How to use the camera in 3Dmax?

Create target camera

The target camera consists of two objects: the camera and the camera target. The camera represents your eyes, and the target represents the point you want to observe. You can change the camera and the target independently, but the camera always looks at its target. To create a target camera, do the following.

Click the Camera button on the Create panel.

Click the Target Camera button in the Object Type rollout.

In any viewport, select the top view first, click the mouse where you want to place the camera, and then drag and drop the mouse to where you want to place the target.

2. The creation of a free camera

A free camera is a single object, that is, a camera. To create a free camera, please follow these steps.

Click the Camera button in the Create panel.

Click the Free button on the Object Type rollout.

Click any viewport to create a free camera.

For the animation following the path, it is easier to use the free camera than the target camera, and the free camera will tilt along the path-these target cameras can't. You can use the gaze controller to turn a free camera into a target camera. The gaze controller allows you to pick any object as a target.

3. Camera parameters

By defining two interrelated parameters, we can determine how the camera observes the scene. These two parameters are field of view (FOV) and focal length of the lens. These two parameters describe the properties of a single camera, so changing the FOV parameter will change the lens parameter, and vice versa. Use FOV to view camera views and photographic effects.

Set field of vision

The field of view (FOV) describes the area seen through the camera lens. By default, the FOV parameter is the horizontal angle of the camera view cone. You can specify whether the FOV is horizontal, diagonal or vertical in the FOV direction pop-up button, which can easily match the operation of real-world cameras. Changing the above contents will only affect the measurement method, but not the actual view of the camera.

Set the focal length

The focal length is always in millimeters. Focal length refers to the length from the center of the lens to the focal point of the camera (the focal point is where the image is captured). In 3DSMAX, a smaller lens will produce a wider FOV, which will make the object look farther away from the camera. A larger lens value creates a narrower FOV and the object is displayed closer to the camera. A lens smaller than 50mm is called a wide-angle lens, and a lens larger than 50mm is called a telephoto lens.

The camera can also be set to an orthogonal view with no perspective. The advantage of orthographic views is that the objects displayed in the viewports are displayed in their relative proportions. When this option is enabled, the camera will face the object at an orthogonal angle.