Daz Camera impossible to delete

[UncleNanard]

Hi,

I have in a scene, cameras that have been added and I do not know where they come from.
In fact I have modified and duplicated my scene for the angles of view and each time the cameras have been duplicated and now I have about 40 of them and the scene has become very slow I can't do anything anymore. 10 minutes for open the scene (it's just a empty room, so normaly i open it in few secs) They are impossible to delete, there is nothing in the camera tab and even when I delete everything in my scene these cameras remain.
I can't select or move the cameras.

If someone have an idea, thanks for your help.

 

[MissFortune]

Go to your "Scene" pane and expand your environment (which is most likely grouped.), your cameras are likely going to be somewhere in there. If not grouped together in and of themselves. Deleting them there should get rid of the cameras on that list.

 

[moose_puck]

I second the above. Also, try typing "Cam" in the scene search box.

You might also look in your expanded scene listing for nodes, where one camera is the primary and all the copies are nodes instances off that primary (so you only have to make changes to the one camera) A lot of scene presets do that for lighting as well.

Also, I learned the hard way that when i want to duplicate some scene or, more often in my case, I like what I did with two or more characters' clothes and accessories, I will often save them as a scene. That way I can add them into a new scene later. But I started to run into problems with some weird things duplicating, or having it mess my lighting and render settings up. I realized it was because I was saving the file with the tonemapper and environment settings still there. Now what I do is delete everything, leaving only the assets - and then save.

Another annoyance I have run into recently, as I learn this stuff.. is that many pre-built scenes use old ighting systems and custom cameras that I know nothing about and/or don't really like. And often, the asset creator leaves no docs on how to use them. Often times they go unnoticed until you attempt to do a render and you then get strange results, or it takes forever. I especially hate 3DL lighting built into scenes as I know nothing about it and don't plan on ever using it. So what I find myself doing now when I use a large pre-built scene, is i go through and delete all the cameras and any ambient or hidden light sources. Then I apply my preferred lighting and any preset cameras throughout the scene. I do this before I do any renders and I save it somewhere safe. That way I am not having to fuck with the settings every time I come back to this scene to do a re-render or fix or something.

 

[mickydoo]

I second the above. Also, try typing "Cam" in the scene search box.

You might also look in your expanded scene listing for nodes, where one camera is the primary and all the copies are nodes instances off that primary (so you only have to make changes to the one camera) A lot of scene presets do that for lighting as well.

Also, I learned the hard way that when i want to duplicate some scene or, more often in my case, I like what I did with two or more characters' clothes and accessories, I will often save them as a scene. That way I can add them into a new scene later. But I started to run into problems with some weird things duplicating, or having it mess my lighting and render settings up. I realized it was because I was saving the file with the tonemapper and environment settings still there. Now what I do is delete everything, leaving only the assets - and then save.

Another annoyance I have run into recently, as I learn this stuff.. is that many pre-built scenes use old ighting systems and custom cameras that I know nothing about and/or don't really like. And often, the asset creator leaves no docs on how to use them. Often times they go unnoticed until you attempt to do a render and you then get strange results, or it takes forever. I especially hate 3DL lighting built into scenes as I know nothing about it and don't plan on ever using it. So what I find myself doing now when I use a large pre-built scene, is i go through and delete all the cameras and any ambient or hidden light sources. Then I apply my preferred lighting and any preset cameras throughout the scene. I do this before I do any renders and I save it somewhere safe. That way I am not having to fuck with the settings every time I come back to this scene to do a re-render or fix or something.

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Just turn the colour from white to black

 

[moose_puck]

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Just turn the colour from white to black

I was looking at this before. I think i may have downloaded it as well. But for now, I'm going to keep plugging away and learn the basics first. That's the way I have always learned new skills.... learn the basics... learn to do things the proper way first... then get faster and use shortcuts.

I also want to get a proper GPU before I get into these types of utilities, as the techniques I use now are needed to maintain a certain work flow while using only CPU, but when you have a proper GPU, you can change things up a bit.

I'll tell you... I tried that scene optimizer everyone recommended, and it screwed up a huge multi-room scene I had spent days building! And even after all the textures were optimized, it only saved me like 5% time! Meanwhile. I screwed up in saving the original textures and I had to go through the scene, prop by prop, asset by asset, and reload them from stock.

