Quick Answer
The best viewing angle depends on how close people are to the camera: the closer they sit, the wider the lens you need. Huddle and small rooms call for a wide-angle camera (like the 120° Poly Studio R30); larger rooms need narrower lenses with optical zoom and PTZ; and large to extra-large rooms are often best served by multi-camera setups or dual-lens cameras like the Poly Studio E70.
Wide-angle, ultra-wide, narrow? Camera lenses come in many varieties, and it can be hard to figure out what to use for video conferencing.
We’re going to explain what viewing angle fits what situation, so you can get the camera(s) that will optimize your video conferencing experience.
How Do Room Size and Desk Shape Affect Viewing Angle?
Is the conference room small or large? Is it wide or narrow? What shape is the conference desk? These are the basic questions to ask when shopping for a video conferencing camera.
Smaller rooms need wider lenses: if the room is smaller, people will necessarily be closer to the camera, which means you’ll need a wider-angle lens or the camera won’t pick them up. So for huddle rooms and small conference rooms, look for a wide-angle video conferencing camera — and similarly, if the conference table is broad, you’ll need a wide angle to capture everyone along the horizontal axis.
Farther means narrower: if people are farther away or the table is narrow, you’ll need a narrower-angle lens. The lens then has the reach to display faces in good detail without needing to worry about picking up people on the edges.
Large rooms need zoom. There are two types of camera zoom: optical and digital (or electronic).
- Optical zoom means, basically, the lens itself can focus closer. You’ll see it referred to as lossless zoom, too, because the camera uses all the pixels available on its sensor while getting a closer image. All else being equal, optical zoom always gives you better picture quality than digital zoom.
- Digital zoom or electronic zoom means the camera achieves the effect of focusing closer by cropping and enlarging the image. It’s lossy because the camera uses only a portion of the picture, not all the pixels on the sensor. Cameras compensate by using a larger sensor than strictly needed — for example, a 4K Ultra HD sensor for 1080p Full HD video conferencing — so the pixel overhead reduces the impact of digital zoom.
Add pan and tilt — a PTZ camera: pan means the camera can move left to right; tilt means it can move up and down. A PTZ camera like the one found in the Yealink UVC84-BYOD Kit for Large Rooms offers full PTZ capabilities, including 12x lossless optical zoom.
ePTZ: you might come across the term electronic PTZ (ePTZ) or digital PTZ — the equivalent of digital zoom, where the camera achieves the effect of PTZ by cropping the image.
How Close Are People to the Camera?
Close means wide. Related to room size is how close people will be to the camera: the closer people are, the wider the camera viewing angle has to be. The Poly Studio R30 is a good example of a huddle room camera with a wide-angle lens — this all-in-one video bar has a 120° field of view, which is very wide.
Watch for distortion: lenses distort shapes on the edges, which becomes particularly acute with wide-angle lenses — think of the ultra-wide fisheye lens used in 90’s music videos. Many cameras now provide some sort of distortion compensation, but you can only fight the science of optics so much.
There are two ways to deal with distortion on the edges: get a camera with automatic group framing and speaker tracking, or establish a multi-camera system.
What Technologies Compensate for Viewing Angles?
Let’s face it: you’re almost never going to get the perfect shot. To solve this problem, camera manufacturers have developed automatic group framing and speaker tracking.
Group framing means the camera automatically crops the image to reduce wasted space — it senses which objects in the picture are people and crops accordingly, dynamically. Rather than a display filled with empty table space and walls, the far end sees just the people in the conversation.
Speaker tracking is similar, but rather than framing the whole group, it frames the active speaker. The camera uses a beamforming microphone array to pinpoint where speech is coming from, then automatically homes in on that person.
Both group framing and speaker tracking let the camera compensate for its natural viewing angles.
When Should You Use Multi-Camera or Dual-Lens Systems?
Multi-camera systems: for large and extra-large conference rooms, you’ll likely want a multi-camera setup. Using more than one camera ensures all sides of the conference space are covered and everyone’s face is seen in sufficient detail — a typical arrangement includes both wide-angle and zoom cameras, with the wide-angle capturing the whole group while the zoom captures individuals.
We covered multi-camera systems in detail in our blog: Multi-Camera Microsoft Teams Kits for Video Conferencing in Extra-Large Rooms.
Dual-lens cameras: some manufacturers now offer cameras that are two cameras in one, giving you the benefits of multi-camera systems in a single device. For example, Poly Studio E70 has dual lenses with dual 20MP camera sensors, providing automatic speaker tracking and group framing with incredible speed and accuracy, bolstered by Poly DirectorAI technology.
Decision shortcut: the advantage of a dual-lens camera is simplicity — no connecting and operating multiple cameras. For large rooms where a multi-camera system is an option, first consider whether one device that incorporates two cameras is the better option.
Frequently Asked Questions
What viewing angle is best for a huddle room?
A wide-angle lens — people sit close to the camera in small spaces, so you need a wide field of view like the 120° lens on the Poly Studio R30.
What is the difference between optical and digital zoom?
Optical (lossless) zoom focuses closer with the lens itself, using all the sensor’s pixels; digital zoom crops and enlarges the image, which is lossy. All else being equal, optical zoom gives better picture quality.
What is ePTZ?
Electronic PTZ (or digital PTZ) achieves the effect of pan-tilt-zoom by cropping the image, rather than physically moving the lens.
What are group framing and speaker tracking?
Group framing automatically crops the image to show just the people in the room; speaker tracking uses a beamforming microphone array to find and frame the active speaker. Both compensate for a camera’s natural viewing angle.
Updated July 2026
