Hi all,

I'm new to houdini and can't find a way to rotate a camera around it's own axis (not tumble it) from the camera view (when 3d view is locked to camera).
It always tumble around a pivot point not on the camera, so it always rotate AND moves the camera.

What I want is only rotate the camera around it's own local axis (not world axis) from the 3d camera view (when the camera position is OK and only needs to pan left/right or up/down (rotate), but not translate).

Is this possible and how ?


Thanks for your answer.

When looking through a camera and displaying its handle, the handle's outer ring allows rotating the camera in local space.

you can also swithch to First Person Navigation mode (M) while you are in the view tool
then you can look around with your cam

jsmack
When looking through a camera and displaying its handle, the handle's outer ring allows rotating the camera in local space.

Oh, thanks.
Are there shortcuts for doing the same thing ?

Jip

jsmack
When looking through a camera and displaying its handle, the handle's outer ring allows rotating the camera in local space.

Oh, thanks.
Are there shortcuts for doing the same thing ?

I'm not sure what you mean. If you hit the 'enter' key while looking through the camera, it should show that handle.

jsmack

Jip

jsmack
When looking through a camera and displaying its handle, the handle's outer ring allows rotating the camera in local space.

Oh, thanks.
Are there shortcuts for doing the same thing ?

I'm not sure what you mean. If you hit the 'enter' key while looking through the camera, it should show that handle.

I mean doing this without manipulator, only with one hand on the mouse and one that doesn't change its position on the keybord, without having to aim at the handles of a manipulator everytime I go from translate to rotate, or change translation/rotation axis.
This is the more straightforward way of manipulating views I know. It allows to only focus on the image and the framing and is faster and less distracting than clicking and changing of manipulator handles lots of times to get the right result.
I use to manipulate camera like this with other 3d packages (maya for example).
It's not just a question of habit, it's also a question of the efficiency of the tool. (It's in the same vein as : How many mouse clics do I have to do to use one tool).

(And First Person Navigation mode wich is generallly not efficient at all when creating key frames for cameras motions.)

So, are there shortcuts to manipulate cameras like this ?

Hi,

You could implement it like this:

1. Create a reference copy of the same camera.
2. break the link of the Translate parameter and reset it to 0.
3. Create a null object and parent the second camera to this Null object
4. Copy reference original camera's Translate parameter to this Null object's Translate parameter.
5. Set the null object's Rotate parameter to detail("../cam_xform/OUT", "angles", 0), 1, 2 respectively.
6. The angles are computed using an Attribute Wrangle.

You can set the rotation in that wrangle or promote it up. You can also implement it in Python, etc if needed.

Jip
I mean doing this without manipulator, only with one hand on the mouse and one that doesn't change its position on the keybord, without having to aim at the handles of a manipulator everytime I go from translate to rotate, or change translation/rotation axis.
This is the more straightforward way of manipulating views I know. It allows to only focus on the image and the framing and is faster and less distracting than clicking and changing of manipulator handles lots of times to get the right result.
I use to manipulate camera like this with other 3d packages (maya for example).
It's not just a question of habit, it's also a question of the efficiency of the tool. (It's in the same vein as : How many mouse clics do I have to do to use one tool).

(And First Person Navigation mode wich is generallly not efficient at all when creating key frames for cameras motions.)

So, are there shortcuts to manipulate cameras like this ?

That doesn't make sense. You want to manipulate the camera from anywhere without using your mouse or keyboard?

First of all, thanx to all who try to help.

jsmack
That doesn't make sense. You want to manipulate the camera from anywhere without using your mouse or keyboard?

To make it clear, here is step by step of how I'd like to manipulate camera:

1 - choose camera you want in 3d perspective viewport to look through it.
2 - lock camera to 3d view
3 - put mouse ANYWHERE in this 3d camera view
4 - (space bar +) middle mouse button drag => translates camera on XY local axis. This is already ok.
5 - (space bar +) right mouse button drag => translates camera on Z local axis. This is already ok.
6 - (space bar +) left mouse button drag => rotates camera on XY local axis ONLY. WITHOUT translating it in any (world/parent/local/etc) space. This is not the case : it translates camera too because of offsetted rotation pivot point from camera position.

Step 6 is the problem.

This without any manipulator (I know this is redundant with step 3 above, but just to be very clear).

animatrix_
Hi,

You could implement it like this:

1. Create a reference copy of the same camera.
2. break the link of the Translate parameter and reset it to 0.
3. Create a null object and parent the second camera to this Null object
4. Copy reference original camera's Translate parameter to this Null object's Translate parameter.
5. Set the null object's Rotate parameter to detail("../cam_xform/OUT", "angles", 0), 1, 2 respectively.
6. The angles are computed using an Attribute Wrangle.

You can set the rotation in that wrangle or promote it up. You can also implement it in Python, etc if needed.

Maybe this do the trick, but none of the 2 cameras created seem to react like I describe when I do it. Did I misunderstand something ?


So again, is there a way to manipulate cameras like this in houdini ?

Asia

Jip
So again, is there a way to manipulate cameras like this in houdini ?

Oh, you want to tumble the camera, but with the camera as a the pivot point. I'm not sure you can do that.

Does tamte's way not solve you problem?

Jip
First of all, thanx to all who try to help.

jsmack
That doesn't make sense. You want to manipulate the camera from anywhere without using your mouse or keyboard?

