MiGMan’s Flight Sim Museum

MiGMan’s Flight Sim Museum

Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 : Camera Settings Checklist

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Setting up a new a/c
To move camera externally
Save 1 custom view
Steam users | Users/xxxx/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft Flight Simulator/SimObjects/Airplanes/Asobo_FA18E/cameras.cfg
2021 - camera.cfg moved to c:\Users\xxxx\AppData\Local\Packages\Microsoft.FlightSimulator_8wekyb3d8bbwe\LocalCache\SimObjects\Airplanes Negative. Only files I have there are serial no.s for JustFlight a/c
Location of FIXED views | Users/xxxx/AppData/Roaming/Microsoft Flight Simulator/Packages/Community/indiafoxtecho-mb339/SimObjects/Airplanes/IndiaFoxTecho_MB339A/cameras.cfgvideo
BACKUP original cameras.cfg
Change these: 
Origin="Virtual Cockpit" 
InitlalZoom=0.500000 
ShowWeather=1 
ShowLensFlare=1 
Category="Cockpit" 
InitialXYZ to = -0.500000 (leave the next values as is)This moves the viewpoint outside the cockpit
Note that the first camera definition (0) should always be for the Cockpit, and also always have the Pilot sub-category.
Stream Deck setup
MSFS 2020
Custom Camera No.
1Custom pilot position
2HUD
3XT near cp L
4XT near cp R
5No cockpit (2 m forward of pilot)
6XT Fwd
7XT Back
8XT L
9XT R
0Instructor's Periscope
Editing properties of each view
MSFS SDK Camera cfg file 
Restart the sim so it can reload the CAMERAS.CFG file | Also tried loading different ac and reloading in Dev mode, seems to make no differenceYou don’t need to restart the sim when you are doing changes in the camera.cfg file. Run the sim in dev mode, and after a change simply reload the aircraft.
Properties | Comments
Origin
Every camera definition must have an origin that defines the object or point on which the camera is oriented. In Microsoft Flight Simulator, we principally use Virtual Cockpit or Center
Origin strings: 
Cockpit - Camera is locked at fixed position in the 2D cockpit. Forward views include 2D instrument panel. Oblique view angle show virtual cockpit interior. 
Virtual Cockpit - Camera is mounted at the eye point defined in the aircraft's CFG file.Seems to be the most useful one, defaults to this when creating custom views.
Center - External (spot plane) camera that points at the center of the aircraft's visual model.  
Pilot - External (spot plane) camera that points at the pilot position inside the aircraft's visual model.  
Tower - External camera mounted at a control tower defined via the facilities (BGLCOMP) database. 
Fixed - External camera at a fixed position. Fixed camera definitions must include FixedLatitude, FixedLongitude and FixedAltitude values.  
WorldObject - Used by SimConnect clients. Not available through CFG settings.  
MomentumEffect
Controls whether the camera exhibits momentum effect. The default value is TRUE (1).Set to 0 | stops the camera 'bouncing' when changing views
SmoothZoomTime
SmoothZoomTimeChanged to 0 from 5, no effect
Transition
When switching between camera views a "smooth" transition is obtained by moving the camera in real time from its old location to the new one. Note that this behavior is only applied if the Transition settings for both cameras are set to TRUE (1). If either or both are set to FALSE (0) then the view switch is instantaneous. 2/4/22 Not working. Tried: 0, 1, adding double quotes around value.
ShowLensFlare
Determines whether lens flare effect can be shown (based on user setting). The default value is FALSE (0).2/4/22 Not working. Tried 0 and 1.
ClipMode
"Minimum" – Clamps the near clip plane at its absolute minimum value (1 meter). Useful for cameras where the camera is placed close to object geometry (e.g., aircraft cameras).2/4/22 Not working. Tried "Minimum" on MB-339 and T-45
Category
String: "Aircraft" "AirTraffic" "Cockpit" "Custom" "Outside" "Multiplayer" "Runway" "Scenery" "Tower" "FixedOnPlane" 
SubCategory
FixedOnPlaneExtern 
NodesToHide
PILOT_VISIBLE 
Fly-by Camera
Showcase Camera
Reset the position 
Track mode on 
Follow mode off 
Slew to a mid-field / fly by position...as you fly, the camera will track you as if being filmed by a viewer. ) - from DC Designs
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