Camera Attribute Editor

Camera attributes

Tip: If you click the boxes at the right of some of the attributes in this editor, the Create Render Node window window appears, which means you can map certain render nodes to the camera attributes.

Controls

See Maya camera types for information about the type of cameras: Camera; Camera and Aim; and Camera, Aim, and Up.

Angle of view

For more information on angle of view and how it’s affected by the focal length of the camera, see Angle of view (focal length).

Tip: Try to avoid using a perspective camera with a very small angle (less than 5 degrees). Doing so may result in a much decreased depth precision, resulting in depth-fighting artifacts. Instead, try using an orthographic camera for a similar look.

Focal length

See Focal length.

Camera scale

See Camera scale.

Auto Render Clip Plane

For Maya software only. When on (default), the near and far clipping planes are automatically set so they enclose all objects within the camera’s view. (For the hardware renderer and mental ray for Maya renderers, you must set the near clip plane and far clip plane manually. You can set the planes manually for Maya software rendering too.)

Note: Maya uses independent horizontal and vertical field of view angles. The camera model is based on independent horizontal and vertical film apertures plus a focal length.

All objects render and depth precision problems are eliminated. Clipping planes are not visible in the views.

Auto Render Clip Plane is on by default. When off, the near and far clipping planes are set to the Near Clip Plane and Far Clip Plane attribute values.

Turn off Auto Render Clip Plane (and set the Near Clip Plane and Far Clip Plane) to limit which objects render based on their distance from the camera if you are compositing based on depth.

Near Clipping Plane, Far Clipping Plane

These options are described in the Create Camera Options. See also Clipping planes.

Frustum Display Controls

The following are the frustum display controls for a non-stereo camera. For a stereo camera, these attributes are controlled via Stereo Display Controls. These attributes are disabled for the left/right camera of a stereo camera.

Display Near Clip: Enable this option to display the near clipping plane.
Display Far Clip: Enable this option to display the far clipping plane.
Display Frustum: Enable this option to display the frustum.

Stereo

The sections Stereo, Stereo Adjustments, and Stereo Display Controls contain the attributes for the stereoscopic camera (stereoCameraCenterCamShape node):

Stereo: Select the method for computing the zero parallax plane from one of the following modes:

Off: Disables any eye separate, InteraxialSeparation, and Zero Parallax plane calculations on the node. This option disables the stereo effect.
Converged: Computes the zero parallax plane by toeing in the cameras. You can compare this effect to our focusing on an object by rotating our pupils inwards. However, a dangerous side effect may occur where you get a keystone effect on the pairs of render images, causing visual confusion in other elements in the scene. In a rendered image, our focus tends to saccade over the entire image and we are not focusing on a single object, which is not true in real life. You should only use Converged when an object is at the center of the screen with no scene elements at the render borders on either the left or right camera frustum.
Off-axis (Default): Computes the convergence plane by shifting the frustum using camera film back. This is the safer way to compute stereo image pairs and avoids keystone artifacts.
Parallel: A parallel camera setup where there is effectively no convergence plane. This is useful for landscape settings where objects exist at effectively infinity.

Interaxial Separation

Distance between left and right cameras.

Zero Parallax

Distance on the camera view axis where the zero parallax plane occurs, in other words, the point where objects appear off screen. If an object is in front of the zero parallax plane, it has negative parallax and if an object is behind the zero parallax plane, it has positive parallax.

In general, your object should be behind the zero parallax plane. in other words, the camera distance should be greater than the zero parallax plane value. The zero parallax value, the camera separation, and focal length are all used to determine the shift that must be applied to film back on the respective left and right cameras. The zero parallax distance is only applicable when in Off-Axis or Toe-In modes.

Stereo Adjustments

Toe In Adjust: Use this attribute to offset the computed toe-in effect when you are in Converged mode. This value is specified in degrees and acts as an offset to the computed toe-in.
Film Offset Right Cam: Controls the film offset for the right camera.
Film Offset Left Cam: Controls the film offset for the left camera.

Stereo Display Controls

Display Near Clip

Display method for the near clipping plane. Valid values are:

0: None. Display is disabled.

1: Left. Display left camera clipping plane.

2: Right. Display right camera clipping plane.

3: LeftRight. Display left and right camera clipping planes.

4: Center. Display center camera clipping plane.

5: All. Display all camera clipping planes.

