Depth Normalizer Matchbox
The Depth Normalizer matchbox converts absolute depth values into normalized values between 0.0 and 1.0.
Controls
Depth
The Near and Far controls are required when using the Near-Far and Far-Near modes to allow a remapping of the absolute camera value into a 0.0 and 1.0 range. Keep in mind that to maximize your depth precision, try matching the camera data used to render the scene as much as possible. If you do not know the position of the Near and Far planes, use the colour picker and scan through the pixel of your Z-Depth texture to find the smallest and biggest values, using them for Near and Far values.
Normalization
- None: Do not apply any normalization.
- Inverse: The rendered outputs a normalized inverse depth where a value of 1.0 (white) is the plane closest to the camera, and 0.0 (black) is the farthest.
- Near-Far: The renderer outputs a Z-Depth expressed in units from the point of view of the camera. This type of Z-Depth texture map always appears as white frames: 1.0 represents a single unit of distance from the camera. Use the Near/Far fields below to match as closely as possible the depth range to maximize the depth precision. This is the type of Z data generated by the Arnold renderer.
- Far-Near: The inverse of the Near-Far option.
- Min-Max: Automatically map the minimum and maximum colour values to the normalized 0.0-1.0 range. However, this mapping is done for every frame and can lead to discrepancies in the Focus Plane between frames. If you use this option you might have to animate the Focus Plane.
- Max-Min: The inverse of the Min-Max option.
Near
Set the Near plane. Only used with the Near-Far and Far-Near options from the Normalization menu.
Far
Set the Far plane. Only used with the Near-Far and Far-Near options from the Normalization menu.
Viewing
Viewing
View the original data or the normalized data in the viewport.
Depth Input
Z-Depth HQ
Z-Depth is much more precise in 32-bit precision. If for performance reasons you do not want to switch to 32-bit Action Rendering, enable Z-Depth HQ Action output pass instead, which is encoding 32-bit precision in 16-bit file format.