Can Filament Render 360/Spherical Images? If so, how?

KomodoVRKomodoVR Posts: 115

And if not, would it be possible for this feature to be implemented at some point - or is it technically impossible? If it is possible, it would be extremely useful for those of us who render 3D VR images/animations. Thanks in advance for any information on this matter.

Post edited by KomodoVR on

Comments

  • HylasHylas Posts: 4,981

    I don't use Filament but I don't see why it wouldn't work?

    You have to set your camera distortion to spherical, I think. Haven't done it in a while.

    It definitely had to do with camera settings, not IRAY render settings.

  • KomodoVRKomodoVR Posts: 115

    Hylas said:

    I don't use Filament but I don't see why it wouldn't work?

    You have to set your camera distortion to spherical, I think. Haven't done it in a while.

    It definitely had to do with camera settings, not IRAY render settings.

    Alas, that does not work - at least not for me in Daz 4.20.0.11. Setting the camera's "lens distortion type" to "spherical" has no effect on either the viewport image, or the actual rendered image. It does with Iray, but not with Filament. If a spherical/360-degree render can be done with Filament, it must require something additional. If anyone knows anything about this, please chime in!

  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 38,200
    edited April 2022

    not from my experience sadly but you could stitch a panorama with Microsoft ICE or something I guess

    if you have it

    they discontinued it, I have it

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/product/computational-photography-applications/image-composite-editor/

    Post edited by WendyLuvsCatz on
  • KomodoVRKomodoVR Posts: 115
    edited April 2022

    WendyLuvsCatz said:

    not from my experience sadly but you could stitch a panorama with Microsoft ICE or something I guess

    if you have it

    they discontinued it, I have it

    https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/research/product/computational-photography-applications/image-composite-editor/

     

    Unfortunately, I don't think that utility can produce the kind of image I would like to create. Attached/below is an image of what I have in mind. If Filament cannot presently do this, I wonder if it would be possible to implement the use of spherical cameras in a future update/version. If so, I'll submit a feature request, but it may not be technically possible. It sure would be useful, though!

    2022-04-03 2140 Standard Render vs Spherical Render.jpg
    2000 x 2000 - 873K
    Post edited by KomodoVR on
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 38,200
    edited April 2022

    well no because it is no longer available

    I certainly used it to create spherical images from rotating videos

    (which is what one can do with Filament, rotate the camera up and down on X axis and progressively rotate the Y axis after each sweep, definitely easier than doing it with my Nikon on unsteady feet getting dizzy)

    you may be able to find another panorama stitcher, Google Streetview has one I believe for making VR balls

    I can find 2 paid options 

    ptgui and Panoweaver

    there is another way using a mirror sphere, I think casual has a script with one

    Post edited by WendyLuvsCatz on
  • KomodoVRKomodoVR Posts: 115
    edited April 2022

    WendyLuvsCatz said:

    well no because it is no longer available

    I certainly used it to create spherical images from rotating videos

    (which is what one can do with Filament, rotate the camera up and down on X axis and progressively rotate the Y axis after each sweep, definitely easier than doing it with my Nikon on unsteady feet getting dizzy)

    you may be able to find another panorama stitcher, Google Streetview has one I believe for making VR balls

    I can find 2 paid options 

    ptgui and Panoweaver

    there is another way using a mirror sphere, I think casual has a script with one

     

    Yes, there are a few ways to go about creating the desired effect using software. Unfortunately, that route is time-consuming and the results may not always be perfect. I came across the thread from mCasual about creating spherical renders from a series of viewport images (someone give that guy a pay rise):
    https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/57539/ready-rendering-daz-studio-scenes-as-skyballs-equirectangular-spherical-images/p1

    A central reason I'm asking about native spherical camera support via Filament is because Filament is extremely fast compared to Iray. Filament renders can also look decent!

    To be able to rapidly create spherical images via Filament would make it trivially easy to check whether a scene has been set up properly before starting multi-hour Iray renders. Thus far, I have been rendering a low resolution version with as few iterations as possible. This is okay for catching the more obvious problems with a render, but Filament would save the day.

    Furthermore, if Filament could render spherical images, it would be possible to create 3D VR-360 animations that can be viewed with a VR headset. Sadly, I feel that 3D VR animations with Iray (at 6K+ resolution) are perhaps a decade away from being practical.

    I have seen your animations, and I think you could do some impressive and immersive VR animations using Filament - if only it were possible!

    So, if someone out there knows whether Filament is capable of spherical rendering, but hasn't been implemented yet, please speak up!

    Post edited by KomodoVR on
  • WendyLuvsCatzWendyLuvsCatz Posts: 38,200

    I would honestly settle for Filament native shaders to solve issues like cutout opacity culling and lack of ambient emission 

    sadly nobody seems to know how to/or seems to be interested in adding the Filiment shaders to the API

    I dare say camera functions are related to that too

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