Houdini Camera Bake HDA

Camera Bake HDA Description

Overview

The Camera Bake HDA is a utility tool for Houdini that creates a baked version of an existing camera with keyframes at every frame. It converts dynamic/procedural cameras into static keyframed cameras while preserving the same visual output.

Purpose

Convert procedural or dynamically controlled cameras into keyframed cameras

Create camera exports compatible with other software applications

Generate simplified camera representations for rendering optimization

Preserve camera movement and parameters without dependencies on the original setup

Parameters

Source Camera: Input camera to be baked

Frame Range: Start and end frames for the baking process

Bake Transform: When enabled, bakes position and rotation (tx, ty, tz, rx, ry, rz)

Bake Camera Parameters: When enabled, bakes camera-specific parameters (focal length, aperture, near/far clipping, resolution, etc.)

Usage

Select a source camera node

Define the frame range for baking

Choose which parameter groups to bake (transform, camera parameters, or both)

Execute the HDA to create a new camera with the suffix "_bake"

Technical Notes

Creates a new camera node rather than modifying the original

Sets keyframes at every frame in the specified range

Validates inputs (camera type, frame range, parameter selection)

Copies both transform data and camera-specific parameters as specified

This tool is particularly useful for pipeline integration, rendering optimization, and ensuring camera stability across different Houdini sessions or when exporting to external applications.