Camera Points Properties
Map tour nodes to positions in a 3D model and add connecting points for transitions and alignment.
Camera points are markers in a 3D model. They stand for the camera positions of your tour nodes, or for the points a transition passes on its way from one node to the next. With camera points, Pano2VR knows where each panorama was taken in the model, so you can:
- build transitions through the model between tour nodes,
- make those transitions follow a path of waypoints,
- align the panoramas precisely with the model, and
- jump to chosen views of the model.
To work with camera points, select the model in the Tour Browser and choose Camera Points mode (T) in the Viewer Modes. The camera point properties open in the Properties panel. A selected camera point is red, the others are blue.
The 3D Controller in the Viewer gains two buttons in this mode: Link Mode, which connects camera points to each other, and Capture Target Camera, which adds a Target Camera at the current view. See Transitions with Motion Paths for how to connect camera points.
Common Properties
These properties are listed in the order the panel shows them. Some of them apply only to certain camera point types.
Type
Choose what the camera point is used for: Tour Node, Waypoint, Cluster Point, or Target Camera. Each type is described below. For the model’s Default View camera point, the panel shows Default View in place of this menu.
ID
For a Tour Node camera point, choose the tour node it stands for. Nodes that already have a camera point in this model are not offered. For all other types, enter an ID that is unique in the model and contains only letters, numbers, and underscores.
Lock
Lock camera point – Select to keep the camera point from being moved. While it is selected, Position and Rotation are dimmed, and the camera point cannot be dragged in the Viewer. Aligning a Tour Node camera point locks it for you.
Position
The camera point’s position in the model, as X, Y, and Z coordinates.
Rotation
The camera point’s rotation around the X, Y, and Z axes, in degrees.
Weight
The weight lengthens or shortens the connections through this camera point when Pano2VR looks for the route between two nodes. Pano2VR takes the shortest route by default. A weight lower than 1 makes routes through this point look shorter, so transitions prefer them. A weight greater than 1 makes them look longer, so transitions avoid this point when there is another way. The weight can be set from 0.0 to 99.9. The default is 1.
Buttons
The buttons below the properties depend on the camera point’s type.
Move to Camera Point – (Tour Node, Target Camera, and Default View) Moves the Viewer to the camera point. For a Tour Node camera point, the Viewer also switches to Control Points mode with that tour node selected, so you can add control points from that position.
Align Camera Point – (Tour Node) Finds the camera point’s exact position and rotation from the control points that are linked in both the model and the panorama. At least three linked control points are needed. The aligned camera point is locked, and one Undo reverts the whole alignment. Click and hold the button for three more ways to align:
- with Panorama Leveling – Also levels the panorama, correcting its pitch and roll. If leveling the panorama makes the fit clearly better, Pano2VR asks which level to trust: Trust 3D Model Level levels the panorama, Trust Panorama Level turns the 3D model instead.
- with Model Leveling – Also corrects the 3D model’s rotation so that it is level with the panorama.
- along View Lines (Splats) – For Gaussian splats only. A click in a splat rarely lands at the right depth, so each control point is trusted only along the line it was picked from, not at its exact position. At least five linked control points are needed. After a good fit, the control points are moved onto their lines, so the next alignment starts from positions that agree with the camera.
See Align Camera Point for how to judge the result.
Align all Camera Points – (Tour Node) Aligns every Tour Node camera point of the model in one step.
Update Target Camera from Viewer – (Target Camera) Stores the Viewer’s current camera in the Target Camera: its position, rotation, camera mode, and field of view.
Update Default View from Viewer – (Default View) Stores the Viewer’s current camera as the model’s default view.
Camera Point Types
There are four camera point types: Tour Node, Waypoint, Cluster Point, and Target Camera. In addition, every model has a Default View camera point.
Default View Camera Point
The Default View camera point stands for the model’s opening view. Set or update it with Set Default View in the Viewing Parameters or in the Viewer’s shortcut menu. It is listed in the List View and is shown in cyan while the Viewer is in Camera Points mode.
Connect the Default View camera point to other camera points to use it as the start or end of motion paths, for example to bring visitors back to a set view of the model. See Transitions with Motion Paths.
When the Default View camera point is selected, the panel shows Default View in place of the Type menu and hides ID, Lock, Position, and Rotation. It offers Weight, Move to Camera Point, and Update Default View from Viewer.
Tour Node
A Tour Node camera point marks where a panorama was taken. It links the panorama to the model, which transitions through the model and the alignment of the panorama both need.
Drag a node from the Tour Browser to the model to add a Tour Node camera point. If you align a node that does not have a camera point in the model yet, Pano2VR adds one.
Once a model has Tour Node camera points, the Viewer shows a ghost hotspot at each one that does not have a hotspot to its node yet.
Waypoint
A waypoint is a point that transitions pass through on their way between tour nodes. Waypoints shape the motion path the camera follows. Double-click anywhere in the model to add a waypoint, or double-click a connection line to split it with a new waypoint.
Waypoints have two more settings:
Rotate camera into motion path – Select to turn the camera toward the direction of travel as it passes this waypoint.
Transition Texture – Choose which texture the model shows during a transition that passes this waypoint:
- Default – Follow the model’s Use model textures in transitions setting.
- Force model texture on transition – Show the model’s own texture.
- Force node texture on transition – Project the panoramas of the tour nodes along the path onto the model, blending from one to the next.
If any waypoint on a transition’s path uses one of the Force options, that option applies to the whole transition. If the path contains both, Force node texture on transition wins.
Cluster Point
A cluster point connects camera points without changing how the camera moves between them. Transitions go straight from one tour node to the next, or from a tour node to a waypoint, as if the cluster point were not there. For example, if tour nodes A and B are both connected to cluster point C, the camera still moves directly from A to B.
Use a cluster point when many camera points share the same connections, to avoid a dense web of connection lines. To add one, double-click to add a camera point and then choose Cluster Point as its type.
Target Camera
A Target Camera is a saved view in the model that you can jump to. Besides its position and rotation, it stores a field of view and a camera mode. Hotspots in panoramas and skin actions can use it to take visitors to that spot in the model. Target Cameras have these settings:
Title – A title for the Target Camera. It is exported with the tour. A
Cloner with
Source set to Target Cameras shows it through the $(ctitle) placeholder,
for example to build a menu of camera views.
FoV – The field of view, from 0.01° to 180°. The camera icon in the Viewer widens or narrows to match.
Camera Mode – The camera mode the Target Camera uses: Orbit, Fly, Walk, Fly Over, or Panorama.
To add a Target Camera, move to the view you want in the Viewer and click Capture Target Camera in the 3D Controller. The new Target Camera takes the Viewer’s current position, rotation, field of view, and camera mode.
See the glossary entry for Target Camera.