What a lens simulator is for
A lens simulator shows how a focal length frames a shot before you rent the lens or generate the footage. A focal length comparison puts several lenses on one subject. The glossary covers focal length itself.
In Morphic, the comparison runs on the scene you will make. Below is one market street at dusk: the camera moves back as the lens gets longer, so the woman stays the same size and the street changes.
Lens focal length, sensor and field of view in 3D Scene
Each camera in 3D Scene has its own lens, sensor, field of view and roll. The camera angles guide covers the height and angle that go with them.
- LensPick a lens preset, or set the field of view directly for any framing in between.
- Sensor sizeSet it in millimetres to match a real camera. On the same lens, a smaller sensor sees less.
- FollowKeep a camera on a moving figure to test lenses on the move.
- One-click anglesFrame the subject for you, then refine the lens by hand.
Compare focal lengths on several cameras
- 01
Add a camera at the same spot
Match the first camera's position and aim, then change only the lens.
- 02
Keep the subject's size
Move the new camera back along the same line until the subject fills the same space.
- 03
Compare the lenses
Cut between the cameras on the timeline, or download a still frame from each and lay them side by side on the Canvas.
Wide vs normal vs long: what changes in the frame
As the focal length grows, the frame takes in less, depth flattens, and shapes stretch less near the edges. Figures assume a full-frame sensor.
| Lens | What the frame takes in | Depth and movement | A face up close |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wide, 24mm and wider | More of the set | Stretched: the background looks far away, moves toward the lens feel fast | The nose pushes forward, shapes stretch near the edges |
| Normal, 35mm to 50mm | Close to how the eye expects | Natural, the usual range for dialogue coverage | Natural proportions |
| Long, 85mm and longer | A narrow slice | Compressed: the background looks closer, a crowd stacks into a wall, moves feel slow | Flattering from a distance |
Strictly, perspective comes from camera distance: a longer lens lets you stand further back, and that distance flattens depth. An ultrawide lens pushes the wide look further. On a real camera the narrow view also makes background blur look stronger, which 3D Scene does not render; describe it in the prompt, as in a bokeh shot.
Use the chosen focal length as the generation reference
Once a lens wins, render that camera's blocking video in the editor, at no credit cost, and add it to the Canvas, or press P to save a snapshot through that camera. Attach it, name each figure by colour, and name the lens feel. The render guides the framing and perspective. Place the cast first with the camera blocking tool, and build the set with the 3D scene maker.
Long-lens street shot at dusk. The red figure is a woman in a rust-coloured coat walking through a busy market, the blue figure a stallholder behind her. Lamp-lit stalls compressed behind them.
Generated shot
Chosen lens in 3DAll on Morphic
Camera blocking tool
Plan where everyone stands and where the camera goes, then check the frame through the lens.
3D scene maker
Describe a shot and Copilot builds the set, cast, action and camera in 3D.
Previs software
Previs a whole sequence in 3D, then use the blocking video as the reference for every shot.
Camera angles
Pick the camera height and angle that go with the lens, from eye level to overhead.
