MATCH REVIT CAMERA TO A REAL PHOTOGRAPH

This will only work if you know where you took the photograph from. So make sure to measure your location when shooting the photo to be matched.

The method is based on putting a family into your project that calculated the values you need to put into a Revit Camera’s parameters. It is based on a digital SLR camera, the Canon EOS 1000D. It will probably work well for all cameras of the Canon EOS series.

You can find the family file in the approved library under Generic Models, its name is:

MatchCamera2Photo.rfa

Process is:

• 1. Place the family in the project, at the same location and direction as you real photo.

  2. Change the "Camera Height" and "Target Height" in the family to match your real photo (Instance parameters).

  3. Make sure the "Focal Length" is set to 23.7 mm (Instance Parameter), which apparently is the equivalent of the standard Revit Camera.

  4. Take note of the "Target Width" in the family, i.e. 4683 mm if the Focal Length = 23.7 and the Camera Distance is 5000 mm

  5. Take note of the "Target Height" in the family, i.e. 3122 mm if the Focal Length = 23.7 and the Camera Distance is 5000 mm

  6. Place a Revit Camera on top of the Family, with the same direction and length.

  7. Go to the Camera view and change the Crop Size width to 4683 mm (Target Width) - Make sure to check "Scale (Locked Proportions)"

  8. Now change the Crop Size Height to 3122 (Target Height) - Make sure to check "Field of View"

You should now have a Revit Camera that matches the Family, but to make it all fit the actual photo:

• 1. Open the photo, and in the properties take note of the Focal Length, i.e. 18 mm if you used a wide angle lens.

  2. In the family, change the "Focal Length" to match the photo properties, i.e. 18 mm

  3. Take a new note of the changed "Target Width" and "Target Height" (6167 mm and 4111 mm if you followed the above examples)

  4. In the camera view, change the Crop Size to match the above - Make sure to check "Field of View"

Your camera view should now be a pretty exact match of the photo!