Rendering from the wrong camera

I seem to recall a thread that asked what camera Iray would render from, but the one I found doesn't seem to address the issue I'm having. The behavior is new in 4.10.0.123, where Iray will process from a camera other than the currently active one. I have to go through all the Activities panels (I have five or six custom ones) and make sure the same camera is selected.

This thread

https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/267686/which-camera-is-the-render-camera

seems to suggest it will render from the camera in the window you last clicked on, but that's not what happens with me. While I do use the Aux viewport in one of my Activities panels, it's always with the camera I intend to render from. Weirdly, D|S (or Iray) picks another camera that is not active in ANY window, but might have been viewed from (not rendered from) recently.

Are there any other threads that discuss this. It's not directly reproducible, and appears to be random. But it does happen enough times in a day to be really annoying.

Comments

  • JonnyRayJonnyRay Posts: 1,744

    More specifically, it should render from the camera that is in use in your active viewport. You can tell which view is active by the thin yellow border around it. I know I've caught myself a few times since I typically use my Aux Viewport as the one showing me the scene from the camera I expect to render from. Then I use my main viewport in perspective view to manipulate the objects in my scene. And I'll forget that what I see in Aux isn't the view that Studio thinks is active.

  • ToborTobor Posts: 2,300

    Hmmm. Not sure if this relates to my issue. The Aux viewport is never visible (it's not in the same Activity panel) as any of the others that I use for rendering. So if I've used the Aux viewport at all, it's ALWAYS the camera I intend to render from, and that's the camera that retains focus in the window I switch to.

    What sometimes happens is that the render is from a camera that is not in ANY window, not even the Aux viewport. It is a camera that I may have looked at (but didn't render from) within the last 10 or 15 minutes. This behavior is new since I loaded 4.10.0.123 on my machine, and doesn't happen in a 4.9 beta which I keep around for testing, and it never happened in 4.8.

    I'm wondering if this is a new "behavior" or if it has to do with all the custom Activity panel windows use. I think I'm using six or seven now, and they're all pretty loaded up with tabs to the right, left, and sometimes top or bottom.

  • I am told that it may well be down to switching between activities with diffreng states of the visible and/or active viewport.

  • ToborTobor Posts: 2,300
    edited September 2018

    An oddity I discovered: on multiple occasions the view that is rendered is actually a light view! D|S won't let you render from a light view, but  in the mix up it appears to happen. I aim the light and then fuss with the camera. When it comes time to render, the camera is selected but I get view out of the light. 

    Very odd.

    Edit: Oh, and I forgot to add the way to fix it is to inteionally try to render through the light. D|S refuses to do so, and then I the next render through the camera works.

    Post edited by Tobor on
  • jpetersen1jpetersen1 Posts: 148
    edited June 2019

    I am having the same problem and shutting down and re-running DS 4.10 doesn't solve the problem.

    My Viewport is set to Camera1. The Aux Viewport is set to Camera1. There's a fine yellow line around the viewport, but it is rendering from a different camera (not Perspective Mode) and showing a lot of sky. Why?

     

    Tobor, how does one intentionally try to render through the light? I've lost two days trying to solve this camera problem and if it's a bug, I need a work-around fast. I've been using 3D and 2D graphics programs all my life and I've never used anything that makes it so slow and difficult to move things around (it takes an average of ten times longer to composite a scene than with anything else I've used) and which does such unexpected things like rendering from the wrong camera.

    Post edited by jpetersen1 on
  • jpetersen1jpetersen1 Posts: 148
    edited June 2019

    It has to be a bug.

    I select Camera 1 in both Viewport and Aux Viewport (which is a front view), I can see the correct view, but it renders from the back.

    I switch to Perspective mode in both viewports and it shows the correct view (from the front-left) but now it renders from the side. The images in the render window do not match what is selected and what is visible in the viewports.

    Post edited by jpetersen1 on
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 37,709
    edited June 2019

    I never got my head around the the fact you cannot just choose a camera in the render tab in DAZ studio coming originally from software where you do Carrara, and can even switch cameras in animation in one case IE iClone, I am pretty sure Blender and other suites do this too, specifying the render camera would have been a user interface no brainer I thought.

    Post edited by WendyLuvsCatz on
  • jpetersen1jpetersen1 Posts: 148
    edited June 2019

    I'm trying to find work-arounds to get DS to render from the correct camera. I had four cameras (and Perspective view) and have deleted all of them.

    Then I created a fresh camera using the option for it to be positioned with the same view as Perspective view.

    I can see the Camera 1 View in the Viewport. I can see the Camera 1 View in the Aux Viewport (both are showing the correct angle in wireframe mode) When I render, it renders as though the old (deleted) side-camera (Camera 2) were still there.

