The only thing every 3D scene needs is a camera to control the final rendered scene. So knowing how to control a camera in Blender is an essential skill for any 3D artist. No matter you are rendering a still image or animating a scene, using the camera properly will help you show off your work in the best way. Luckily, Blender provides many intuitive tools for controlling the camera without making things too complicated. This article will guide you through the basics and give you a solid foundation for controlling cameras in Blender.
Basic Settings for Camera in Blender
In Blender, the camera is also a type of object, like meshes or lights, but they are unique in a few ways. They don’t have materials, and you can’t enter Edit Mode for them. Their only function is to define what will be rendered. Although cameras don’t show up in the final output, they are essential because whatever the active camera sees is exactly what Blender will render.
By default, every new Blender scene includes one camera. You can add more cameras by pressing SHIFT + A in the 3D Viewport and selecting Camera from the menu. Like other objects, cameras can be moved (G), rotated (R), and zoomed (S), and zooming doesn’t affect the rendering process. To view the scene from the camera’s perspective, press 0 on your keyboard. This will activate the Camera View, which shows exactly what the camera sees and is surrounded by a border (which is a rectangle by default). To exit Camera View, simply press and hold the middle mouse button and move the mouse.
Multiple Cameras in Blender
We can place multiple cameras in a scene in Blender, but we can only set one camera as the ‘Active Camera’ at a time. The active camera is the one used to render the final image. The active camera is distinguished by the small triangle above the camera icon. A black triangle indicates the active camera, while a transparent triangle indicates the inactive camera.
To switch the active camera, simply select the camera you want and press Ctrl + 0. This will make that camera the active camera and instantly switch to that camera’s viewport. Alternatively, you can change the active camera from the Scene Properties panel by selecting the camera from the drop-down menu or right-clicking the desired camera in the viewport and selecting Set Active Camera. You can also rename cameras for better organization. Simply select the camera, press F2, type a new name, and press Enter. This feature is useful if you have to manage multiple shots in a complex scene.
Locking View to Camera
Sometimes you may want the camera to match exactly what you are seeing in the 3D view. We can press Ctrl + Alt + Numpad 0, which will instantly move the camera to the current view. This is a quick and efficient way to align the shot from any angle.
If you want to adjust the view while keeping the camera fixed to your movement, open the sidebar (the ‘N’ bar) and check the ‘Camera to View’ box.
Properties and Settings for Camera in Blender
Most of the camera settings in Blender are located in the Properties Panel. When you select a camera, the Camera Properties icon will appear in the Properties Menu. Additionally, the settings will be slightly different depending on whether you are using Eevee or Cycles as your render engine. If you are using Eevee, some settings will not be visible and will not apply.
Camera Lens
Cameras in Blender have three main types of lenses: Perspective, Orthographic, and Panoramic. Each serves a different purpose.
Perspective is the most commonly used lens. It mimics the way the human eye sees, with objects that are farther away appearing smaller than closer objects. This lens is ideal for most scenes, especially those designed to mimic the view from a real-world camera.
Orthographic completely ignores perspective. With this lens, objects remain the same size regardless of the distance from the camera. While it may seem unnatural at first, it is handy for technical illustrations, abstracts, and stylized imagery.
Panoramic is only available when using the Cycles render engine. It supports specialized lenses such as: Rectangular cameras that capture 360-degree panoramas, which are great for creating VR images or environment maps; Fisheye and Mirrorball lenses are designed for specific use cases such as dome projection or light reference.
Camera Focal Length
Focal length is basically the zoom level of the camera. Although it may have a more technical definition, it is the way the camera zooms in or out of the scene.
Shift
You can shift the camera lens along the X or Y axis. This allows you to slightly adjust the camera’s perspective without actually moving the camera in space.
Camera Clipping
‘Clip Start’ and ‘Clip End’ set the distance at which the camera can display objects in the scene. The camera can’t see objects at infinite distances, and also has difficulty displaying objects that are too close. Any object that is further away than the ‘Clip End’ distance or closer than the ‘Clip Start’ distance will not be displayed in the camera’s view. If objects in the scene are not visible, increase the ‘Clip End’ distance. Also, avoid setting the ‘Clip Start’ too small, as this will cause noise in the scene.
Camera Sensor Settings
The sensor settings and size are advanced, and photographers will probably understand them better. Adjusting the sensor size can also create a zoom effect similar to changing the focal length.
