Set up Blender cameras with cinematic intent — focal length, depth of field (f-stop / focus object), composition (rule of thirds, leading lines), animated cameras (orbit, dolly, push-in), tracking constraints. Use whenever the user asks to "set up the camera", "frame the shot", "make it look cinemat

MCP backend Use when: Any camera placement, framing, focal length, DoF, or animated camera setup in Blender. Before the first Blender call, read [../text to blender/references/mcp backends.md](../text to blender/references/mcp backends.md). Prefer official MCP for shared capabilities; preserve the selected backend for the whole task. Tool names in recipes are client/legacy examples: map them through that reference and its agent host guide. Blender Cameras Set up cameras with the same decisions a real cinematographer makes: focal length for feel, f stop for focus, composition for storytelling. Focal length cheat sheet Length Feel Use 14–24mm Very wide, distorted Architecture, claustrophobic interiors, exaggerated perspective 28–35mm Wide, "documentary" Establishing shots, environments 50mm Neutral (≈ human eye) Default storytelling 85mm Short telephoto Portraits, character close ups (flattering) 100–135mm Telephoto Hero product shots, isolated subjects 200mm+ Long tele Wildlife, surveillance look, heavy compression Quick rule : 85mm for intimacy, 24mm for spectacle, 50mm for neutral. Aperture / f stop f stop DoF Use f/1.2–2.0 Razor thin Hero portraits, dreamy f/2.8 Shallow Standard portrait f/4 Moderate Two subjects in frame f/5.6–8 Medium deep Group portraits, environments f/11+ Very deep Landscape, "everything sharp" Recipes Recipe 0 — Bbox aware hero camera (preferred for orchestrator chains) Use this when you have a specific subject. Computes the subject's bounding box, places camera at a distance that fits the subject in ~80% of the frame vertically, and aims via Track To. For elongated vertical subjects (sword, flag, candle): biggest dimension is height; the framing math fits height to 80% of vertical frame, which is what you want. For wide horizontal subjects (car, table): biggest is width; it fits width to 80% of vertical frame too which over zooms — for those, swap to frame per meter h = (sensor h mm aspect ratio) / focal mm or adjust target fill down. Recipe 1 — Hero portrait camera (85mm + shallow DoF) Recipe 2 — Wide environmental establishing shot (24mm) Recipe 3 — Product hero (100mm + macro DoF) Recipe 4 — Composition guides (rule of thirds overlay) These overlays show in viewport only; no effect on render. Recipe 5 — Orbit camera animation (10 second 360° turntable) Recipe 6 — Push in / dolly (camera moves forward, no zoom) A push in (physical move forward) is visually distinct from a zoom (focal length change). Use push ins for cinematic feel, zooms for surveillance/news look. Composition rules — enforce via positioning 1. Rule of thirds : place the subject at one of the 4 intersection points, not center. 2. Headroom : leave ~10% empty above the head. 3. Nose room : if subject faces left, leave space on the left for them to "look into". 4. Foreground/midground/background : three depth layers feel more cinematic. Sensor sizes Sensor Width (mm) Notes Full frame DSLR / 35mm cinema 36 Default APS C 22.5 1.5–1.6× crop Super 35 24.89 Most cinema Micro Four Thirds 17.3 Mirrorless iPhone 15 Pro 9.8 Smartphone reference Set with cam data.sensor width = 36 . Common pitfalls Symptom Fix Distorted face on portrait Use 50mm+ for human subjects Subject blurred, background sharp Set dof.focus object to the subject Camera dead center on subject Apply rule of thirds; offset subject Orbit camera tilts wildly Use Track To constraint, not manual rotation Camera below ground in animation Add Floor constraint or check Z keyframes DoF very slow in Cycles Acceptable for finals; viewport may use simpler approximation When to load references/overview.md Load when: Cinematic effects beyond defaults: anamorphic, lens flares, vignette Multi camera scenes (camera markers for editing) Camera shake / handheld noise Stereo / VR camera setup The reference covers: full focal length theory, aperture/f stop tables, composition guides, sensor variants for matching real cameras (iPhone, cinema, DSLR), animated camera patterns, cinematic effects.

blender-cameras