 

[MissFortune]

I was looking at this before. I think i may have downloaded it as well. But for now, I'm going to keep plugging away and learn the basics first. That's the way I have always learned new skills.... learn the basics... learn to do things the proper way first... then get faster and use shortcuts.

I've always found watching tutorials and then applying the same concepts to my own personal project/version of what they're doing to work well for me. I can follow along with what they're doing, but experiment in my own way while going along with it. Doesn't work for everyone, but I just find applying the concepts practically easier to learn then just being told what to do.

I'll tell you... I tried that scene optimizer everyone recommended, and it screwed up a huge multi-room scene I had spent days building! And even after all the textures were optimized, it only saved me like 5% time! Meanwhile. I screwed up in saving the original textures and I had to go through the scene, prop by prop, asset by asset, and reload them from stock.

How far did you bring down the quality? Provided you aren't zooming in on anything and your textures are 4K, lowering the resolution by two (the term used by SO is escaping me, apologies) shouldn't noticeably affect the texture quality from a distance. This, again, works under the assumption you won't be close to/zooming closely on certain objects. This, in a sense, means you have to plan your scenes and shots accordingly prior to using it.

As for destroying your scene: Always save a base version of the room/environment you've made. Not just for SO, but to have on hand for any new scene that may require animations, etc. Or in this case, something gets screwed up and you don't know how to fix it. You'll have an original version lying around. SO does have an option to save the original textures and restore them later, as well. I don't use for the reason above, because I already have a base version of it lying around.

 

[moose_puck]

I've always found watching tutorials and then applying the same concepts to my own personal project/version of what they're doing to work well for me. I can follow along with what they're doing, but experiment in my own way while going along with it. Doesn't work for everyone, but I just find applying the concepts practically easier to learn then just being told what to do.



How far did you bring down the quality? Provided you aren't zooming in on anything and your textures are 4K, lowering the resolution by two (the term used by SO is escaping me, apologies) shouldn't noticeably affect the texture quality from a distance. This, again, works under the assumption you won't be close to/zooming closely on certain objects. This, in a sense, means you have to plan your scenes and shots accordingly prior to using it.

As for destroying your scene: Always save a base version of the room/environment you've made. Not just for SO, but to have on hand for any new scene that may require animations, etc. Or in this case, something gets screwed up and you don't know how to fix it. You'll have an original version lying around. SO does have an option to save the original textures and restore them later, as well. I don't use for the reason above, because I already have a base version of it lying around.

Ya, I learned the hard way to think about this in advance, haha. Early on, I had this aversion to making dozens of DUFs for all the different versions I had of scenes. Now I know better, and I save a new DUF after almost every minor change. After all, the DUFs only run from say.. just under a MB to 20-30 MB for a complex scene. While I have stupid hair assets that are over a GB each! I've already filled one SSD with assets alone in DAZ, lol.

But to answer you first part... I had this habit of setting a large scene up with multiple renders from different cameras all on the same scene. That way I could use the Render Queue and run them all night while I slept. Unfortunately, some background surfaces looked very bad when their texture resolution was lowered (I did the recommended factor of 2) and I didn't notice it in the Iray previews. So I wasted a whole night's renders. Then I realized that I hadn't backed the originals up. I could reloaded the environment scene but then i would lose hours of posing and lighting setup. Oh well, that's how you learn

I don't use the Render Queue utility anymore. It started to act up and eventually stopped working all together. Even a re-install of DAZ didn't fix it, so I am thinking it either needs an update, or there's a DLL somewhere that is borked and I can't find it. In any case, I use the Batch Render script instead now. Can't do multiple CAMs on the same scene in one go, but you can save the different Cam views as seperate DUFs and do it that way. And I find it's less glitchy and more stable.

 

[MissFortune]

Early on, I had this aversion to making dozens of DUFs for all the different versions I had of scenes. Now I know better, and I save a new DUF after almost every minor change. After all, the DUFs only run from say.. just under a MB to 20-30 MB for a complex scene. While I have stupid hair assets that are over a GB each! I've already filled one SSD with assets alone in DAZ, lol.

