Geometry & 3D node
Camera
One camera for every world. Cable its Camera output into a 3D Scene, Particle System, Rope System or L-System and they all see through the same lens with the same plain parameters: Position, Look At, Roll, Field of View (0 = orthographic), Zoom. A system without a Camera cable keeps its own manual controls, so nothing changes until you connect one. Every parameter is a port: an LFO can orbit it, audio can breathe the zoom. Interactive hands this camera the mouse in the render window — orbit with the left button, pan with the middle, zoom with the right, F to frame — and only one camera holds the mouse at a time. Interactive Preview does the same, then rides itself home — by default a DOUBLE-CLICK in the view glides it back to the saved default, or set Return to Time and it comes home on its own after Idle Time.
Inputs
| Port | Type | Default |
|---|---|---|
| InteractiveWho holds the mouse. Off — the render window behaves as always. Interactive — drag orbits, middle-drag pans, right-drag zooms, F frames, double-click recentres. Interactive Preview (the default) adds the ride home — by double-click (default) or on a timer, per the Return dial. One camera at a time. | int | 2 |
| Position XWhere the camera sits, left-right, in Grafit units. Every parameter here is a port — an LFO can orbit it. | float | 0 |
| Position YWhere the camera sits, up-down, in Grafit units. | float | 0 |
| Position ZWhere the camera sits, near-far. The default 3 matches the systems’ own default framing. | float | 3 |
| Look At XWhat the camera looks at, left-right. Panning moves this and Position together. | float | 0 |
| Look At YWhat the camera looks at, up-down. | float | 0 |
| Look At ZWhat the camera looks at, near-far. | float | 0 |
| RollBanks the camera about its view axis, in degrees, clockwise positive — the Dutch-angle control. | float | 0 |
| Field of ViewThe lens, in degrees across the shorter viewport edge. 50 is a natural reading of a scene; small values flatten like a telephoto; 0 switches to orthographic, framed to match the default lens at the same distance so the toggle does not jump. Clamped to 0…175. | float | 50 |
| ZoomDollies the camera toward (above 1) or away from (below 1) the Look At point without moving the stored Position — the right port to drive with audio or an LFO. Clamped to 0.01…100. | float | 1 |
| ResetRides the camera home. On the rising edge — the checkbox, a Button node, MIDI, anything — the view glides back to the saved default (Save Default in the settings below) over Reset Time, along the same cinema rail Camera Switch uses. Grabbing the camera mid-ride cancels it. | bool | false |
| Reset TimeHow long the ride home takes — for the Reset port and for Interactive Preview's auto-return alike. 0 snaps instantly. | float | 0.5 |
| ReturnHow Interactive Preview rides home: Double Tap (default) — a double-click in the render view glides the camera back to the saved default; Time — it returns on its own after Idle Time of stillness. | int | 0 |
| Idle TimeReturn: Time only — how long after your last touch (flick inertia included) before the view rides itself home. The ride takes Reset Time and eases. | float | 0.5 |
Outputs
| Port | Type |
|---|---|
| Camera | structure |
How It Works
Camera is one camera for every world. Cable its Camera output into a 3D Scene, Particle System, Rope System or L-System and they all see through the same lens with the same plain parameters: Position, Look At, Roll, Field of View (0 = orthographic) and Zoom. A system without a Camera cable keeps its own manual controls, so nothing changes until you connect one.
Every parameter is a port, so an LFO can orbit the camera and audio can breathe the zoom.
Interactive hands this camera the mouse in the render window — orbit with the left button, pan with the middle, zoom with the right, F to frame, double-click to recentre — and only one camera holds the mouse at a time. Interactive Preview does the same and then rides itself home: by default a double-click glides it back to the saved default, or set Return to Time and it comes home on its own after Idle Time of stillness. Save Default decides where home is, and Reset is a port like everything else, so a Button or a MIDI note can send the view back.
Use Cases
- One lens for the whole patch — A scene, its particles and its ropes all seeing the same thing.
- Orbiting motion — An LFO on Position for a slow, automatic camera move.
- Explore, then return — Interactive Preview lets you peek from any angle during a performance and glide back to the composition.
- Audio-breathing lens — A band level into Field of View or Zoom.
- Orthographic views — Field of View 0 for plans, elevations and diagrams.
Tips
- Only one camera can hold the mouse. If Interactive seems to do nothing, another Camera already has it.
- Save Default first, then explore — Return has nowhere to go home to otherwise.
- Field of View 0 is orthographic, which is a genuinely different projection, not just a long lens.
- A single click no longer moves the camera's aim; clicking a surface does not change the pivot.
- For cutting between viewpoints, use Camera Switch — it eases along a rail rather than jumping.
Open Camera in the interactive catalog →
Camera is one of 381 nodes in Grafit Pro.
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