Physical Camera Rollout

Sets the camera's main physical attributes

Film / Sensor group

Preset
Chooses the model of film or charge-coupled sensor. The choices are 35mm (Full Frame) film (the default), and a variety of industry-standard sensor settings. Each setting has its default Width value. The Custom choice is for choosing an arbitrary Width.

Film/Sensor settings

Left to right: 35mm, APS-C (Canon), APS-C (Nikon, Sony, etc.)

Film/Sensor settings

Left to right: APS-H (Canon), Four Thirds

Note: You can add new custom presets (we don't recommend that you remove the original ones) by editing PhysicalCameraFilmPresets.ini. This file is in the root 3ds Max installation folder, under the folder for your local language (for example, \en-US).
Width
Lets you manually adjust the width of the frame.

Lens group

Focal Length
Sets the focal length of the lens. Default=40.0mm.
Specify FOV
When on, lets you set a new Field-of-View (FOV) value, in degrees. The default FOV value depends on the Film/Sensor Preset you have chosen. Default=off.

Changing the FOV too drastically can cause perspective distortion.

Note: While Specify FOV is on, the Focal Length control is disabled. However, changing the value of one of these controls also changes the value of the other.
Zoom
Zooms the lens in or out without changing the camera position.

Zoom provides a way to crop the rendered image without altering any other camera effects. For example, changing the Focal Length changes the bokeh affect (because it changes the aperture size), while changing the Zoom value does not.

Aperture
Sets the aperture as an f-number, or "f-stop." This value affects both exposure and depth-of-field. The lower the f-number, the wider the aperture and the narrower the depth of field.
Focus
  • Use Target Distance (The default.) Uses the Target Distance as the focus distance.
  • Custom Uses a focus distance other than the Target Distance.

The focus plane appears in viewports as a transparent rectangle, bounded by the dimensions of the camera's view.

Focus Distance When Custom is chosen, lets you set the focus distance.

Lens Breathing Adjusts the field of view by moving the lens toward or away from the focus distance. A Lens Breathing value of 0.0 disables this effect. Default=1.0.

Enable Depth of Field When on, the camera generates blurring at distances not equal to the focus distance. The strength of the depth-of-field effect is based on the Aperture setting. Default=off.

Left: No depth of field

Right: Shallow depth of field (Aperture = f/1.4)

Shutter group

Type
Chooses which units to use in measuring shutter speed: frames (the default), which are typically used in computer graphics; seconds or fractional seconds, which are typically used in still photography; or degrees, which are typically used in motion-picture photography.
Duration
Sets the shutter speed, based on the the Type of units you choose. This value can affect exposure, depth of field, and motion blur.
Offset
When on, specifies when the shutter opens, relative to the start of each frame. Changing this value can affect motion blur. The default Offset value is 0.0. Default=off.
Enable Motion Blur
When on, the camera generates motion blur. Default=off.

Left: No motion blur

Right: Default motion blur (Duration = 0.5 frame)

Parent topic: Physical Camera