Display Far Clip

Display method for far clipping plane. See Display Near Clip for valid values.

Display Frustum

Display method for frustum. See Display Near Clip for valid values.

Zero Parallax Plane

Enable this option to disable the display of the zero parallax plane.

Zero Parallax Color

Use this attribute to set the zero parallax plane color.

Zero Parallax Transparency

Use this attribute to set the zero parallax plane transparency.

Safe Viewing Volume

Enable this option to disable the display of the viewing volume.

Safe Volume Color

Use this attribute to set the viewing volume color.

Safe Volume Transparency

Use this attribute to set the viewing volume transparency.

Safe Stereo

The intersection of the left and right viewing frustum. The scene elements visible by both frustums belong in the intersection. In general, do not place a object that can only be seen by one camera.

Film Back

The Film Back attributes control the basic properties of a camera (for example, the camera’s film format: 16mm, 35mm, 70mm).

Film Gate

Lets you select a preset camera type. Maya automatically sets the Camera Aperture, Film Aspect Ratio, and Lens Squeeze Ratio. To set these attributes individually, set Film Gate to User. The default setting is User.

Camera Aperture (inch) / Camera Aperture (mm)

The height and width of the camera’s Film Gate setting.

If you choose to enter the values in inches, the default values are 1.417 and 0.945.

If you choose to enter the values in mm, the default values are 36.000 and 24.000.

Regardless of which option you choose, the values are saved in inches.

This setting has a direct effect on the camera’s angle of view (see Angle of view for more information).

Note:

The Camera Aperture setting has no effect on the fStop. For more information on fStop, see Focus and blur.

Film Aspect Ratio

The ratio of the camera aperture’s width to its height. Maya automatically updates the Film Aspect Ratio (and vice versa). The valid range is 0.01 to 10. The default value is 1.5.

Lens Squeeze Ratio

See Lens Squeeze Ratio.

Fit Resolution Gate

See Film fit.

Film Fit Offset

See Film Fit Offset.

Film Offset

Vertically and horizontally offsets the resolution gate and the film gate relative to the scene. Changing the Film Offset produces a two-dimensional track. Film Offset is measured in inches. The default setting is 0.

1	The view guide fills the view. The edges of the view guide may be exactly aligned with the edges of the view, in which case the view guide is not visible.
> 1	The higher the value, the more space is outside the view guide.

Shake Enabled / Shake

Use the Shake attributes to apply some amount of 2D translation to the filmback. A curve or expression could be connected to the Shake attribute to specify a realistic shaking effect. The Shake Enabled toggle can be used to turn the effect of the shake on and off.

The Shake and Shake Overscan attributes duplicate and combine functionality with the Film Offset attributes and API. They are off by default.

Shake Enabled allows the Shake attribute setting to be factored into the camera calculation. By default it is off.

Shake specifies a translation on the filmback. The value is specified as a separate horizontal and vertical shake field, both of which default to zero, and are only utilized in the camera calculations when the Shake Enabled attribute is enabled. For camera calculation purposes, Shake and Film Offset provide the exact same effect. Shake provides an additional set of filmback translation inputs on the camera, with the additional feature that Shake can be turned on and off via the Shake Enabled attribute.

Use the following MEL command to turn on Shake Enabled:

setAttr perspShape.shakeEnabled 1;

Use the following MEL command to set the Shake attribute:

setAttr perspShape.shake 0.5 0.5;

Shake Overscan Enabled / Shake Overscan

Shake Overscan Enabled allows the Shake Overscan attribute to be factored into the camera calculation. It is disabled by default.

Shake Overscan specifies a multiplier to the film aperture. This overscan is used to render a larger area than would be necessary if the camera were not shaking. This attribute will affect the output render. The Shake Overscan attribute is only used when the Shake Overscan Enabled attribute is set to true. By default, Shake Overscan is set to one.

Use the following MEL command to turn on Shake Overscan Enabled:

setAttr perspShape.shakeOverscanEnabled 1;

Use the following MEL command to set the Shake Overscan:

setAttr perspShape.shakeOverscan 1.25;

Pre Scale

The Pre Scale value is used in 2D effects. This value indicates the artificial 2D camera zoom. Enter a value into this field. The value is applied before the film roll.

Film Translate

The Film Translate value is used in 2D effects. This value indicates the artificial 2D camera pan. Enter a value into this field.

