Understanding camera settings

When you create a new camera, it becomes a new layer in the Timeline window and its name appears in the 3D View pop-up menu. Though the cameras' locations in the layer order in the Timeline window do not affect their positions in the Composition window, they do determine which of the cameras is rendered. After Effects renders the Active Camera view, regardless of the view selected in the 3D View menu.

The After Effects camera is intended to simulate the capabilities of real-world cameras. Therefore, you can configure the camera view either to match settings you may have used to record video footage or to create a custom view.

Use the guidelines below to determine the optimal setting. You can change the camera settings at any time.

Name

After Effects, by default, assigns the name Camera 1 to the first camera you create in a composition, and all subsequent cameras are numbered in ascending order. If you delete a camera, and are still using the After Effects default naming convention, then After Effects names the next camera you create with the lowest available number. You should choose distinctive names for multiple cameras to make it easier to distinguish them.

Preset

Cameras come with several presets. The presets are named according to focal lengths. Each preset is meant to represent the behavior of a 35mm camera with a lens of a certain focal length. Therefore, the preset also sets the angle of view, zoom, focus distance, focal length, and aperture values. The default preset is 50mm. You can also create a custom camera by specifying new values for any of the settings.

Zoom

The distance from the position of the camera to the image plane.

Angle of View

This is the width of the scene captured in the image. The focal length, film size, and zoom determine the angle of view. A wider angle of view creates the same effect as a wide-angle lens.

Enable Depth of Field

The depth of field is the distance range within which the image is in focus. Images outside of the distance range are blurred. Select this option to apply custom variables to the focus distance, aperture, f-stop, and blur level. Using these variables, you can manipulate the depth of field to create more realistic camera-focusing effects.

Focus Distance

Distance from the camera's position to the plane that is in perfect focus.

Aperture

The size of the lens opening. The aperture setting also affects the depth of field--increasing the aperture increases the depth of field blur. When you specify new values for the aperture, the values for f-stop change dynamically to match it.

F-stop

A number representing the ratio of the focal length to aperture. Most cameras specify aperture size using the f-stop measurement; thus, many photographers prefer to set the aperture size in f-stop units. When you specify new values for the f-stop setting, the values for aperture change dynamically to match it.

Blur Level

Controls the amount of depth-of-field blur in an image. A setting of 100% creates a natural blur as dictated by the camera settings. Lower values reduce the blur.

Film Size

The size of the exposed area of film, which is directly related to the composition size. When you specify new values for film size, the zoom changes to match the perspective of a real camera.

Focal Length

In After Effects' camera model, the distance from the film plane to the camera lens. In After Effects, the camera's position represents the center of the lens. When you specify new values for the focal length, the zoom changes to match the perspective of a real camera.

Units

The units of measurement in which the camera setting values are expressed.

Measure Film Size

The dimensions used to depict the film size.