Small World Camera Featuring Spherical Skydome Maps [Commercial]

MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
edited March 2017 in Daz PA Commercial Products

Small World Camera

It’s a small world with big adventures ahead. This prop-based camera distorts your scenes like a fish-eye lens to 180° (for 3Delight and Iray) and a full 360° (for Iray only). 22 Colorful Coronas, from serene to dramatic, are included to frame your renders.

Important: This camera primarily works with reflections so think of rendering your scene in a mirror.

Positioning the camera- You may find it helpful to hide the parented props, transition the camera into place as you would a standard camera, then point it in the exact opposite direction, and then show/unhide the parented props. Place the camera very close to your main subject, almost touching it.

Render through the Small World Camera and select the corona to change materials. With both 180° cameras your renders may need to be trimmed to fit a skydome/halfsphere, depending on how it was UV mapped. Adjust tiling as needed. No skydome is included however there is one included with https://www.daz3d.com/hard-target that works well with renders from the Small World Camera.

ReadMe / Instructions Here

______________________________

Feel free to post any questions or renders here. I'm on vacation right now, exploring my own Small World, but will still be watching this thread.

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Post edited by Marshian on
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Comments

  • So, we can now create our own Hdri images in DAZ Studio?  Sounds good to me...

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    edited March 2017
    Yes! Thanks for posting about that feature. You have to use Iray to create the initial image And then (to be true) an image editing program that can create an .HDR 32-bit file.
    Post edited by Marshian on
  • pdspds Posts: 593
    Marshian said:
    Yes! Thanks for posting about that feature. You have to use Iray to create the initial image And then (to be true) an image editing program that can create an .HDR 32-bit file.

    This just got a whole lot more interesting!!

  • I bought it right away, but I have yet to create a Hdri map with it, of course.  Best part is, you can even load a png or jpg into the environment map slot if you don't have the proper software to create a Hdri.

  • dave321dave321 Posts: 23

    Any chance of a mini tutorial video or something? I'm having a bit of trouble figuring this one out, playing around with it post-purchase and not sure how to get similar images as in the product listing.

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    edited March 2017
    Hi Dave. I'm willing to assist here until you get it right. Let's start with a simple scene. Load a 360 landscape or architecture with a figure. Load the SW camera and hide the parented props. Position the camera right in front of the figures face, very close... pointing at the face. Now reverse the camera 180 and turn the parented props back on. Now try a render through the small world camera. Let me know what you get
    Post edited by Marshian on
  • dave321dave321 Posts: 23

    Ok, will do! I have something else going now but I'll try this and report back. Out of curiosity, why do the props need to be turned off? Is it to perfect alignment or?

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    edited March 2017
    Since the props are directly in front of the camera turning them off can help you align your image, compose your scene. Basically you point the camera where you want to render, like the default camera, and then flip it around.
    Post edited by Marshian on
  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    edited March 2017
    Edited for clarity. Previous post is more direct.
    Post edited by Marshian on
  • XenomorphineXenomorphine Posts: 2,421

    My first thought when I saw this was, "I bet Marshian did this..." :)

    I was lamenting we no longer have a functional fish-eye lens product, now that Iray has taken over from 3Delight in my renders. So, thanks for creating one! Very inspired to create different ring effects, plus a blank one. For a full screen version, I guess I'll just have to enlarge the render and then crop it.

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    edited March 2017
    Ha Yes good good. The distance between the camera and small world props can be changed and The props can be scaled. These two features give the freedom to go beyond the square proportions and size of the "fish eye" seen in the promos.
    Post edited by Marshian on
  • So I am a bit confused on how render settings work correctly and how to get the 360 degrees to render. From following the post here and on the product:

    Step 1: Place the camera named "SW 360 Camera IRAY" into the scene, adjust the camera position as we want near our main target.

    Step 2: Render through the Camera.

    and the end result will be a 360 image sphere image? Is that correct and if not can we have a more in depth tutorial for this product please.

  • pdspds Posts: 593
    Marshian said:
    Ha Yes good good. The distance between the camera and small world props can be changed and The props can be scaled. These two features give the freedom to go beyond the square proportions and size of the "fish eye" seen in the promos.

    Just to clarify...are you saying that making these changes affects the aspect ratio of the final image, so you could create something more rectangular? Also, what do you mean by  "size of the fish eye"?

