Zeiss has announced a significant update to the Zeiss CinCraft Scenario camera tracking system. With the latest software release 2.1, the powerful and flexible solution now allows users to manually calibrate lenses when no pre-filled template is available. This opens the possibility to work with any spherical lens.
“With this software update, we are greatly increasing the flexibility in lens choice and compatibility with virtual production stages and broadcast applications,” says Christophe Casenave, Head of Business Unit Cinematography at Zeiss.
Manual Spherical Lens Calibration – Increasing Compatibility
The CinCraft Scenario calibration process is guided and designed to be easy to conduct. Users can now initiate a calibration by inserting lens details (e.g. engraved barrel marks like focus/iris/zoom) into the CinCraft Scenario Software and performing an initial calibration using a chart. They can then adjust and finetune the calibration until satisfactory results are achieved. The calibration steps for spherical lenses are designed to be straightforward and easy to deploy while still delivering excellent results. “This update allows CinCraft Scenario users to create a lens template from scratch with ease, enabling tracking with any third-party lenses,” summarizes Casenave.
Manual CamBar Offset & Clip Name
With the latest software release, users can manually enter measurements for the CamBar to main camera offset instead of relying on the automated ‘Offset Assistant’. “This offers a faster method to update the offset without needing the chart method, which can sometimes be restrictive on set," explains Tom Evans, Product Manager for Zeiss CinCraft. Users can quickly input manual measurements without temporarily switching to a wider lens and can store commonly used offsets, making it easy to apply these values when switching between known camera setups.
Moreover, CinCraft Scenario 2.1 now automatically detects the clip name on ARRI and Sony cameras and stores this alongside the tracking data, simplifying the process of matching the correct take in Export. For cameras that don’t provide a clip name automatically, users can manually input it during recording.
Export 2.0 with Undistortion ST Maps and Point Cloud
The Zeiss CinCraft Scenario system also features an enhanced Export 2.0 update. “With Export 2.0 we are increasing comfort and value in use of tracking data for post-production”, says Evans. The new Undistortion ST Maps can be used to undistort camera plates, eliminating the need for shooting lens grids during camera prep. When paired with the matching distortion maps from Export, this allows for easy reapplication of lens distortion in the final stages of compositing.
Additionally, the Export Point Cloud provides VFX artists with data detailing the camera's position during production. The point cloud contains all the features that were used for tracking and will help visualize the space around the camera, which makes aligning the camera in post-production much easier. The point cloud will be provided in two formats: PTS for Unreal Engine and FBX for Nuke.
Availability
The new release is available for all users starting November 7th, 2024. Several online live demo sessions with product specialists going through the calibration process will be held in the weeks to come. The dates will soon be published on the ZEISS Cinematography social media channels and the CinCraft website.
Additional training videos and documentation are available to further assist.