Free tool: Lens Cap for Blender

VFX artist Rob Dickinson (Decoded) has released Lens Cap for Blender, a handy free add-on that adds new features to the open-source 3D app’s camera system.

Time-saving add-on streamlines animating object visibility and depth of field
Lens Cap has a number of features, but perhaps the most frustration-saving is the Camera Sync mode, which matches the visibility of objects in the 3D Viewport to their render settings.

It makes it possible to properly playblast scenes in which objects are keyframed to appear or disappear, like destruction shots, rather than having to do a final render to test the effect.

Other features include DOF Finder, for quickly adding depth of field effects to shots.

Users can set the focal point to the 3D Cursor, making it possible to position focus simply by clicking in the 3D Viewport: in the video above, you can see it in use to create a quick focus pull.

The final feature, an active camera list, displays all of the cameras in a scene in one place in the interface, making it easier to switch between them, or keyframe camera switches.

Price and system requirements
Lens Cap for Blender is compatible with Blender 4.3. It’s a free download.

Download the free Lens Cap for Blender add-on from Gumroad
(Enter a figure of $0 to download it for free, or make a voluntary donation)

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