    Is there some setting in DS that would interfere with the correct selection of the Camera View for rendering? Something that might be conflicting with it that I could turn off?

    Post edited by jpetersen1 on
  • I'm trying to find work-arounds to get DS to render from the correct camera. I had four cameras (and Perspective view) and have deleted all of them.

    Then I created a fresh camera using the option for it to be positioned with the same view as Perspective view.

    I can see the Camera 1 View in the Viewport. I can see the Camera 1 View in the Aux Viewport (both are showing the correct angle in wireframe mode) When I render, it renders as though the old (deleted) side-camera (Camera 2) were still there.

    Is there some setting in DS that would interfere with the correct selection of the Camera View for rendering? Something that might be conflicting with it that I could turn off?

    So the view is different, not just cropped? Screen shots might help - give the figures some clothes or delete them if need be.

  • jpetersen1jpetersen1 Posts: 148

    It's not cropped. It's a completely different view.

    I am viewing the figures from the front (in both perspective mode and Camera 1 mode). When it renders, the Render Window shows a completely different view from the side. It's definitely not some "version" of what Camera 1 is seeing (not a cropped version). It is what the deleted Camera 2 was seeing before I deleted it. Camera 2 is definitely not on the Scene tab list any more.

     

    I just completely deinstalled Daz Studio and reinstalled it. There were no installation problems. It runs fine without any error messages. Same camera problem, exactly the same.

    This tells me there is probably some setting in the scene that is conflicting with the camera/view selection.

    I don't have any third-party plugins or props. Everything in the scene is purchased from Daz's site (two figures, a bit of terrain and a tree).

  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 37,709

    It's not cropped. It's a completely different view.

    I am viewing the figures from the front (in both perspective mode and Camera 1 mode). When it renders, the Render Window shows a completely different view from the side. It's definitely not some "version" of what Camera 1 is seeing (not a cropped version). It is what the deleted Camera 2 was seeing before I deleted it. Camera 2 is definitely not on the Scene tab list any more.

     

    I just completely deinstalled Daz Studio and reinstalled it. There were no installation problems. It runs fine without any error messages. Same camera problem, exactly the same.

    This tells me there is probably some setting in the scene that is conflicting with the camera/view selection.

    I don't have any third-party plugins or props. Everything in the scene is purchased from Daz's site (two figures, a bit of terrain and a tree).

    The clear undo stack script might fix that or you can look at the duf file in notepad 

  • jpetersen1jpetersen1 Posts: 148

    I've been trying settings one-by-one to see if something will reset the cameras so the Camera 1 View and the Render View match.

    I thought the settings that are most likely to conflict with the Camera view might be the render/light/dome settings or the actual settings for the Camera in question (after I reinstalled Daz 4.10 I set my scene so there is only one camera).

    It's not likely that the actual figures or terrain would have any bearing on the Camera View/Render View mismatch, so I am not changing them ATM.

    FYI, the Perspective View and the Camera1 View in my scene are almost identical (and I would be happy to render either one except the Perspective View should only be used for test renders, not for final renders).

    I tried several background, light, and render presets from the Render Settings on the left, both with and without dome...

    The problem persisted, so I went to the Camera settings on the Posing tab on the lower right and noticed that if I change the focal length on Camera 1, the focal length of the mystery camera (the one that can't be seen and is not the same as Camera 1 or the Perspective "camera" and which is rendering a side shot instead of my Camera 1 shot) also changed. It's only a small piece of info, but sometimes problem-solving depends on building up small observations.

    I do not want to have to re-create the scene from scratch, it took 11 hours, plus re-creating the scene is a work-around, it doesn't solve the actual problem, which is apparently a bug in Daz Studio that needs to be found and fixed.

  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 37,709

    If using a DAZ script or notepad scares you for some reason you could copy rename and use a copy scene

  • jpetersen1jpetersen1 Posts: 148

    Scripts aren't a problem. I'm quite comfortable using (and coding) scripts.

    But It doesn't seem like clearing the Undo Stack would influence which view is rendered. I'd rather try other things first.

    I like your suggestion of importing the parts into a fresh scene, so I saved all the parts, except the camera and the headlight blocker, to a Scene Subset.

    I opened a fresh, empty scene, imported the Scene Subset and tried a Perspective View render first (to see if it works) before adding a camera. That worked. The pic in the Viewport matches the pic in the Render.

    Then I added Camera 1 and applied that same settings as the Perspective "camera" to get the same viewpoint. That worked. So there is something in the original scene interfering with camera views that probably has nothing to do with the actual figures/props.

