To select the entire camera rig, branch-select the camera root or tree-select any part of the camera rig.
Once you’ve created your cameras, you’ll probably want to move them around a bit to capture just the right angles. You may also need switch back and forth between different cameras to compare points of view.
Selecting Cameras and Camera Interests
Cameras or their interests can be tricky to select. Luckily, there are several ways to select either or both.
To select a camera or camera interest
• Do one of the following:
- Locate the camera or interest in a 3D view and click it to select.
or
- From any viewport, click the camera icon on its menu bar, then choose Select Camera or Select Interest. This selects the camera used in that viewport.
or
- From the Select panel, choose Explore > Cameras. This opens a floating explorer that shows every camera in your scene and its interest. Select a camera or interest from the list. Of course, you can also do the same thing from a regular explorer view once you locate the cameras.
|
To select the entire camera rig, branch-select the camera root or tree-select any part of the camera rig. |
To make camera easier to select, use the camera selection filter. Click the small arrow icon in the selection panel to display the list of available filters. Choose Camera from the list. Now you can rectangle select in large areas of a 3D view, but only select cameras.
Camera views let you display your scene in a 3D view from the point of view of a particular camera. If you have created more than one camera in your scene, you can display a different camera view in each 3D view.
You can also choose to display the viewpoint of a camera associated to the current render pass or a different camera for each pass. For more information, see Passes & Partitions [ Rendering ].
Choosing a camera from a viewport’s Cameras menu switches the viewpoint to that of a “real” camera in your scene. Every camera that has been created or imported with your scene is available from any viewport views menu. All other views such as User, Top, Front, and Right are orthogonal viewpoints and are not associated to an actual camera.
To display a camera view
• Do one of the following:
- Choose Cameras from the viewport’s views menu and select from a submenu of cameras available in the scene.
or
- To display the viewpoint of the camera associated with the current render pass, choose Cameras > Render Pass.
Once you select a camera, you can translate, rotate, and scale it as you would any other object. However, scaling a camera only affects the size of the icon and does not change any of the camera properties.
Generally, the most intuitive way of positioning cameras is to set a 3D view to a camera view and then use the 3D view navigation tools to change the camera’s position. As you navigate in the 3D view, the camera is subject to any and all transformations that are necessary to keep its interest in the center of its focal view.
Below is a list of available navigation tools. For more information about navigating in 3D views, see Navigating in 3D Views [ Interface and Tools ].
|
Navigation Tool |
Description |
|
Mixed Navigation |
Performs a different navigation function, including panning, dollying, orbiting, tracking, and rolling) depending on which mouse button you use. |
|
Pan & Zoom |
Zooms into and out of the scene or pans in all 3D views. |
|
Rectangular Zoom |
Defines a rectangular area that becomes the new magnification factor. |
|
Orbit |
Rotates the camera around its point of interest. |
|
Dolly |
Moves the camera towards or away from its interest. |
|
Roll |
Rolls the camera about its Z axis. Note: You cannot keyframe camera roll from a 3D view. Instead, you have to do it from the camera’s constraints property editor. For more information about keying camera roll, see Animating a Camera Roll. |
|
Pivot |
Rotates the camera interest around its camera. |
|
Fly |
A first-person walkthrough camera tool that combines mouse movement with a custom keymap to help you navigate precisely. Movement is always oriented towards the camera interest. |
|
Walk |
A first-person walkthrough camera tool that combines mouse movement with a custom keymap to help you navigate precisely. Movement is always oriented parallel to the ground. |
|
Drive |
A complex first-person walkthrough camera tool that combines mouse movement with a custom keymap. Generally, mouse movements move the camera while key commands change the direction in which it’s looking. The type of movement depends on which mouse button you use. |
|
When you position the camera from a camera view, using the Frame (f) and Frame All (a) commands change the camera’s position. |
Since positioning cameras is often a process of trial and error, you’ll probably find yourself wanting to undo and redo camera moves.
• Press Alt+Z to undo the last camera move.
• Press Alt+Y to redo the last undone camera move.
|
Camera moves are stored separately from other actions. You can change the number of camera undo’s from the General tab of the User Preference dialog box. |
If you’ve zoomed in and out too much and the perspective on your camera is in need of a reset or refresh, press r. This resets the camera in the 3D view in which the cursor is.
It can take a while to position your camera just the way you want it. Once you’ve gotten a camera position that you like, it’s important to remember where it is.
Each viewport has four memory cameras (“memo cams”), each of which can store the viewport’s current perspective for quick access.
• Middle-click a memo cam to store the current view settings. If the memo cam already has been preset, it will not save the new settings. Use Ctrl+middle-click to overwrite the current view settings.
• Left-click a memo cam to switch to its stored view settings.
• Right-click a memo cam to clear its settings.
Another way to remember a camera’s position is to keyframe it once you’re happy with it. Then, when you want to revert to that position, move to the designated keyframe.
You can see how far an object is from the render pass camera (or output camera) in any or all viewports. This option can be useful when trying to build a scene or set up your lighting. It is also used to help define clipping-plane distances. For more information on how to set up clipping planes, see Setting Clipping Planes.
To display the object-to-camera distance
• Do one of the following:
- From a viewport’s command bar, click the eye icon and choose Distance to Output Camera. This displays the distance in the selected viewport.
or
- From the main menu, choose Display > Distance to Output Camera. This displays the distance in all viewports.
Once activated, the Distance to Output Camera tool displays a reading of how far a selected object is from the render pass camera. The value is displayed in Softimage units.
Autodesk Softimage v.7.5