In a video capture system, a virtual lens is simulated when applying a crop or zoom effect to an input video. An input video frame is received from the input video that has a first field of view and an input lens distortion caused by a lens used to capture the input video frame. A selection of a sub-frame representing a portion of the input video frame is obtained that has a second field of view smaller than the first field of view. The sub-frame is processed to remap the input lens distortion to a desired lens distortion in the sub-frame. The processed sub-frame is the outputted.