In order to switch active cameras in a blender scene, you need to:
- Select that camera
View Menu > Cameras > Set Active Object as Camera (Ctrl-Num 0)
To insert a 'cut' point in the timeline to cut to that camera in recording:
- Select the camera
- Insert a marker on the timeline
(m) (Timeline) View Menu > Bind Cameras to Marker (Ctrl-B)
The marker will be named by its frame number, F_42, for instance.
This is obviously extremely clumsy for scenes which switch cameras a lot. This addon introduces a much easier workflow. It also allows switching between custom views of an object much easier.
Download the latest version of the python script from:
Open Blender.
File > User Preferences > Add-ons > Install from File...Select the downloaded script.
Activate it.
In the 3D view, open the Tool Shelf. (t) A new panel 'Camera Switcher'
should be there. It lists all the available cameras, with Preview
(to view the scene from that camera) and Take to insert a marker in
the timeline which cuts to that camera (and is named after that camera).
The Take buttons can be used while the scene is actually playing,
to 'live switch' through a scene.
Each camera also has an extra panel in Properties > Camera Data > Camera Switcher Options.
Sort Prefix, and Show in Switcher. Show in switcher does what it says on the tin.
Sort Prefix allows you to sort the cameras in the switcher by this instead of just the name.
For instance "Wide Angle Shots", "Closeups", "Tracking" and so on.
If you are using it in this way, then you may also find the 'Group by Prefix' option useful in the Camera Switcher. This splits up the different groups, and displays up until the first '_' character. So you can use prefixes such as "Wide Angle_01", "Wide Angle_02", and in the switcher it will group all the "Wide Angle" cameras together, and then sort by "01", "02" within that.