16mm Telephoto
17.1° horizontal field of view - Complete coverage reference guide
About the 16mm lens
A 16mm lens provides about 19° horizontal field of view — long-telephoto by CCTV standards. At this focal length, the camera becomes a precision tool for reading details at long distance: faces at 40+ meters, license plates at 60+ meters, signage and equipment labels far beyond the range of standard surveillance lenses.
Best for
- •License plate recognition (LPR/ANPR) installations along single-lane access roads
- •Long-range perimeter monitoring of fenced industrial sites
- •Highway overpass and traffic-flow observation
- •Stadium exterior and large public-area monitoring from elevated positions
Trade-offs
- •Coverage at 10 m distance is roughly 3.4 m — completely unsuitable for any general-purpose installation
- •Requires very stable mounting; even mild wind on a pole produces visible image shake
- •Sensitive to thermal turbulence on hot days, which softens details at long distances
Real-world example
A 16mm lens at a single-lane gate captures clear license plates of vehicles entering at typical approach speeds, while a 4mm camera at the same position would deliver only a vague rectangle in place of the plate. The trade-off is total: 16mm sees a single lane crystal-clearly but cannot show what is happening 5 meters to either side.
Compared to other focal lengths
16mm vs 12mm: roughly 25% narrower coverage with proportionally more reach. 16mm vs 25mm: noticeably wider field of view but significantly less effective range — typically the practical sweet-spot before installations move to specialty lenses.
Coverage Width at Different Distances
| Distance | Coverage Width | Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| 5m | 1.5m | Entrance/POS area |
| 10m | 3.0m | Retail floor, office |
| 15m | 4.5m | Warehouse aisle, parking |
| 20m | 6.0m | Warehouse aisle, parking |
| 30m | 9.0m | Parking lot, perimeter |
| 50m | 15.0m | Parking lot, perimeter |
| 75m | 22.5m | Long-distance monitoring |
| 100m | 30.0m | Long-distance monitoring |
Other Lens Options
Calculate for Your Setup
Use our FOV calculator to experiment with different focal lengths and distances.