Film Roll Pivot

The horizontal pivot point from the center of the film back. The pivot point is used during rotation of the film back. The pivot is the point where the rotation occurs around. This double precision parameter corresponds to the normalized scene view. This value is a part of the post projection matrix.

Vertical pivot point used for rotating the film back. This double precision parameter corresponds to the normalized scene view. This value is used to compute the film roll matrix, which is a component of the post projection matrix.

Film Roll Value

This specifies, in degrees, the amount of rotation around the film back. The rotation occurs around the specified pivot point. This value is used to compute a film roll matrix, which is a component of the post-projection matrix.

Film Roll Order

Specifies how the roll is applied with respect to the pivot value.

Rotate-Translate: The film back is first rotated then translated by the pivot point value.
Translate-Rotate: The film back is first translated then rotated by the film roll value.

Post Scale: The Pre Scale value is used in 2D effects. This value indicates the artificial 2D camera zoom. Enter a value into this field. The value is applied after the film roll.

Depth of Field

These attributes provide control over the camera’s focus.

For more information on depth of field, see Aperture determines Depth of Field (DOF).

Tip: The more out of focus an image is, the longer it takes to generate the final rendered image (that is, the post-render blur takes longer).

Note: In Viewport 2.0, when post-effects such as screen-space ambient occlusion, motion blur, and depth of field are enabled, the drawing of wireframe and components are not affected by these effects. Filled display for surfaces are affected. However, wireframe and components for surfaces are not blended with the filled drawing if the surface is semi-transparent. For example, if you create an object, then set its shader transparency to semi-transparent and select the object or its components, you will see a difference between enabling and disabling Screen-space Ambient Occlusion.

Depth Of Field

If on, some objects in the scene are sharply focused and others are blurred or out of focus, based on their distance from the camera. If off, all objects in the scene are sharply focused. Depth Of Field is off by default.

Depth of field can be enabled per viewport panel, and it can be rendered with your final render using Maya Hardware 2.0. In both cases, you must first enable Depth of Field in this camera Attribute Editor.

To enable or disable depth of field in the current viewport, click the depth of field icon in the panel toolbar or toggle Shading > Depth of Field from the panel menu.

To include depth of field with your render, enable Depth of Field in the Render Options section of the Render Settings window, Maya Hardware 2.0 tab.

Focus Distance

The distance from the camera at which objects appear in sharp focus, measured in the scene’s linear working unit. Decreasing the Focus Distance also decreases the depth of field. The valid range is 0 to infinity. The default value is 5.

Tip: When in Viewport 2.0, to select a Focus Distance for Depth of Field, select Display > Heads up Display > Object Details, then select the object you wish to remain in focus . The Distance From Camera heads up display should indicate the distance of the object from the camera. Use this as your Focal Distance.

F Stop

The range of Camera Aperture settings which affect the Depth of Field. The lower the fStop (for example, f4) the lower amount of Depth of Field. The higher the fStop value (for example, f32) the greater amount of Depth of Field.

For more information about fStop, see fStop (aperture) and shutter speed/angle.

Focus Region Scale

Scales the Focus Distance value. The valid range is 0 to infinity. The default value is 1.

Output Settings

Controls whether the camera generates an image during rendering, and what types of images the camera renders.

Renderable

If on, the camera can create an image file, mask file, or depth file during rendering; that is, it is able to render. By default, Renderable is on for the default perspective camera, and off for all other cameras.

This option is affected by the Renderable Camera option in the File Output section of the Render Settings window. For more information on the Render Settings window, see Render Settings window.

Image

If on (and Renderable is on), the camera creates an image file during rendering. The default setting is on.

Mask

If on (and Renderable is on), the camera creates a mask during rendering. A mask is an 8-bit channel (the alpha channel) in the image file that represents objects in shades of gray. Black areas represent areas where there are no objects (or fully transparent objects), and white areas represent areas where there are (solid) objects. Masks are used primarily for compositing.

For image formats that do not support mask channels, the mask is stored as a separate image.

For more information on mask channels, see Mask and depth channels.

Depth

If on (and Renderable is on), the camera creates a depth file during rendering. A depth file is a type of data file that represents the distance of objects from the camera.

Depth files are used primarily for compositing. When on, the Depth Type attributes (next) are enabled.

For image formats that do not support depth channels, the depth is stored as a separate image.

For more information on mask channels, see Color, Mask (alpha), and Depth channels.

