If you’ve ever worked on a complex molecular model and found yourself spending time manually rotating, zooming, and navigating to repeatedly reach the same viewpoints, you’re not alone. Navigating 3D structures to find the perfect angle or focusing on a specific region—like a binding pocket, a domain interface, or a ligand—is essential, but repeating these navigation steps over and over can interrupt the workflow.
This is where multiple cameras in SAMSON can offer a practical solution. By setting up different camera perspectives in advance, you can instantly switch between views, saving time and improving focus during interpretation, presentation, and editing.
What Are SAMSON Cameras?
Each SAMSON document contains at least one camera. Cameras define how visualizable elements are viewed in the 3D space. They can be moved, zoomed, rotated, and adjusted just like a physical camera in a 3D scene.
Importantly, SAMSON lets you add multiple cameras to a document, which allows for rapid context switching without losing your exact framing and angle. This is useful when working on molecules with multiple areas of interest, comparing different projections, or preparing consistent views for exporting images or animations.
How to Use Multiple Cameras Effectively
To add a new camera:
- Go to Visualization > Camera from the main menu,
- Or use the shortcut: Ctrl + Shift + C on Windows/Linux, or Cmd + Shift + C on macOS.
This will create a new camera with a default position. You can now navigate to your desired angle and region, and that position will be stored with the camera.
To switch between cameras:
- Double-click a camera in the Document View, or
- Right-click on a camera and choose Set as active camera.
Why It Matters
When dealing with large assemblies, such as protein-ligand complexes or materials simulations, organizing multiple cameras can help answer very practical questions:
- What was this interaction site again? It was tricky to find before.
- How does the system look from an orthographic top view?
- Can I return to my annotated view from yesterday?
Instead of trying to retrace your navigation steps, you can simply switch the view. This is especially useful in collaboration: you can set up views and ask colleagues to activate specific cameras instead of explaining how to rotate the scene manually.
Advanced Controls
Right-clicking on a camera in the Document view also gives you access to extra features:
- Center the camera on selected items or the entire document
- Enable camera inertia for smoother transitions
- Use orthographic projection (e.g., to view crystals)
For further refinement, use the Inspector panel to view and modify camera properties such as position, projection mode, and inertia settings.
Conclusion
With just a few clicks, SAMSON lets you create a set of perspectives tailored to your current modeling task. Whether you’re comparing structural states, tracking a docking pose, or preparing visuals for colleagues, multiple cameras let you navigate your molecules more efficiently and consistently.
To learn more, visit the full SAMSON camera documentation at https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/camera/.
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can get SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.