Lens Optics 1.0.0 — quick start

Requirements: Blender 5.2 and Cycles. Tested on CPU and NVIDIA OptiX. Use one edition at a time.

Install

1. Download the ZIP for your edition; do not extract it.
2. In Blender Preferences → Add-ons, choose Install from Disk, select the ZIP, and enable Lens Optics.
3. If switching editions, disable Lite before enabling Pro.
4. Open the 3D Viewport sidebar with N and choose Lens Optics.

Make your first look

1. Choose a camera, or add one with + in the Camera panel. Set focal length, output dimensions and aperture.
2. Open Lens Library, browse by family or search, and press Use lens.
3. In Focus, choose Target: Click Surface and click the exact surface you want sharp in a 3D viewport. Clear the target with X to return to manual focus distance. Show Focus Plane helps position the focal plane.
4. Use a rendered Cycles camera view to inspect the effect. A wide aperture and bright background details behind your subject make bokeh more visible.
5. Open Lens Character to adjust the look. Lite exposes Swirl strength on Swirl and Anamorphic strength on Anamorphic Cinema; Pro exposes all character controls.
6. Finishing starts off. Enable it when needed. Lite includes cinematic aberration from 0 to 2; Pro adds bloom, halation, streaks and film grain, with aberration up to 3.
7. Use Show Before/After below Finishing to compare. Lens looks belong to each camera; Finishing is scene-wide.

Save your looks — Pro

Use + in My Presets, name the look, and reuse it. Look only keeps the shot you are composing; Full camera setup restores the saved camera settings. Export and Import move the preset library as JSON. Applying a preset does not automatically enable Finishing.

Troubleshooting

• Little visible bokeh: open the aperture, focus on the subject, and increase its separation from the background.
• No visible lens effect: check the active camera, applied look, rendered Cycles view, and Before/After state.
• Focus distance will not behave manually: clear the focus target with X, then adjust the distance.
• Changing editions: enable only one edition and restart Blender if a previously loaded version remains active.

Support

Message the creator through Superhive. Include your Blender version, operating system, render engine/device, a screenshot and the steps needed to reproduce the issue.

Artistic lens looks, not measured replicas of manufactured lenses. One-time Pro purchase; all future Lens Optics Pro updates are included at no additional cost.