Spherical Camera Node

The Spherical Camera replaces the standard Camera 3D in a Fusion 3D scene. Instead of a rectangular perspective projection, it renders the whole 360° sphere as a 2:1 equirectangular output.

Typical workflow: import a VR panorama as an Image Plane 3D background, add 3D objects (text, assets), place the Spherical Camera at the origin, render → an equirectangular result with integrated 3D objects and correct parallax.

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

Camera 3D

Rectangular perspective projection. A standard image output with FOV and focal length. The classic 3D workflow.

Spherical Camera

Full spherical projection. A 2:1 equirectangular output (360° horizontal × 180° vertical). For VR.

Rule of thumb: standard 3D workflow → Camera 3D. VR / 360° workflow → Spherical Camera.

• SceneInput (green) - the 3D scene to render (a Merge 3D holding the objects, lights and image planes).

Integrating 3D objects into a VR plate:
Equirect plate → Image Plane 3D (Sphere) ─┐
                                          ├── Merge 3D ─── Spherical Camera
Text 3D ──────── Transform 3D ────────────┤                  ↓
                                          │              Renderer 3D
3D asset ─────── Transform 3D ────────────┘                  ↓
                                                       MediaOut equirect

Creating a synthetic panorama:
Sky Sphere ─┐
            │
Mountain ───┤
            ├── Merge 3D ── Spherical Camera ── Renderer 3D
Trees ──────┤                                     ↓
            │                                  Synthetic 360 equirect
Particles ──┘

360 stickers / motion graphics:
VR plate (Image Plane Sphere) + animated Text 3D
   → Merge 3D
   → Spherical Camera (at the origin)
   → Renderer 3D → MediaOut

Translation X / Y / Z (defaults: 0,0,0)

Position of the 360° camera in the 3D scene. For an immersive panorama, place it at the viewer's point of view (typically the origin or eye height).

Rotation X / Y / Z (defaults: 0,0,0)

Orientation of the camera. Lets you rotate the panorama (tilt, reframing north).

Output Width / Height (defaults: 4096 × 2048)

Resolution of the equirectangular output. 360° standards: 4K (4096×2048), 6K (5760×2880), 8K (7680×3840). A 2:1 aspect is mandatory.

Stereo Mode (default: Mono)

Mono = a single 360°. Stereo 360° (L/R) = two Spherical Cameras with an interaxial for stereoscopic VR rendering. Top-Bottom or Side-by-Side depending on the delivery.

Interaxial Distance (default: 6.5 cm)

Distance between the eyes for stereo VR. The human standard is ~6.5 cm.

Filter (default: Catmull-Rom)

Sampling filter. Catmull-Rom = standard quality, Lanczos = ultra sharp.

• VFX integration into a 360 plate - add dragons, explosions, particles into an existing VR panorama with correct parallax and 3D integration.
• 360 motion graphics - 3D text and logos that move through space, follow the viewer or stay pinned to a spot, rendered as equirectangular for VR distribution.
• Creating a synthetic panorama - a fully modeled 3D scene + Spherical Camera = a 360° environment for intros, transitions, imaginary spaces.
• Pinned 3D stickers - annotations, points of interest, hotspots in a 360° virtual tour.
• 3D compositing in an HDRI - image plane sphere with an HDRI + 3D elements = product visualization / archviz in a lit environment.
• Stereo VR rendering - render a 3D scene directly in stereo VR for headsets (Quest, Vive, etc.).

• Place it at the origin - by default, put the camera at (0,0,0). All the content of the 3D scene should be placed around it. It avoids weird deformations.
• 2:1 aspect mandatory - equirectangular requires this aspect. Otherwise the panorama will be distorted on playback.
• Image Plane Sphere for the plate - use an Image Plane 3D in sphere mode (with equirectangular UV mapping) to bring the VR plate into the 3D scene as a background.
• Resolution × 2 for stereo - for a Top-Bottom output, plan for height × 2 (or width × 2 for SBS).
• Test in a VR player - the equirectangular preview is misleading. Always test in a VR headset or a 360° viewer to validate the real placement.
• Massive performance cost - rendering 4K equirect = 4× the work of a standard 1080p. Cache the heavy intermediate nodes, render in the background.
• No natural DOF - in spherical mode, there is no classic focal length or aperture. For DOF, go through compositing with a depth map or stereo Z.
• For advanced workflows (multi-cam, intermediate cubemap), consider Pano Map for conversions between projections.