Lens Sim

by Håvard Dalen in Addons

Render with Real-World Lenses
Lens Sim is a Blender addon created to simulate camera lenses based on real-world optical data. By extending the standard blender camera you can easily choose and render dozens of lenses in Cycles. By simulating the physical characteristics of glass and the aperture opening we get common lens effects such as chromatic aberration, vignetting, distortion, lens softness, focus breathing and natural bokeh shapes. These effects contribute to the organic, imperfect look of physical photography. The standard camera provides an idealized, perfect clean render that misses out on these unique characteristics, making images feel sterile or too "perfect," which can detract from a "film-like" look. This addon inspires to improve that.

Anamorphic lens in action, notice the lens breathing and oval bokeh shape.
Closeup showing the chromatic aberration.

Choose between an extensive selection of lenses, each carefully modeled with real-world data to provide a broad range of simulation possibilities. From wide-angle to telephoto.
Each lens has a unique bokeh shape and distortion profile.

Dive into the world of macro photography with specialized lenses that excel at capturing tiny objects. Perfect for showcasing delicate subjects, such as flowers or small objects.
Model by abdoubouam

Experience the magic of tilt-shift photography, by shifting and tilting the lens, you can manipulate perspective, giving your images an intriguing and surreal quality.
Scene by Piotr Krynski

Soft lenses offer a creative way to introduce a gentle aesthetic into your work. These lenses create an inviting and dreamy atmosphere, enhancing the mood and emotional depth.
Scene by Gleb Alexandrov

Key Features
  • Full Blender Integration Lens Sim is seamlessly integrated with Blender’s native camera and Cycles rendering engine. With multi-camera support, you can maintain your standard workflow when designing shots. Whether you are starting from scratch or adapting current scenes, the process of creating and converting cameras is simple and intuitive.

With a single click, you can extend your Blender camera into a Lens Sim camera.
By tracing a single ray from the focus object to the lens, we can determine the ideal sensor position for that distance, removing the necessity of manual lens focusing.

  • Real-World Accuracy Built on actual lens patent data, Lens Sim replicates the optical characteristics of real-world lenses, from intricate distortions to natural bokeh. Experience professional-grade optical effects like chromatic aberration, lens distortion, focus breathing, and precise depth of field. You get true-to-life results without needing complicated geometry setups.
  • Custom Lens Design You can easily create your own unique lenses, adjust their specifications to suit your needs, save your designs for future use, and share them with friends and fellow enthusiasts. Unleash your creativity and take your optical projects to the next level!

Each lens is implemented through a built-in data table.
By guiding rays towards the aperture opening we get little to no loss of rays at higher f-stops

  • Render Farm Compatibility Lens Sim works native within Blender, without relying on the addon itself during rendering. This means once your scene is set up, Lens Sim’s features are fully integrated into Blender’s system, allowing it to run seamlessly on any render farm that supports Blender.
  • Editing Tools Tailor lenses to specific scenes by adjusting parameters like custom chromatic aberration ramp, tilt shift, add extra lens distortion, use a custom aperture image, emulate anamorphic effects, add swirliness to your bokeh, extend the field of view beyond the original lens design and add lens dirt.

Custom aperture shapes. With the ability to use personalized aperture designs, you can infuse your 3D renders with a distinctive style that reflects your artistic voice.

The 59mm f2.0 Helios-44 with added swirliness.
Model by Tyron

Split diopters enables sharp focus on two distinct subjects at different distances simultaneously, creating a unique visual impact.
Glasses model by Damien Picard

Lens Dirt, add imperfections on front of the lens that scatters and blocks light. Slight smudges and hazy patches gives the scene a lived-in, cinematic feel.

