±5°) | 75° |
| Fine Detail / Wire Cleanup | Centered on Defect | Target Angle | 30° to 45° |