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    Hi, glad to help....The 360 camera is only usable in Iray and there is an icon for that preset. Since it renders 360 you don't have to be careful about Camera placement

    So I am a bit confused on how render settings work correctly and how to get the 360 degrees to render. From following the post here and on the product:

    Step 1: Place the camera named "SW 360 Camera IRAY" into the scene, adjust the camera position as we want near our main target.

    Step 2: Render through the Camera.

    and the end result will be a 360 image sphere image? Is that correct and if not can we have a more in depth tutorial for this product please.

  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    edited March 2017
    Yes a more rectangular image is possible...change Aspect ratio in render settings. Then adjust the small world props (scale and/or location) to compensate. The closer the sw props are to the camera the larger the "fish eye". Make sense? I'm standing by.
    pds said:
    Marshian said:
    Ha Yes good good. The distance between the camera and small world props can be changed and The props can be scaled. These two features give the freedom to go beyond the square proportions and size of the "fish eye" seen in the promos.

    Just to clarify...are you saying that making these changes affects the aspect ratio of the final image, so you could create something more rectangular? Also, what do you mean by  "size of the fish eye"?

    pds said:
    Marshian said:
    Ha Yes good good. The distance between the camera and small world props can be changed and The props can be scaled. These two features give the freedom to go beyond the square proportions and size of the "fish eye" seen in the promos.

    Just to clarify...are you saying that making these changes affects the aspect ratio of the final image, so you could create something more rectangular? Also, what do you mean by  "size of the fish eye"?

    Post edited by Marshian on
  • Thanks for making a 360 camera - I want to use it to make an interactive look around picture to post on Facbook that people can explore by moving their phones. So I loaded the interrogation room rather than a landscape - not sure what you ment about parented props? Then put the camera facing 180 away from the table in the centre rather than facing away from the figure in the above example and hit render. Please can you tell me what I missed to get just this wide angle? Is there a render setting I need to apply? Thanks!

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  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    180 degree cameras are for 3delight and Iray, those are the ones that have the parented props. The 360-degree camera is for Iray only and it looks as though you may have used that camera in 3DLight....is just my guess. Check to see that your render engine is iray and use some photometric lights...let me know what happens.
  • Hi. Yes all checked and I'm not using 3DL. I dropped in a photometric light as I'm not sure the emissive shader on the light bulb or the ghost light counts as photometricbut no change. So I deleted the camera and then readded it making sure I picked the 360 camera Iray and left it in its orginal position and hit render. Still can see rest of the room. Do I need to apply a material somewhere?

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  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    You are rendering through the SW 360 camera? No materials need to be used. I mentioned the photometric light because your render looked a little dark. Select the sw cam, look in parameters tab and let me know what the drop down menu says under "lens"
  • Yep, SW Cam selected. Under parametres is says lens thickness 0.00

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  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    Okay. When you have the small world camera selected in this scene tab and you look in the parameters tab does one of the drop-down menus have spherical selected?
  • Sorry, how to I see parameters when I have the camera selected in the Scene Tab?

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  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    The parameters tab is the same one you saw the lens thickness in. so just a select the camera in seen Tab and go to friend her stab you should be able to see all the different details camera
  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    Sorry voice to text not working well
  • Lol! That some odd text to speech!!

    Doesn't seem to be an option for "spherical selected" on any of the Camera Parametres that I can see on the options attached. Is that where I should be looking?

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  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    edited March 2017
    The screen cap helps a lot thanks. There are some parameters missing that should be available when the Iray render engine and Small World Camera are selected. Would you switch back and forth between IRAy and 3Delight see how/if the parameter settings change for the small world camera?
    Post edited by Marshian on
  • So I've loaded a new scene which is an open space with a HDR map for the environment and a figure standing. I loaded the 360 camera and hit render but not 360 view. I switched between the twp render enegines and grabbed the parameters of the 360 camera each time - attached.

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    SW_cam02_Iray.jpg
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  • Have much better luck with the 180 Cam in the same scene I mentioned above - attached.

    180_Cam_test.jpg
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  • MarshianMarshian Posts: 1,462
    Good to see. I sent a PM. Gave you ideas to check on. Let's follow-up there.
  • Hi Marshian. I bought your cameras yesterday. I have the same issue as Alex, I can get the 180 camera to work, but not the 360 one. I am in rendering in Iray.

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