Camera 3D Node

Camera 3D lets you frame and animate views in a 3D composition. It is used to composite 2D/3D elements, to create animated camera moves and to control depth of field at render time. It can also project a 2D image into 3D space (Camera Projection) - handy for texturing or rebuilding a filmed shot.

• Effects Library: Tools > 3D > Camera 3D
• Quick add: right-click in the Node Editor → Add Tool > 3D > Camera 3D

Projection means casting a 2D image through the camera onto 3D geometry. Two approaches:

• An Image Plane 3D aligned with the camera (the simple approach).
• A real projection (similar to Projector 3D) but precisely aligned with the camera.

The Image, Projection and Materials tabs appear in the Inspector only when a 2D image is connected to the ImageInput (magenta) input.

The node supports stereoscopy: control over eye separation and convergence. The right-eye camera can be overridden through the dedicated green input. The plane of focus is available for depth of field rendering.

Common stereo modes:

• Toe In - the cameras rotate toward a convergence point. Can introduce keystoning (trapezoidal distortion).
• Off Axis - the recommended method (no vertical parallax).
• Parallel - parallel cameras, no Convergence Distance.

The Rig Attached To menu controls which camera drives the transform of the stereo rig (Left / Right / Center).

• SceneInput (orange) - optional. Connects a 3D scene or object; the geometry is tied to the camera's field of view.
• ImageInput (magenta) - optional. Connects a 2D image for an image plane or projection. Unlocks the Image, Projection and Materials tabs.
• RightStereoCamera (green) - optional. Connects another Camera 3D to override the right-eye view in stereo.

The output of a Camera 3D must be connected to a Merge 3D. To see the camera view:

1. View the Merge 3D the camera is connected to in a viewer (A or B).
2. Right-click in the viewer → Camera > [camera name].

Framing guides (Guides > Frame Aspect) help show what the camera sees. Turn them on from the viewer's Guides menu or with the shortcut Command + G (macOS) / Ctrl + G (Windows).

Projection Type

Choose between Perspective (default) and Orthographic. Orthographic removes perspective and offers a Viewing Volume Size control - useful for isometric motion design or technical work.

Near / Far Clip

Clipping planes limit what gets rendered based on the distance from the camera (in Fusion units, e.g. 20 = 20 units). Anything closer than the Near Clip or farther than the Far Clip is not rendered. The Adaptive Near/Far Clip option adjusts these values automatically for the scene - handy to avoid z-fighting.

Angle of View / Focal Length

The Angle of View (in degrees) sets the area the camera can see; the Focal Length (in mm) is directly tied to it. Changing one recalculates the other automatically with the formula:

angle = 2 × arctan(aperture / 2 / focal_length)

Plane of Focus

Distance at which the Renderer 3D computes the depth of field (DOF). Only works if Depth of Field is enabled in the renderer settings.

Control Visibility

Checkboxes to show or hide the onscreen controls (frustum, view vector, near/far clip, focal plane, …). Useful to keep the viewer readable when several cameras are in the scene.

The Film Gate sets the dimensions of the virtual camera's aperture. Presets (35mm, Super 35, Academy, …) fill in the aperture width/height. These values affect how the image fits the Resolution Gate through the Resolution Gate Fit parameter:

• Inside - the image fits entirely inside the resolution gate, possibly with bars.
• Width - fits to the width.
• Height - fits to the height.
• Outside - the image covers the resolution gate, possibly cropped.
• Stretch - stretches to fill (can distort).

The Import Camera button lets you import a tracked camera from other applications. Supported formats:

• LightWave Scene (.lws)
• Max Scene (.ase)
• Maya Ascii Scene (.ma)
• dotXSI (.xsi)

For an FBX/Alembic import, use File > Import > FBX Scene or Alembic Scene instead - the import menu automatically creates properly connected camera nodes.

Only appears when a 2D image is connected to the magenta input. The image is oriented to fill the camera's field of view.

Enable Image Plane

Shows or hides the image plane through the camera.

Fill Method

How the image fits in the frustum (similar to Resolution Gate Fit).

Depth

Distance at which the image plane sits in front of the camera.

Same options as other 3D nodes (Diffuse, Specular, Transmittance, Material ID). See the Common Controls section of the official documentation for details.

Appears when an image is connected. Lets you project the image into the scene through the camera - the projection behaves like a physical projector, and the projected light requires lighting to be enabled in the Renderer 3D to be visible.

Enable Camera Projection

Turns on projection mode. Without this box checked, the image is just an image plane.

Projection Fit Method

How the projected image fits in the frustum.

Projection Mode

Three modes:

• Light - slide projector style projection, the image lights the scene.
• Ambient Light - ambient light, no shading based on surface orientation.
• Texture - the image becomes a texture applied to the projected geometry, with normal shading.

• No camera view - if the viewer's Camera > [name] menu is empty, make sure you are viewing the Merge 3D that contains the camera, not the camera node itself.
• DOF has no effect - enable Depth of Field in the Renderer 3D (not on the camera) and set the Plane of Focus to the subject's distance.
• Offset FBX camera - if an imported camera looks offset, check that the Film Back / Film Gate settings match between the source software and Fusion (Maya in cm, Blender in m).
• For a fake 3D parallax, create 2-3 image planes at different depths and animate a single camera - automatic parallax, no tracking needed.
• Avoid Toe In stereo in serious production - prefer Off Axis for the best viewing comfort.

The Transform and Settings tabs hold the options shared by 3D nodes: transforms (position, rotation, scale, pivot), visibility and render parameters.