In the cockpit and outside, there are two options to “move” your wiev position. One is your wiev position, where your eyes are and the second are zoom like in a tele zoom lens. The latter (zoom) are the one that distorts the wiev, not moving your wieving position around.
Try and go into showcase mode. Try and set zoom at fx 12% and move with the arrow keys furtherback and forth. The image becomes distorted. Then try and set the zoom at fx 80% and move with the arrow keys. No or only slight distortion.
In external wiev you cannot move in or out only zoom which leads to massive distortion, as seen in many many YouTube videos.
In the cockpit I find that mostly 60% zoom is just right and then I move the wievpoint to where I want it.
What you call fov is in fact zoom.
External wiev are of limited use because you cannot move in or out…only in showcase wiev.
The reason that many want their wiev quite wide (large fov) are that they have a smaller screen and no trackir.
If you ever wondered how pilots in real life read the dials in the cockpit without having to lean forward to see better is because they are much closer to the dashboard in real life, but at the same time they have perifiral sight and can move the head around.
I have a 49 inch screen but even that is like looking through a small slot compared to real life peripheral vision. I also have trackir and could not fly without.
Never tried VR, though.