I cannot wrap my head around how to use the Camera & Look Around tools. I am well versed in CAD and have made it through most of the SU Commercial Interior tutorial & completed the fundamentals tutorials on the SU site. Cameras & look around are breaking my brain. The narrators in the videos seem able to access views that are physically impossible for me to achieve. I assumed it was just a learning curve & I would get better, but now I am trying to actually set up camera views and I cannot figure this out. Can anyone recommend a good remedial video or tutorial on using cameras & look around. I am not getting this at all. Any help appreciated.
This one is recorded in a desktop version, but generally should be similar - the icons a little different- in a web version.
(The Field of View - like any other command - is available by typing it to search field and select it by mouse click:
If you prefer to read:
Actually I very much confusing which version of Sketchup are you using. Did you installed the desktop version? Or are you using the Go version in Web browser?
Can you please clarify in your profile.
Yeah I found that one. I didn’t watch the entire thing so maybe there is something helpful after the point where I stopped. I’ll finish it.
Using Desktop Pro 2023. Just updated that.
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You need at least 3 minutes of patience and attention (2:48 of the video) to learn… 
There was a change to how parallel projection works. Some older videos may show a technique that you can’t seem to reproduce. If you see one of those, show the clip, and I can tell you how you would compensate for the change in recent versions.
Nope the remainder of the video is no help. I appear to be following along exactly as indicated in both the Commercial Interiors lesson & the Walking Through a Model video, but what I am doing is not yielding the same results. Attached is what & see when I place the camera as indicated & set the site line at 6’. If I try to zoom in I just end up in the middle of a wall or something. I don’t understand.
It looks like I cannot select "field of view’ under the camera drop down. I don’t know if that matters. That is another thing mentioned in the video that I cannot replicate.
You can change field of view if you are in Perspective. It doesn’t do anything if you’re in Parallel Projection.
Which lesson number are you looking at?
Oh maybe that’s the problem, I was in parallel projection. I’ll try to mess around w/that. It seems like when I zoom I just go right through the floor or walls or the exterior walls are always in the way, but they need to be turned on:\
Ok that helped, but the second I try to move around at all I am in a wall & can’t get out w/out doing a zoom all situation. I
Watch Justin’s video here:
The basic rule is that after you have placed a camera, don’t orbit or look around. You can zoom and pan without anything strange happening, but if you look around or orbit, then you’re likely to be on the other side of a wall.
If you can tell me which video and which steps you’re following, I can tell Tyson that perhaps the lessons needs to be updated.
When you have a view that is close to what you need, save that in a scene to instantly return to if you mess things up. Makes experimenting with the camera a bit easier.
Zooming & panning is my issue. When I move much at all I am in the middle of a wall. The walk tool seems to be better, I just tried that. Maybe this is just a depth of knowledge thing & I need to play w/it more. I mentioned the videos above. See attached. I am on the ‘scenes’ section of the ‘Presentation & Export’ portion of the lesson.
The walk tool makes it a lot easier.
Also experiment with ‘Walk’ together with: (in Windows)
- [Shift] to change the camera height
- [Ctrl] to speed moving around
(or in Mac together with ?)
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Yes! I just discovered that like 30 secs ago:) Thank you for the suggestion. I appreciate all the help!
Option on Mac to move faster. Also, there is Command to be able to walk through walls. Alt on Windows.
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