Cameras - Camera

This window provides all necessary parameters for adjusting the camera, respectively the point of view. Most values are animatable to create the desired motion and field of view changes. With imported cameras, many fields are locked, though you are still able to rotate and move them without limitations, but with the next frame or reset, all values are restored.

Visible

You can switch the viewport's camera icon on and off with this option.

LookAt

This is the point in space the camera is oriented to – it requires three values for X, Y and Z. You can enter any positive or negative value, including 0. When "Link target" is used, these fields are not accessible, because the “LookAt” vector is then determined by the target node. In RealFlow’s viewport, the “Look At” direction is represented by a dotted line. The values are measured in metres [m].

Link target

You can use any available node as a target, the camera is then oriented to. Even daemons can be used for this purpose. The target object does not have to be identical with the "Parent to" node, because both features work completely independently from each other. When “Link target” is activated, the camera automatically focuses the selected item, regardless from any performed motion.

Roll

This value is given in degrees [deg] and controls the camera’s inclination along the horizontal axis. “Roll” is often used for dramatic effects and flyovers appear more realistic with animated rolling.

FOV

This is the abbreviation for “Field Of View” and describes the visible section of the scene in degrees [deg]. Larger values create a wider impression; small settings will narrow your view, giving more focus on a certain object. “FOV” expects an angle as input.

Near Clip Plane/Far Clip Plane

With clip planes you are able to restrict the field of view in near and far distances, measured in metres [m]. Everything that is outside this pair of imaginary planes is simply cut away and not visible anymore. By specifying clip planes it is possible to look inside closed objects, without having to delete polygons – it is a non-destruction method. There is just one value available, because clipping only makes sense along the camera’s viewing direction and therefore it is closely linked to “Look At”. Below you can see two views: the first one is a camera’s standard perspective, the second shows a clipped view. If you have a close look, you will note that even the background grid is clipped.

Width/Height

It is possible to adjust the camera view independently from the preview settings in the “Preferences” panel. Both settings affect the “Camera Safe Frame” directly when the viewport is set to “Camera View” and when you change them, the frame's aspect ratio is adjusted. The frame also influences the preview size and the visible part of the Maxwell preview. If you want to hide the frame, for example in cases where you want to create a clean preview, simply uncheck the following menu entry: 

View > Camera Safe Frame

RealFlow's "Maxwell Interactive" window works with and without an explicit “Camera” node, and the preview is updated with each change of perspective. If there is a camera, Maxwell will use its “Width” and “Height” settings for the preview window's size (this is, by the way, also valid for plain OpenGL previews). In scenes without a camera, Maxwell reverts to the settings of the associated “Preferences” panel:

Preferences > Preview > Render Options

When you change a camera parameter, the view in the “Maxwell Interactive” window will be updated automatically. Please note that a camera is mandatory when you send a preview or render job to RealFlow's command line version.