Real to V-Ray Physical Camera Guide

By Jos P. Olivares-Hatch

V-Ray Physical Camera Guide

Jos P. Olivares-Hatch

The aim of the V-Ray Physical Camera is to simulate a real-life camera, complete with all the same settings and functions. Above is an image of a Canon PowerShot S70. In V-Ray we are going to create a virtual replicar of this camera. To do this we need to find out what properties this camera has. For instance what lens does it have? Whats the size of the image sensor? What film speeds can we set it to? When we have established these and other points we can begin to create our camera in V-Ray. First steps:Decide on the camera you wish to simulate. Find the settings for the camera. Setup the VrayPhysicalCamera to match.

V-Ray Physical Camera Guide

Jos P. Olivares-Hatch

Below are the features of the Canon PowerShot S70 that we are interested in. 1/1.8 image sensor format. 7.18mm film gate (7.18mm x 5.32mm). 5.8mm (wide) 20.7mm (telephoto) focal length. 2.8 (wide) 5.3 (telephoto) f-number (aperture size). 1/4 - 1/1250 shutter speed. 50 - 400 film speed (ISO).

Image sensor format of the camera is 1/1.8. This means the sensor size is 7.18mm x 5.32mm. Giving us the film gate value of 7.18mm. The diagram above shows us the size of a 1/1.8 sensor (on the left) compared to a full 35mm sensor. The larger the sensor the greater the dynamic range whilst also reducing the amount of noise. The camera has a 5.8mm wide focal length, and a 20.7mm telephoto focal length. At these settings the minimum f-number is 2.8 and 5.3 respectively. This has an impact on the brightness of the image. The wider shots having a bigger aperture size, letting in more light. The telephoto shots will be darker but this can be compensated some what with the shutter speed and the film speed settings. The S70 has shutter speeds from between 1/4 s to 1/1250 s, and film speeds between 50 and 400 ISO. We have a lot of control over the exposure of the image.

V-Ray Physical Camera Guide

Jos P. Olivares-Hatch

We can take these parameters for the S70 and input them into a new VrayPhysicalCamera in 3ds max. For a wide shot:Set the film gate (mm) to 7.18 Set the focal length (mm) to 5.8 Set the f-number to 2.8 For a telephoto shot:Set the film gate (mm) to 7.18 Set the focal length (mm) to 20.7 Set the f-number to 5.3 Set the shutter speed and the film speed (ISO) to the values currently set for the camera. The S70 allows you to change the white balance for your shots. A neat feature it has is an auto white balance function called Evaluate White Balance. You point the camera at a point you know to be white and the camera automatically adjusts the white balance to match. You can do the same with the Physical Camera by picking an RGB value that you want depicted as white in your render. Only the hue is used not the brightness of the colour.