Depth Type

Determines how to compute the depth of each pixel.

Closest Visible Depth: Uses the closest object to the camera. When transparent objects are located in front of other objects, turn on “Transparency Based Depth” to ignore the transparent object.
Furthest Visible Depth: Most often used when a particle effect is occluded by an opaque object. Maya uses the Furthest Visible Depth to create a Depth file.

Transparency Based Depth

Turns on Threshold, which determines which object is closest to the camera, based on transparency. Transparency Based Depth is only enabled when you select Closest Visible Depth.

Tip: When transparent objects are located in front of other objects, you can turn on Transparency Based Depth to ignore the transparent object.

Threshold

Used when compositing multiple layers of transparency (which varies from 0 to 1). For example, if Threshold is 0.9 (the default), when transparent surfaces add up to 0.9 or larger, the surface becomes opaque.

Pre-Compositing template

Use this attribute for pre-compositing in Composite. You can specify a pre-compositing template for each render layer in the Passes tab of the Render Settings window.

The pre-compositing template on a layer assembles the passes. The pre-compositing template on a camera, however, assembles the layers. The default behavior, if no template is specified, is to stack the layers in a linear chain of blend nodes that follow the order and blend nodes in Maya.

Environment

Control the appearance of the scene’s background as seen from the camera. Different cameras can use different backgrounds.

Background Color

The color of the scene’s background. The default color is black.

Note: The background color of a camera cannot be texture mapped. If a procedural background is required, use an image plane instead.

Image Plane

For Maya software and mental ray for Maya rendering.

Creates an image plane and attaches it to the camera. Clicking the Create button automatically changes the focus of the Attribute Editor to include attributes for an image plane.

For more information on image planes, see Create, edit, or position an image plane.

Special Effects

Shutter Angle: Controls the blurriness of motion blurred objects. In a real-world camera, the shutter is actually a metal disk that is missing a pie-shaped section. This disk sits between the lens and the film, and rotates at a constant rate. When the missing section is in front of the film, it allows light from the lens to pass through and expose the film. The larger the angle of the pie-shaped section, the longer the exposure time, and moving objects are more blurred. Shutter Angle is measured in degrees. The valid range is 1 to 360. The default value is 144.

See Shutter Angle.

Note: Motion Blur must be on in the Render Settings window. For Maya software rendering, motion blur must also be set in at least one object’s Attribute Editor for the Shutter Angle to have any effect.

Display Options

Controls the display of view guides in the camera’s view, and provides options for moving the camera. You can also access most of these attributes in any panel’s View > Camera Settings menu.

Display Film Gate: See Film gate for more information.
Display Resolution: Displays a rectangle that indicates the area of the camera’s view that renders. The dimensions of the resolution gate represent the rendering resolution. The rendering resolution values are displayed above the resolution gate. See Resolution Gate for more information.
Display Gate Mask: See Gate Mask.
Gate Mask Opacity: The amount of the scene you can see through the masked area of a Gate Mask. This option is only available when Gate Mask is on.
Gate Mask Color: The color of the masked area of a Gate Mask. This option is only available when Gate Mask is on.
Display Field Chart: See Field Chart.
Display Safe Action: See Safe Action.
Display Safe Title: See Safe Title.
Display Film Pivot: Displays of the film pivot guide when looking through the camera.
Display Film Origin: Displays the film origin guide when looking through the camera.
Overscan: See Overscan in Create Camera Options.

2D Pan/Zoom

Pan Zoom Enabled: Select this option to enable the 2D Pan/Zoom feature.
Pan: Enter the X and Y co-ordinates to move your view horizontally and vertically.
Zoom: Use this attribute to zoom in and out of your view. A value greater than 1 zooms out and a value less than 1 zooms in.
Render Pan Zoom: The 2D Pan/Zoom feature does not render by default. Select this attribute to render the pan/zoom view. Disabling this attribute renders the scene from the full camera view.

Movement Options

Undoable Movements: See Undoable Movements.
Center of Interest: The distance from the camera to the center of interest, measured in the scene’s linear working unit.
Tumble Pivot: The point the Tumble tool pivots the camera about when Tumble Camera About is set to Tumble Pivot in the Tumble Tool settings window.
Use Pivot As Local Space: Enable this attribute so that the tumble tool does a local axis tumble, using the camera's tumble pivot as a relative tumble point.

Orthographic Views

See Orthographic Views for more information.