     

    I still need to adjust lighting, so I'll save before each adjustment in case I stumble into whatever broke the first scene. If I do, I'll report whatever it is.

    Thanks for the suggestion. At least now I'm getting a match between the Viewport/Aux Viewport (whichever is active) and the Render windows.

     

  • jpetersen1jpetersen1 Posts: 148
    edited June 2019

    It's a bug.

    I'm not completely sure what triggered it again. I was about to do my final render and made a slight adjustment to the size of the render window (this doesn't usually cause problems) and I grouped three items so I could move them together and shifted them slightly. I'm not sure if I did anything else.

    Now it's no longer rendering what is the Viewport (which is the same Camera1 view as the Aux Viewport), it is rendering a side view again from an invisible (seemingly nonexistent) "camera". Exactly same problem as before.

    Post edited by jpetersen1 on
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 37,709

    Well if you did try it, it takes seconds to drop it into your scene from explorer or click if placed in content library 

    if it works that is

  • jpetersen1jpetersen1 Posts: 148

    It seems to me the priority should be to figure out what is causing it and fix it.

    People download Daz Studio, try it, if it doesn't work they will abandon it and then they have no need to buy Daz content. One of the first things I did was to look for alternatives to Daz Studio (for compositing) because I don't have time to deal with bugs as serious as not being able to control which camera is rendering.

    The only reason I'm still here is because I'm patient and I will always give something an extra day or two to see if I can figure it out. Most other people aren't as patient as I am (I've noticed... and they've apparently noticed also as they tend to remark on this).

    I will do some more trouble-shooting today. If I can figure out what is triggering the bug (or how to work around it), I'll report it. If I can't, I'll try the script you suggested. What it comes down to is that I am more interested in Daz providing a solution (fixing the bug) than I am in finding a workaround. If the company cares about its products (and its customers) I will stick by it. If not, I will find other alternatives.

  • Sven DullahSven Dullah Posts: 7,621
    edited June 2019

    It seems to me the priority should be to figure out what is causing it and fix it.

    People download Daz Studio, try it, if it doesn't work they will abandon it and then they have no need to buy Daz content. One of the first things I did was to look for alternatives to Daz Studio (for compositing) because I don't have time to deal with bugs as serious as not being able to control which camera is rendering.

    The only reason I'm still here is because I'm patient and I will always give something an extra day or two to see if I can figure it out. Most other people aren't as patient as I am (I've noticed... and they've apparently noticed also as they tend to remark on this).

    I will do some more trouble-shooting today. If I can figure out what is triggering the bug (or how to work around it), I'll report it. If I can't, I'll try the script you suggested. What it comes down to is that I am more interested in Daz providing a solution (fixing the bug) than I am in finding a workaround. If the company cares about its products (and its customers) I will stick by it. If not, I will find other alternatives.

    I've been rendering in DS for many years and never had this happen, it always renders from the active view. But I use 3DL exclusively, so wondering if this is IRay specific?

    I suggest you file a bug report, if you want DAZ to do something about it.

    Post edited by Sven Dullah on
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 37,709

    It seems to me the priority should be to figure out what is causing it and fix it.

    People download Daz Studio, try it, if it doesn't work they will abandon it and then they have no need to buy Daz content. One of the first things I did was to look for alternatives to Daz Studio (for compositing) because I don't have time to deal with bugs as serious as not being able to control which camera is rendering.

    The only reason I'm still here is because I'm patient and I will always give something an extra day or two to see if I can figure it out. Most other people aren't as patient as I am (I've noticed... and they've apparently noticed also as they tend to remark on this).

    I will do some more trouble-shooting today. If I can figure out what is triggering the bug (or how to work around it), I'll report it. If I can't, I'll try the script you suggested. What it comes down to is that I am more interested in Daz providing a solution (fixing the bug) than I am in finding a workaround. If the company cares about its products (and its customers) I will stick by it. If not, I will find other alternatives.

    LOL I actually thought that was stubborn

    I only made suggestions by all means ignore me as I don't know if it will work for you anyway

    I am primarily a Carrara and iClone user anyway 

    I do use DAZ studio also and whine a lot over the last 10 years about it but actually I don't see that bug often if at all and I often run that script as it removes unused textures and objects so saves resources

    you don't have to thats your perrogative but yeah I have lost my patience with you now so good luck hopefully someone else can help you heart

  • Please provide screen shots, or even a saved scene.

  • JonnyRayJonnyRay Posts: 1,744

    This would be really frustrating to me too. Not sure we can help much without some screenshots of render settings and the scene tree. Even then, I've used Daz Studio since 2006 and never seen this sort of behavior.

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