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{{ToolRef_3D_TOC}}
{{ToolRef ToolHeader
|name=Camera 3D
|abbreviation=3Cm
|image=Icon_3D_Camera.png
|description=
The Camera 3D tool generates a virtual camera though which the 3D environment can be viewed. It closely emulates the settings used in real world and virtual cameras from other applications to make matching cameras from other environments as seamless as possible. 

The camera should be added to the scene using a [[../Merge 3D|Merge 3D]] tool. To view the scene through the camera, view the scene from the Merge 3D or any tool downstream of it. Then right click in the view and select Camera>''Cameraname'' from the context menu ('''Useful Tip:''' Right click on the axis in the bottom corner of the view to choose from the Camera submenu directly). Note that viewing a camera tool directly shows only an empty scene - it does not view the scene through the camera.
}}

The aspect of the display view may be different from the aspect of the camera, so that the view through the camera interactively may not match the true boundaries of the image which will actually be rendered by the [[../Renderer 3D|Renderer 3D]] tool. To assist the artist in framing the shot, guides can be enabled that represent the portion of the view the camera actually sees. Right click in the view and select an option from the [[../../../Image View/Context menu|Guides>Frame Format]] submenu. The default option will use the format enabled in the Frame Format preferences. To toggle the guides on or off select [[../../../Image View/Context menu|Guides>Show Guides]] (Ctrl+G) from the view's context menu.

The Camera 3D tool can also be used to perform Camera Projection, where a 2D image is projected through the camera into 3D space. This can be done as a simple Image Plane aligned with the camera, or as an actual projection, similar to the behaviour of the [[../Projector 3D|Projector 3D]] tool, with the added advantage of being aligned exactly with the camera.

The Image Plane, Projection and Materials tabs will not appear until a 2D image is connected to the Camera 3D tool in the Flow Editor.

'''Useful Tip:''' If you add a camera by means of dragging the 3Cm icon from the toolbar onto the 3D view, it will automatically merge it with the scene you are viewing. In addition, it will be automatically set to the current viewpoint, and the view will be set to look through the new camera. Alternatively, it is possible to copy the current viewpoint to a camera (or [[../Spotlight|Spotlight]] or any other object) by means of the "Copy PoV To" option in the view's context menu, under the Camera submenu.

== Controls Tab ==
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[[Image:camera3d_controls_perspective.jpg]]<br>
[[Image:Camera3d_controls_orthographic.jpg]]

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<div class=control>Projection Type</div>
Use the Projection Type button to choose between Perspective and Orthographic cameras. Generally, real world cameras are perspective cameras. An orthographic camera uses parallel orthographic projection, a technique where the view plane is perpendicular to the viewing direction. This produces a parallel camera output that is undistorted by perspective. 

Orthographic cameras only present controls for the near and far clipping planes, and a control to set the viewing volume.

<div class=control>Near/Far Clip</div>

By default the Clipping planes for the camera are determined automatically (see Adaptively Adjust Near/Far Clip control below). When Adaptive clipping is disabled, this control becomes active.

The Near Clip and Far Clip range control is used to determine the size of the clipping plane. A clipping plane determines how close to the camera or how far away from the camera an object must be before it is no longer rendered or seen by the camera. 

The values are expressed in units, so a far clipping plane of 20 means that any object more than 20 units distant from the camera will be invisible to the camera. A near clipping plane of 0.1 means that any object closer than 0.1 units will also be invisible.

Note that a smaller range between the near and far clipping planes allows greater accuracy in all depth calculations. If you experience any artifacting on distant objects, try increasing the depth of the Near Clip plane.

<div class=control>Adaptively Adjust Near/Far Clip</div>
When selected the renderer will automatically adjust the cameras near/far clipping plane to match the extents of the scene. This setting overrides the values of the Near and Far clip range control described above. This option is not available for Orthographic cameras.

<div class=control>Viewing Volume Size</div>
The Viewing Volume Size control only appears when the Projection Type is set to Orthographic. It determines the size of the box that makes up the camera's field of view.

The Z distance of an orthographic camera from the objects it sees does not affect the scale of those objects, only the viewing size does.

<div class=control>Angle Of View Type</div>
Use the Angle of View Type button array to choose how the camera's angle of view is measured. Some applications use vertical measurements, some use horizontal and others use diagonal measurements. 

<div class=control>Angle Of View</div>
Angle Of View defines the area of the scene that can be viewed through the camera. Generally, the human eye can see much more of a scene than a camera, and various lenses record different degrees of the total image. A large value produces a wider angle of view and a smaller value produces a narrower, or more tightly focused, angle of view. 

The angle of view and focal length controls are directly related. Smaller focal lengths produce a wider angle of view, so changing one control automatically changes the other to match. 

<div class=control>Focal Length</div>
In the real world, a lens' Focal Length is the distance from the center of the lens to the film plane. The shorter the focal length, the closer the focal plane is to the back of the lens. The focal length is measured in millimeters. The angle of view and focal length controls are directly related. Smaller focal lengths produce a wider angle of view, so changing one control automatically changes the other to match. 

The relationship between focal length and angle of view is: '''angle = 2 * arctan[aperture / 2 / focal_length]'''

Use the vertical aperture size to get the vertical angle of view, and the horizontal aperture size to get the horizontal angle of view.

== Film Back ==
<div class=control>Film Gate</div>
The Film Gate menu shows a list of preset camera types. Selecting one of the options will automatically set the aperture width and aperture height to match the selected camera type.

<div class=control>Aperture Width/Height</div>
The Aperture Width and Height sliders control the dimensions of the camera's aperture, or the portion of the camera that lets light in on a real world camera. In video and film cameras, the aperture is the mask opening that defines the area of each frame exposed. Aperture is generally measured in inches, which are the units used for this control.

<div class=control>Import Camera</div>
The Import Camera button displays a dialog to import a camera from another application. Supported filetypes are Alias's Maya .ma files, 3ds Max ASCII Scene Export, NewTek's LightWave .lws and Softimage XSI's .xsi.

For more details, see the [[../../../3D Tools]] chapter.

== Image Plane Tab ==

[[Image:Camera3d_image.jpg|left]]
When a 2D image is connected to the Camera, an Image Plane is created that is always oriented so that the image fills the camera's field of view. The Image Plane Tab is hidden until a 2D image is connected to the camera 3D's input on the flow.

See the documentation for the [[../Image Plane 3D|Image Plane tool]] for a description of the other controls found in this tab.

<div class=control>Enable Image Plane</div>
Use this checkbox to enable or disable the creation of the Image Plane

<div class=control>Depth</div>
The Depth slider controls the image plane's distance from the camera. 

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== Projection Tab ==
[[Image:Camera3d_projection.jpg|left]]
If a 2D image is connected to the camera it becomes possible to project the image into the scene. A projection is different from an Image Plane in that the projection will fall onto the geometry in the scene exactly as if there was a physical projector present in the scene. The image is projected as light, which means the renderer must be set to Enable lighting for the projection to be visible.

See the [[../Projector 3D|Projector 3D]] tool for additional information.

<div class=control>Enable Camera Projection</div>
Select this checkbox to enable projection of the 2D image connected to the camera tool.

<div class=control>Projection Fit Method</div>

This button array can be used to select the method used to match the aspect of projected image to the cameras Field of View.

<div class=control>Project Ambient Light</div>

Normally the projection is diffuse/specular light, which is directional. Selecting this checkbox makes the light from the projection ambient instead.
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{{../3D Materials Tab}}

{{../3D Transformation Tab}}

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[[Category:Fusion 5 Tool Reference]]