Safe Areas
Safe Areas help you avoid placing important objects too close to the edge of the frame. You can enable this option in the Camera Properties tab, and you will see dashed lines appear in the Camera View. These lines do not appear in the final render, but are only used as a compositional guide.
Background Images
You can enable an image or video as the background in your scene by enabling the Background image option. This will make the background image tied to the camera’s perspective, meaning you only see it when you’re in camera view mode. The background image is displayed behind or in front of objects in the scene, and you can adjust the opacity to control how much is visible.
Viewpoint Display
In Viewpoint Display, you can change the size of the camera icon in the 3D view. This doesn’t affect the rendering, but it makes it easier to see and arrange your composition while you work. There are also many other display options that you can enable/disable as needed.
Limits display a line extending from the camera, representing the clipping start and end distances. This helps us visualize whether objects are too far (or too close) for the camera to see.
Mist displays similarly to limits, but will show the mist start and stop distances. Mist is a tool in the render pass settings to simulate a mist effect in post-compositing.
Passepartour
Passepartout is an option in Camera View that controls how much blur is applied to the area outside the camera view. If you increase the value to 1, everything outside the camera frame will be completely black. If you set the value to 0, the entire scene will be visible, with nothing darkened. Therefore, adjusting the level between 0 and 1 makes it easier to distinguish between what is in the rendered frame and what is cut out, which is useful when composing your shot.
Composition Guides
Similar to ‘Safe Areas’, Composition Guides are guides that are displayed in Camera View, but do not appear in the final render. They provide visual cues to help you compose your shot, such as the rule of thirds.
Depth of Field (DOF)
Depth of Field describes the area of space in which objects will be in sharp focus. And objects in front of or behind this area will be blurred. You may have seen this effect often in photography or movies, where an object in the center is sharp, while the background is blurred. In Blender, this effect is created when you enable the Depth of Field option in the camera settings.
Focus Distance/ Object
When you enable the Depth of Field (DOF) feature, you need to tell the camera what distance to focus on. You can either manually enter the Focus Distance or select a specific object to focus on via the Focus Object field. You can use the drop-down menu or the ‘eyedrop’ icon to select an object in the scene. Objects that are closer or farther away from the selected object will be blurred, creating a depth effect.
Aperture/ F-Stop
The F-Stop parameter determines the level of blur of objects that are out of focus. In photography, the lower the F-Stop, the stronger the bokeh effect, meaning that the out-of-focus parts will be blurred more. Conversely, the higher the F-Stop, the less blur and the larger the area in focus.
Blender Camera Resolution Settings
An important factor in camera settings is resolution. And in Blender, this setting is not for each individual camera but applies to the entire scene. You can find this section in the Output Properties tab. The default resolution is 1920×1080, which is a popular full HD standard for video. However, depending on the purpose of use, you can change the appropriate resolution.
Next is Frame Settings, which is related to animation rendering.
Start Frame/ End Frame: You can specify the start and end time of the animation (for example, from frame 1 to frame 250).
Frame Rate: The number of frames displayed per second (for example, 24fps, 30fps, 60fps) directly affects the smoothness of the video.
Step: If set to 1, Blender will render each frame. If set to 2, it will render every two frames, i.e., skipping a frame to save time or create special effects.
Walk/Fly Camera Navigation
In addition, Blender provides 2 3D scene navigation modes: Walk Mode and Fly Mode, which allow you to move around the scene like a first-person 3D game. This is a convenient way to fine-tune the camera’s position and angle. You can enter walk mode by pressing Shift + ~ (the accent mark in the upper left corner of the keyboard). We can navigate the scene with the “W”, “A”, “S”, and “D” keys just like in a video game. “E” to fly up and “Q” to land. Move the mouse to change the viewing direction.
When you are in Camera View (by pressing Ctrl + NumPad 0), you can activate Walk Mode to move the camera directly as desired, helping to frame more accurately without using manual rotation and movement tools.
In addition to Walk Mode, Blender also has Fly Mode, which you can enable in the Navigation section of the Preferences. The way to control Fly Mode is a little different, depending on the user’s choice according to habit.
Final Thoughts
Camera in Blender isn’tt the most exciting topic, but it’s something every scene needs. A properly placed camera can make or break your final render. And if your shot isn’t turning out the way you want it to, the problem is most likely the camera settings. Once you understand how to control your camera, it’s much easier to create the look you desire.
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