Houdini plugin - Maxwell Camera (OBJ)

Maxwell Camera is an object network which extends the native Houdini camera parameters with Maxwell Render specific options. The node is linked with a normal Houdini camera node and displays only the main parameters which are understood by Maxwell Render.

The following table summarizes the parameters which are translated to the Maxwell scene.

Houdini camera nodeMaxwell Render camera
Translate, Rotate, Pivot, Look At, Look At Up Vector, Path Object, RollCamera Position, Target Position
ResolutionResolution
Pixel Aspect RatioPixel Aspect
Focal LengthFocal Length
ApertureFilmback. Film width = Aperture, Film height = Resolution Y / Resolution X * Aperture
Near Clipping, Far ClippingZ-clip range
Shutter TimeShutter speed. Used formula: 1 / (1000 * (1-Shutter Time / FPS))
Focus DistanceTarget Position, Target Distance
F-Stopf-Stop

All the native camera parameters can be edited with opening the network node (Enter key or double click).

 

The specific parameters are located on a new tab called Maxwell.

  • Exposure: presets of commonly used interior and exterior exposure settings. You can define any custom values in Custom mode.
  • Lens: specifies the type of the camera lens. Maxwell Render provides 6 different lens types useful for a range of different scenarios. For more details on the camera lens type, please check the Camera Lenses page.
  • Aperture: specifies the projection angle for Fish Eye, Spherical and Cylindrical type lenses.
  • Shutter: specifies shutter speed value of the Maxwell camera.
  • ISO: specifies the film's light- sensitivity; higher ISO is more sensitive.
  • Response: presets of different real camera curve response settings.
  • Use Rotary Shutter: enables the rotary shutter mode, which mimics the behavior of a film cameras shutter. In this mode the shutter time value is overridden with the value computed from the angle.

  • Shutter Angle: defines how long the film is exposed to light: 90 degrees means that the shutter time is a quarter of the frame time, while a value of 360 degrees means there's no shutter at all and the film is exposed for the whole duration of the frame.

  • Shift Offset: specifies the offset of the lens position horizontally and vertically which can be useful to correct geometric perspective distortion.
  • Aperture: controls the shape of the “bokeh” effect caused by bright spots in the parts of the render that are out of focus. (Circular or Polygonal)
  • Blades: specifies the number of blades for Polygonal diaphragm.
  • Angle: specifies rotation angle of aperture opening for Polygonal diaphragm.
  • Custom Bokeh: enables anamorphic bokeh, allowing you to get a natural anisotropic non-round bokeh.
  • Bokeh Ratio: specifies the aspect ratio of the anamorphic bokeh.
  • Bokeh Angle: specifies the angle of the anamorphic bokeh.