To make it clear, here is step by step of how I'd like to manipulate camera:

1 - choose camera you want in 3d perspective viewport to look through it.
2 - lock camera to 3d view
3 - put mouse ANYWHERE in this 3d camera view
4 - (space bar +) middle mouse button drag => translates camera on XY local axis. This is already ok.
5 - (space bar +) right mouse button drag => translates camera on Z local axis. This is already ok.
6 - (space bar +) left mouse button drag => rotates camera on XY local axis ONLY. WITHOUT translating it in any (world/parent/local/etc) space. This is not the case : it translates camera too because of offsetted rotation pivot point from camera position.

Step 6 is the problem.

This without any manipulator (I know this is redundant with step 3 above, but just to be very clear).

animatrix_
Hi,

You could implement it like this:

1. Create a reference copy of the same camera.
2. break the link of the Translate parameter and reset it to 0.
3. Create a null object and parent the second camera to this Null object
4. Copy reference original camera's Translate parameter to this Null object's Translate parameter.
5. Set the null object's Rotate parameter to detail("../cam_xform/OUT", "angles", 0), 1, 2 respectively.
6. The angles are computed using an Attribute Wrangle.

You can set the rotation in that wrangle or promote it up. You can also implement it in Python, etc if needed.

Maybe this do the trick, but none of the 2 cameras created seem to react like I describe when I do it. Did I misunderstand something ?


So again, is there a way to manipulate cameras like this in houdini ?

My implementation only does what the camera ring manipulator does:

animatrix_
My implementation only does what the camera ring manipulator does:

for that you can also just do CTRL+LMB

jerry7
Does tamte's way not solve you problem?

first person rotation control isn't the same as tumbling. There's a different feel and it's inverted.

jsmack
Oh, you want to tumble the camera, but with the camera as a the pivot point. I'm not sure you can do that.

This is exactly that. So tumble would become pan.
Tumbling is good for working on the scene.
Panning is good for framing.

animatrix_
My implementation only does what the camera ring manipulator does:

This is what I thought. But I was wondering if I was missing something about other 2 axis.

tamte
for that you can also just do CTRL+LMB

This rotates camera on Z pivot point axis, not camera axis. So camera is translated too in many cases.

Anyway rotating camera around it's own local Z axis is an option I didn't mention but it's also necessary for a complete control of the camera in the way I would like.
But what I miss first is to have option to rotate camera on it's X and Y local axis too with the same keybord key and mouse button.
For example : ALT + up/down mouse => X local axis, ALT + left/right mouse => Y local axis.

jsmack
first person rotation control isn't the same as tumbling. There's a different feel and it's inverted.

Yes, and more, this involve jumping from standard navigation for translate (because first person translate isn't fast enough and convinient) to first person to rotate. So this is not straightforward at all.

jsmack
Oh, you want to tumble the camera, but with the camera as a the pivot point. I'm not sure you can do that.

So is this the final word ? NO way to manipulate camera like this in Houdini ?
Manipulator is the only way ?

jsmack
Oh, you want to tumble the camera, but with the camera as a the pivot point. I'm not sure you can do that.

This is exactly that. So tumble would become pan.
Tumbling is good for working on the scene.
Panning is good for framing.

animatrix_
My implementation only does what the camera ring manipulator does:

This is what I thought. But I was wondering if I was missing something about other 2 axis.

tamte
for that you can also just do CTRL+LMB

This rotates camera on Z pivot point axis, not camera axis. So camera is translated too in many cases.

Anyway rotating camera around it's own local Z axis is an option I didn't mention but it's also necessary for a complete control of the camera in the way I would like.
But what I miss first is to have option to rotate camera on it's X and Y local axis too with the same keybord key and mouse button.
For example : ALT + up/down mouse => X local axis, ALT + left/right mouse => Y local axis.

jsmack
first person rotation control isn't the same as tumbling. There's a different feel and it's inverted.

Yes, and more, this involve jumping from standard navigation for translate (because first person translate isn't fast enough and convinient) to first person to rotate. So this is not straightforward at all.

jsmack
Oh, you want to tumble the camera, but with the camera as a the pivot point. I'm not sure you can do that.

So is this the final word ? NO way to manipulate camera like this in Houdini ?
Manipulator is the only way to rotate camera around its local axis ?

But manipulator does not seem to work as expected ! (beside the fact that it is really not as straightforward as the method I would like).
Look at the provided scene : only a grid for horizon and a camera slightly moved up and rotated down on it's X local axis.

Don't touch anything but try to pan with manipulator left and right : horizon does not stay horizontal ... camera rotates on its Z local axis too !!!
If I lock Z axis, it rotates both on X and Y local axis, not Y alone !!!

I can't imagine there's no easy way to manipulate cameras from camera view in Houdini when framing...
Isn't there any ?

I know what you are looking for and there is no straightforward way to translate a camera like that as of now. Not exactly like that, besides the options that have been mentioned here.

I'm confused
First Person rotation sounds like exactly what you are asking for and it has straightforward M shortcut
the only way to make it even more straightforward would be if you could hold M interact and if upon release of M it would return back to Tumbling mode of View tool, which it doesn't at the moment, so you have to press M interact and press again

but no, if you are looking for that directly in a Tumbling mode of View tool, there is no such rotation mode, feel free to submit RFE

Jip

tamte
for that you can also just do CTRL+LMB

This rotates camera on Z pivot point axis, not camera axis. So camera is translated too in many cases.

lol, no need to take stuff out of context, that was reaction to animatrix_'s post