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Camera Magic: WaterCam DS incompatible with Worldbase XT?

Zig ZagZig Zag Posts: 96
edited September 2013 in The Commons

Hi,

I hope it is ok if I post in this forum, I'm new to these forums. So I'm trying to set up a scene for a swimming project where there will be under water shots of a swimmer. The problem I have is that from under water, when I use a normal camera, the sky from Worldbase can be seen whereas if I use the Camera Magic cameras, the sky becomes a solid blue (or white, depending on the camera).

Is this a bug of the Camera Magic package? In the shots below, the first one uses a normal camera and the second one a WaterCam Simple...

watercam-simple.png
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normal-camera.png
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Post edited by Zig Zag on

Comments

  • ChoholeChohole Posts: 33,604
    edited December 1969

    Moved to thje Commons as it is not a Commercial product, but a query about one.

  • Richard HaseltineRichard Haseltine Posts: 100,804
    edited December 1969

    Try adjusting the Max Ray Trace Depth setting in the Advanced tab of Render Settings to a higher value, assuming it's on the default 2 at the moment. I don't know if it will help, but it would be my first guess as to the cause of the problem.

  • zigraphixzigraphix Posts: 2,787
    edited December 1969

    Try a WaterCam Volumetric, please-- I know of a bug in WaterCam Simple that might be causing this, but I'm not sure.

    What are you trying to do with your image? Generally an underwater camera won't be able to see the sky. Usually nothing above the waterline will be visible.

  • Zig ZagZig Zag Posts: 96
    edited September 2013

    The Max Ray Trace Depth setting doesn't change anything. However increasing the Effect End Distance setting of the camera solves the problem, as you can see on the picture below. But now there is a band above the horizon that seems to be caused by Worldbase.

    After your post zigraphix I watched a few under water pictures of swimmers on Google images. You are right, the water surface should be rather reflective than transparent when seen from under water, so what happens above water is normally not visible. Well back to the drawing board I guess...

    watercam-simple-fixed.png
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    Post edited by Zig Zag on
  • Zig ZagZig Zag Posts: 96
    edited December 1969

    Did play around some more with the Watercam simple and now I start to get a feel how the Effect Start Distance and Effect End Distance work. It would be easier if there was a user guide explaining the settings, especially for me as I'm a newbie.

    Anyway now the M4 Bodysuit is not playing along nicely. Will play around a little bit with the volumetric cam but the renders take a long time with it :-/

    watercam-another-take.png
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  • zigraphixzigraphix Posts: 2,787
    edited December 1969

    I suspect you are using image based lights that come with WorldBase XT, or UberEnvironment. Please turn off those lights. This will speed up your renders, will look more realistic, and will eliminate the problem with the M4 bodysuit. (It's a glitch with UberEnvironment, as far as I know.)

    I hope this helps... and I will write some documentation about the settings, and include those in a free update for the product.

  • Zig ZagZig Zag Posts: 96
    edited December 1969

    Ok I will try out your suggestions, thanks :-)

  • Zig ZagZig Zag Posts: 96
    edited September 2013

    Well I went back to the scene and only kept the gel light. It seems the transparent swimsuit issue is cause by it :-/

    watercam-simple-gel-light.png
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    Post edited by Zig Zag on
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