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DPMiller
Tutor
Tutor

Has anyone noticed that the FOV on the Arlo Pro is not what is written on the box?

My Arlo Pro box and the online data sheet both list clearly FOV 130 degrees. Other sources say it is 110 degrees making both of these sources fraudulant.

To make matters worse, my home testing would indicate it is not 110 degrees either. It is closer to 87 degrees at 5 feet off the ground

HAS ANYONE ELSE NOTED THIS OR HAD A BOX THAT STATES 130 DEGREES?

There is no email to send this information to and when I called and chatted, the support agents refused to divulge any email address. Literally just said no. Ideas on where to take this information? Is there an employee monitoring this chat room?

 

12 REPLIES 12
DPMiller
Tutor
Tutor

I just opened an Arlo Pro 4 pack. The box clearly states 130 degree FOV. It was on that basis I purchased it. Turns out the Arlo Pro is listed at 110 degrees despite what is on the box.

To make it worse , my home testing ( not perfectly acurate)  demonstrates an apprx 87 degree FOV. Definitely not the 130 degrees written onto the box

steve_t
Master Master
Master

How are you measuring the FOV? If it was 87 degrees, you would have a very small FOV. Anything more than 90 degrees from one edge to the other would not be visible. This isn't consistent with what I see. I don't know if it's exactly 130 degrees but it's definitely more than 90 degrees

DPMiller
Tutor
Tutor

Thanks for taking the time.  I placed the camera against a wall which allows me to see a 180 degree line.

I drew a line stright ahead and had someone stand at exactly half way between the two lines. That represents 45 degrees off straight ahead in each direction. Both people could not be seen by the camera implying that it is less than 90 degrees.

The other way to measure it is place the camera against the wall and have someone stand on either side. They walk forward until they are seen in the picture. That should be only 25 degrees from flat and on mine it is no where near that. I will try to atttach a screen grab

jguerdat
Guru Guru
Guru

Your image looks normal to me. The Pro cameras are 130 degrees while the old original cameras are 110. Note that this is a diagonal measure, not side to side, which is normal practice.

JoeCymru
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

130 degrees is AOV or angle of view. You cannot calculate the angle of view from the camera unless you enter the distance from the lens where the measured things or people are into the equation. The size of the field (or FOV) it takes in is relative to that distance  and what obstructions are in the way. The field of view of a camera concerning any one subject decreases significantly as the subject matter approaches, but the angle of view remains constant. The way to test the angle of view of a camera is to run a perpendicular line straight out from the camera. Then draw lines 65 degrees out from that perpendicular line or each side (or 55 degree if you are looking for 110 degrees AOV. Then walk out from the camera on those lines. The subject should be in the peripheral edge of the view ... into infinity if there are no visual obstructions (of course focus and light gathering ability of the camera eventually comes into play).  Naturally to measure exactly what you have, you would need to draw various angles out from the camera, but I believe you are safe with 55 degrees out on either side.

jguerdat
Guru Guru
Guru

+1  ^^What he said.

DPMiller
Tutor
Tutor

Thanks again to both of you. That helps and perhaps the diagonal measurement is what I am missing.

Not to belabor it, but it still remains that the box and user manual on my Arlo Pro ( not Pro2) states clearly 130 degrees when , in fact, they are acknowledged to be 110 degree. I wish I could find a way to notify them that their boxes and user manual are mislabelled. 

BTW- I tried to describe in my last post that I did the test exactly as you described. ( although I called it FOV instead of AOV, I have to look that distinction up!) I laid a straight line and then had 2 people walk along a line 45 degree off that line. Both people were mostly out of view. at 55 degrees they were completely out of view. 

But again that is not on a diagonal.

You might wonder why I am obsessing over this. The application is a wide yard that is not deep. The camera centered on the wall has wide swaths of missing coverage. They can't be mounted on either end, so that is my trouble.

First world problem, indeed. 

Thanks again. Please post one last repsonse if you have any comments on my first and/or second paragraph.

Then I am done with this , I swear.

jguerdat
Guru Guru
Guru
<p>There's never been anything suggesting that the Pro cameras were 110 degrees while it was definitely stated in the original wireless cameras. Look at the Products link at the top here, select an appropriate camera and scroll down to the Technical Specifications section. You'll have to download the data sheet for the original Arlo camera to see the FOV spec.</p>
steve_t
Master Master
Master

I think it's the Arlo Pro 2 that has the 130 degree FOV. It certainly seems wider than the Arlo Pro anyway

jguerdat
Guru Guru
Guru

Both Pro models have 130 degree FOV specs although the P2 does have a slightly wider view.

DPMiller
Tutor
Tutor

Thanks, as promised, I will let this go and mark this conluded. 
I will stand by Arlo stating that Pro is 110 and Pro 2 is 130 because it is what they said over the phone specifically reading from a script. 

I also still have to stand by my home benchmarking because people walking >45 degree off center line are out of view. I going to assume this is a distinction of how they are measuring their 130 degrees. It is a different measurement.

 

Unfortunately, I still don't fully grasp what it means to both have FOV of 130 degree but the Pro 2 does have a slightly wider view. I thought that would be reflected in a larger FOV. How is the FOV the exact same but you have a wider view ?

Ah well. I got great night shots of coyotes on my back porch in an urban area, so I shouldn't complain

 

Finally, while I find the Arlo community pro's to be exceptionally responsive, it appears to be the company is purposely opaque. No e-mail address and no other way to contact the company except by phone. The phone people seem new and unsure of the products. 

steve_t
Master Master
Master

I find the best way to contact real support is at the bottom of this page and following a strange circular pattern, eventually getting to a live chat option. I think, however, that the live chat is only available at certain times of the day. The other problem being that if it's outside of those hours, you can't even see that a live chat option exists. Something for Arlo to work on hopefully