Telescope field of viewcalculator

Deciding whether to use lense vs. lens is an easy one as long as you remember one basic fact. Lense is not a word. Discover why it's common for people to use lense even though it's not the correct spelling of any English word. Learn what you need to know to avoid making that error in writing.

For more insights into using the correct singular (lens) and plural forms (lenses) of these words, explore a few sample sentences.

Field of view ofatelescopeformula

Notice that lense is not used in any of these sentences. That particular combination of letters (lense) would be a language usage error or spelling mistake.

Camerafield of viewsimulator

Used in quotations like the examples above, the word lens doesn't refer to a concrete transparent object. Instead, this usage is treating the word lens as a synonym for words like perspective and angle.

The word lens can also be used in a figurative manner. For example, the phrases "through the lens" or "through a lens" are examples of metaphors using this word.

Field of viewhuman eye

A lens is a transparent surface, such as a piece of glass or a special type of plastic, that has been specially constructed so that it can disperse or concentrate rays of light. A lens can be concave or convex, depending on the direction it curves. The shape of the curve impacts how light behaves when it passes through the lens.

The word lens is a singular noun. The plural form of this word is lenses. It seems that a misunderstanding about the singular form of this word is likely the primary source of confusion regarding lens vs. lense.

The field of view (often abbreviated as FOV) is the amount of sky you can see at one time when looking through a telescope or binoculars, measured in degrees. The actual field of view is usually small. For example, if your telescope just shows the whole of the full Moon completely filling the view, its actual field of view will be about half a degree, which is the diameter of the Moon in the sky. However, there’s also the apparent field of view. Some eyepieces have a small apparent field of view, maybe 30º, which makes it look as if you are viewing the Moon through a tube. Other eyepieces have a much wider field of view, say 60º or even 80º, so the view is spread out over a much wider area.

Now that you know that lense is not actually a word and are clear on the fact that lens is singular and lenses is plural, you'll be able to consistently use these words correctly. Of course, lens and lense are not the only terms that are easy to get mixed up or to spell incorrectly. Boost your language arts skills by reviewing some of the most often misspelled words in the English language. You may also find it helpful to review some examples of irregular plural nouns to ensure you clearly understand some of the more complicated singular to plural conversions.