The Camera Array Tool for Blender, developed by ToppiNappi (Olli Huttunen), generates camera rigs directly from 3D geometry. The add-on places virtual cameras at the centre of each polygon on a selected mesh and orients them according to the surface normal.
Users can decide whether the cameras face inward, outward, or in both directions. The tool allows the creation of custom rigs as well as prebuilt configurations, including grids, spheres, and cylinders. Once generated, the camera positions remain linked to the surface, meaning scaling or editing the underlying mesh automatically updates the rig.
Built for image-based reconstruction
Each camera in an array can render still images or animation sequences, stored in user-defined folders. The output data includes COLMAP text files—cameras.txt, images.txt, and points3D.txt—enabling direct use in 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) or neural rendering workflows without the usual Structure-from-Motion reconstruction step. Point cloud exports can include colour data, accelerating later training phases in external applications. A density slider helps control file size when generating point clouds.
4DGS and animated datasets
Version 3.2.0 introduces 4DGS (Four-Dimensional Gaussian Splatting) data export for animated scenes. The add-on can render each frame from all cameras while generating corresponding COLMAP data per frame. This update fixes a previous COLMAP issue: files are now written immediately after each frame, preventing data loss if rendering is interrupted. A new “Animated Camera” feature enables rendering the same array setup through a single moving camera—an alternative method for producing dataset sequences.
Compatibility and workflow integration
Image series from the Camera Array Tool can be trained into Gaussian Splatting models using external software such as Postshot, NeRF Studio, Brush, or ToppiNappi’s free Postshot Batch Trainer. According to the developer, the add-on is particularly useful for synthetic dataset creation, virtual production, or academic experiments with neural rendering and multi-view reconstruction.
Simplicity over spectacle
Despite its experimental applications, the add-on’s concept remains simple: turn a mesh into a camera grid and render from every face. This direct approach makes it accessible for both research and practical visualisation tasks. The tool costs €36 and is available through Gumroad. The “Virtual Camera Bundle” combines the Camera Array Tool with the 360 Extractor add-on at a discounted rate.
As with all Blender extensions, users are advised to test the plug-in within their own pipeline before committing to production use.
