Rakamera - Maya Tools

Automate your Maya camera, lighting, and rendering workflow with one click.

RaKamera is a lightweight, robust Python tool designed to speed up the tedious parts of look-dev and rendering in Autodesk Maya (Arnold). Stop digging through the Attribute Editor to change focal lengths, exposure, or background colors. Do it all from one compact panel.

Key Features:

• 🎥 Instant Camera Management:
  • Quickly Add/Delete/switch between scene cameras.
  • Auto-switch viewport to the active camera.
  • One-click "Set as Render Cam" (no more rendering the wrong view!).
• 💡 Smart HDR Lighting Slots:
  • 7 Quick-Load Slots: Load your favorite HDRIs into slots 1-6 and switch between them instantly to test lighting scenarios.
  • "Empty" to "Active" UI: Visual feedback tells you which slots are loaded and active.
  • Direct Control: Adjust Intensity, Exposure, and Rotation directly in the UI and save presets between all 7 slots
  • Color Correction: Built-in Hue Shift and Saturation controls for your dome light and B/W to test values.
• 🔍 Lens & Focus Tools:
  • Real-World Lenses: Jump between standard focal lengths (24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm).
  • Snap Focus: Select an object and click "Snap Focus" to instantly set your Focus Distance.
  • Auto Snap(Live): Click on viewport objects or Render window or Outliner to Automagically snap focus.
  • Live Tracking: Attach focus to a locator that follows your object automatically.
• 🚀 Export & Render:
  • Simple Export: Batch render the current frame with one click.
  • Format Control: Choose PNG, JPG, or TIF and toggle Alpha instantly.

Compatibility:

• Maya 2017 - 2025+ (Windows/Mac/Linux) ( tested and created using Maya 2025 ) 
• Requires: Arnold Renderer (MtoA Plugin)
  
  
• Installation:

  Simply drag and drop RaKamera.py into your Maya viewport, or add it to your shelf!
  
  

• Quick start:
  -Create a new Maya scene 
  -Make sure Arnold render is selected from the render settings
  -Drag/Drop the script 
  -From the UI load an HDR using the load image or click on SET in one of the 6 slots 
  -Now the scene is initialized with a SkyDome and ready
  -Import your meshes and start rendering ! 
  
  This script was created with the mix of my very basic knowledge in scripting and using AI tools. 
  
  If you notice any UI bugs - Relaunching the script should fix it ! 

RaKamera 1.0

COMPATIBILITY: Maya 2017 – 2025+ (Python 2 & 3 Support)  ( tested and created using Maya 2025 ) 
RENDERER: Arnold (MtoA)

TOOLKIT BREAKDOWN:

📸 Camera & Layout

• Collapsible Interface: Keep your workspace clean with organized tabs.

• One-Click Management: Add/Delete cameras and auto-switch your viewport selection.

• Render Cam Logic: Instantly sets the active camera as renderable and disables others to prevent wasted render time.

💡 Advanced Lighting Control

• 7 Save Slots: Store unique Intensity, Exposure, and Rotation data for different lighting scenarios and toggle between them non-destructively.

• Multi-Axis Rotation: Toggle X, Y, or Z axes independently (with visual feedback) for precise HDR positioning.

• Hide Dome Trick: Uses a smart "Backface + Reference" method to hide the giant dome wireframe in the viewport without scaling it down or turning off primary visibility.

• Random Loader: Point to a folder and instantly load random HDRs to test different moods.

🎯 Focus & Lens

• Live Auto-Snap: Real-time focus pulling. Enable the checkbox and click any object to set the focus distance immediately.

• Locator Tracker: Create a dynamic link between your camera focus and a moving target.

• Lens Presets: Quick-jump buttons for standard focal lengths (24mm, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm).

💾 Rendering & Export

• Smart Export: Saves a snapshot of your current view.

• Auto-Naming: Automatically handles file system naming to ensure your image is saved exactly as named (fixes the image.0001.ext issue).

• Custom Resolution: Set quick aspect ratios (1K, 2K, 4K, HD) or input custom values.