CloudCompare forum

I have a point cloud, and I need to center a "virtual sphere" at a specific point in the point cloud with coordinates (x,y,z). After that I need to use a properly set up camera (focal length, fov...) to take 2d pictures of the scene. The camera should be placed over the surface of the sphere, and oriented towards the center of the sphere. I need to take several pictures by moving the camera over the surface of the sphere.

Well, the first part is easy with the 'File > Primitive factory' that allows you to create a sphere at a specific position (and radius).

For the camera, you can also use the 'Display > Camera settings' dialog to position and orient the camera. You can also switch the view to 'Perspective mode' so as to be able to set both a camera position, and a camera target.

However, there's no direct way to constrain the camera center on the sphere. You can pick some points on the sphere, and then manually copy these points coordinates in the camera dialog.