If you’ve ever found yourself wasting time manually repositioning your molecular view again and again while switching between different regions of interest, you’re not alone. Navigating complex molecular structures is part of every modeler’s workflow—but constantly rotating, zooming, and centering the view can interrupt your concentration and eat into productive time.
Fortunately, the Camera system in SAMSON offers a simple yet powerful way to streamline visual navigation. Whether you’re inspecting binding pockets, comparing crystal orientations, or flipping between a zoomed-in view and an overall structure, multiple cameras can help you switch instantly between pre-set views.
Why Use Multiple Cameras?
Each SAMSON document contains at least one camera, which defines your 3D visualization window. What many users don’t realize, however, is that you’re not limited to one. You can add several cameras to a single document, each set up with different zoom levels, orientations, or projections. This allows you to:
- Quickly compare different regions of the same system
- Switch from close-up views of active sites to a global molecular view
- Inspect your model in both perspective and orthographic projections
- Save time during presentations or analysis by avoiding manual repositioning
How to Add and Use Multiple Cameras
You can insert new cameras by navigating to Visualization > Camera. Each new camera is added with default settings and can be adjusted independently using the Inspector window.
To switch between them, open the Document view, then either double-click a camera or right-click on it and select Set as active camera. The currently active camera governs what you see in the main 3D viewport.
Customize Each Camera
Each camera has its own properties, including zoom, orientation, and projection mode. Through the context menu (right-click on a camera in Document view), you can perform actions such as:
- Centering the camera on your selection or on the whole document
- Activating inertia to simulate camera momentum
- Switching to orthographic projection (particularly helpful for crystal structures)
You can also access advanced properties through the Inspector window by selecting the camera. Here, you can fine-tune position, rotation, projection settings, and inertia—even store positions to be re-used later during modeling or sharing your work.
Small Change, Big Time Saver
In teams or solo work, especially when analyzing dynamic systems or preparing figures for publication, saving and reusing camera viewpoints can speed up workflows meaningfully. It’s one less thing to think about so you can focus on your research questions.
To learn more about working with cameras in SAMSON, visit the full documentation page here: https://documentation.samson-connect.net/users/latest/camera/
SAMSON and all SAMSON Extensions are free for non-commercial use. You can download SAMSON at https://www.samson-connect.net.