Items included in the Lite Version is marked with: -lite
Upgrade price is accumulative, the cost for the Lite version is subtracted from the full version when upgrading.
Included Lenses
  • 10mm f1.6 Helios-58
  • 13mm f2.8 Nikon R-UW AF Fisheye-Nikkor -lite
  • 15mm f4.0 Venus Laowa Wide Angle Macro -lite
  • 20mm f8.0 Nikon Gyogyotto Fisheye
  • 24mm f2.8 1.332x Super wide-angle large aperture anamorphic lens
  • 25mm f2.5 Minolta Fisheye 1978
  • 28mm f2.8 Leica Elmarit
  • 28mm f2.8 Ricoh smc Pentax-FA Soft
  • 35mm f2.8 Konica Hexanon
  • 35mm f1.8 1.33x Sirui Anamorphic Lens
  • 35mm f2.0 Helios -23, 2x Anamorph Adapter
  • 35mm f2.0 Helios-23
  • 35mm f2.5 Angenieux R1, 2x Anamorphic Adapter
  • 35mm f2.5 Angenieux R1
  • 35mm f4.5 Meyer -lite
  • 36mm f2.5 1.942x Anamorphic lens for digital projection display
  • 45mm f2.8 Tale78 Nikon AI Nikkor -lite
  • 50mm f1.5 Jupiter-3
  • 50mm f2.0 Leica Summicron R
  • 50mm f2.5 Canon Compact Macro -lite
  • 50mm f2.8 Rodenstock Ragnar, 2x Anamorph Adapter
  • 50mm f2.8 Rodenstock Rognar
  • 50mm f2.8 Zeiss Tessar
  • 50mm f3.5 Kodak 1942, Heliar-type
  • 55mm f1.4 Zeiss Planar
  • 57mm f1.2 Konica Hexanon
  • 59mm f2.0 Helios-44, 2x Anamorph Adapter -lite
  • 59mm f2.0 Helios-44 -lite
  • 61mm f2.5 Anastigmatic anamorphic lens
  • 85mm f1.1 Saburo Murakami 1958
  • 85mm f1.5 Canon Serenar -lite
  • 85mm f1.5 Zeiss Biotar 1929
  • 85mm f2.8 Richo smc Pentax-F soft -lite
  • 100mm f2.0 German Lens 1936 -lite
  • 100mm f2.0 Kodak Petzval 1950
  • 100mm f5.6 Rodenstock Sironar-N
  • 120mm f4.1 Hasselblad HC Macro (Fujinon)
  • 135mm f2.3 Vivitar Series 1
  • 167mm f5.0 Single lens system -lite
  • 200mm f4.0 Konica Minolta Hexanon
  • 400mm f8.0 Nikon Dodotto Tele -lite
  • 800mm f6.3 Leica Telyt-S
  • 1000mm f11.0 Olympus E Zuiko Auto-T -lite

Main Features
  • Multiple Scene Cameras -lite
  • Schematic Viewer -lite
  • Chromatic Aberration -lite
  • Custom Chromatic Aberration Colors -lite
  • Aperture Control -lite
  • Focusing System -lite
  • Custom Aperture Image -lite
  • Lens Dirt
  • Split Diopter
  • Tilt Shift
  • Bloom/Glare -lite
  • Custom Lens Distortion
  • Radial Blur -lite
  • Custom Squeeze Factor -lite
  • Custom Bokeh Aspect -lite
  • Add Bokeh Swirliness -lite
  • Add Extra Dof -lite
  • Add Extra Focal Length
  • Implement Your Own Lenses

Consider Before Purchasing
Although this product is optimized to the best of my capabilities, it will always be slower than the native Blender camera. AOV passes will also be negatively affected by the optical vignetting. Be sure to read the Documentation section and watch the Tutorials before buying and for a full breakdown of the system and its caveats.
The addon was developed and tested on Windows. After receiving help from testers, I can confirm that it also works on Mac and Linux. Please let me know if you encounter any issues.
One last thing, I just want to say WOW! This has exceeded all my expectations. I don’t really know what to say here except thank you! It’s insane what my little hobby project has turned into. Over time, I hope this add-on will improve and grow, thanks to amazing folks like you!

Take Your Workflow Further
Light Wrangler:
Intuitive Placement. Powerful Customization. Realistic Effects. Streamlined Automation. From HDRI to Gobo to IES. Light Wrangler is the ultimate lighting solution for Blender.

Choose a product version:

  • $40 Lens Sim

    (Full version: all features and lenses)

  • $15 Lens Sim Lite

    (Basic features and limited lenses)

Håvard Dalen

Visit Website See all items by this creator
Sales 2500+
Customer Ratings 31
Average Rating
Dev Fund Contributor
Published 13 days ago
Blender Version 4.3, 4.2
Extension Type Add-on
License GPL
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Tags: lens, rendering, Blender cycles renderer, cinematography, photorealism, helios, Ray portal bsdf, photography, 3d artistic rendering, lenses, distortion, camera lens, camera, chromatic abberation, lens distortion, chromatic, optics