Yeah, some of the assets out there for Daz can kind of get obnoxious in size. I have 40GBs in just billboards from Riversoft when they went on sale, bought a bunch. Clothes, hair, and hair color expansions tend to pile up quick. Especially with 8.1. I bought an 8TB external drive (I know a NAS is superior, but I don't have that kind of money laying around.) and just keep a dedicated folder for all the environment/scene .duf files as is without people. Definitely saves a chunk of space at the end of the day.

But to answer you first part... I had this habit of setting a large scene up with multiple renders from different cameras all on the same scene. That way I could use the Render Queue and run them all night while I slept. Unfortunately, some background surfaces looked very bad when their texture resolution was lowered (I did the recommended factor of 2) and I didn't notice it in the Iray previews. So I wasted a whole night's renders. Then I realized that I hadn't backed the originals up. I could reloaded the environment scene but then i would lose hours of posing and lighting setup. Oh well, that's how you learn

Sometimes it pays to look up the texture's you're working with and see if they have the size/dimensions that can be compressed/scaled (people and clothes, aside, obviously.). Looking at the dimensions (4096x4096, 3500x3500, 2096x2096, etc.) is going to help clarify what should or shouldn't be reduced/compressed. I wouldn't do it to anything under 4096x4096, personally. I also try to keep things like furniture, wall paint/paper(s), etc. solid colors as they're easier to compress without noticing the loss in quality. That's where having diversity in shaders can come in handy. Most shader maps are going to be fairly high quality if they're relatively recent, which can allow you to compress them as you would the rest of the 4k textures in the scene.

Yeah, unfortunately, sometimes stuff like that doesn't really show up until you start the render and let it go for a bit. Which only gets tougher when you lack a capable GPU to start and stop as needed.

I don't use the Render Queue utility anymore. It started to act up and eventually stopped working all together. Even a re-install of DAZ didn't fix it, so I am thinking it either needs an update, or there's a DLL somewhere that is borked and I can't find it. In any case, I use the Batch Render script instead now. Can't do multiple CAMs on the same scene in one go, but you can save the different Cam views as seperate DUFs and do it that way. And I find it's less glitchy and more stable.

I've very rarely used Batch Renders of any sort. Mostly because my PC is in my room, and living the desert, it can get pretty toasty while rendering, even at night. That and my computer can get pretty finnicky, specifically my AIO deciding to have a random pump failure, causing all the fans to speed up (sounds like a jet.) and blink red which causes a restart. Nor am I really comfortable having a PC rendering all night without much of break. That said, I've used this with a fair bit of

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. Haven't had any issues nonetheless.

 

[moose_puck]

That said, I've used this with a fair bit of

You must be registered to see the links

. Haven't had any issues nonetheless.

Yup, that's the one I use now.

I don't mind letting my computer run for a few days at a time. I tend to buy more commercial components, rather than gaming ones, specifically because they are over-engineered for stability and lifespan, at the cost of some performance. I just built a new PC last month for the first time in a while and I was pretty happy with the results for the cost, especially considering the silicon chip shortage. Only thing I couldn't afford yet, was a render-quality GPU. Instead, I grabbed a new GTX 1050 Ti for only $168. It's sad that I got excited to pay the same price that this card was sold for 6 years ago, lol.

Still, I managed to build a 10th gen Intel (just an i3 but still 8 threads at 3.6GHz) with 32GB of 3200 gaming RAM and the 1050Ti. I also put a 1TB M.2 drive as my boot drive, 2 x 1TB old school HDD's I had still in boxes from a previous project, a 650W Corsair PS and I got this nice RGB coolmaster eATX case with 4 fans already preinstalled for under $90. I've never used an eATX case before and I was shocked to see how big it was! It's almost a full tower, so I have plenty of room to expand. With my system doing renders all night, the 8 threads run at 100% and yet my temp never gets above 70 celsius. I use MSI Afterburner to map my fans and they only run at about 40% at 70 degrees. They won't hit 100% until 80.

I also found an OEM Win10 pro key for only $15 and an Office 2021 Pro suite key for only $21. I hit Google, Amazon and PCPartsPicker hard, lol... All together, my new system cost me $765 Canadian, after taxes. All free shipping with everything showing up in under 5 days (Luv Prime!) That's only about $590 USD.

I'm not impressing any gamers, that's for sure, but I am still happy with the results. And the new PC does renders on CPU in about half the time my old one did. The M.2 boot drive is particularly nice... I can hit power and my PC is up and logged in in less then 10 seconds.