Tags: unity, camera, cinemachine, follow, damping, orthographic, perspective, shake, game-dev Last updated: 2026-06-27

Camera Systems Cheatsheet

Quick Reference

Approach	Best For	Complexity
Scripted Follow	Simple 2D/3D follow camera	Low
Cinemachine	Production-quality cinematic cameras	Low–Medium
Multi-camera	Cutscenes, camera switching	Medium
Custom Physics	Smooth damping, collision avoidance	Medium

Scripted Follow Camera

Smooth Follow (3D)

public Transform target;
public Vector3 offset = new(0, 5, -10);
public float smoothSpeed = 5f;

void LateUpdate() {
    Vector3 targetPos = target.position + offset;
    transform.position = Vector3.Lerp(
        transform.position, targetPos, smoothSpeed * Time.deltaTime);
    transform.LookAt(target);
}

2D Follow with Dead Zone

public Vector2 deadZone = new(1f, 0.5f);
public float smoothTime = 0.3f;
Vector3 velocity;

void LateUpdate() {
    Vector3 delta = target.position - transform.position;
    delta.z = 0;

    if (Mathf.Abs(delta.x) > deadZone.x)
        delta.x -= Mathf.Sign(delta.x) * deadZone.x;
    else delta.x = 0;

    if (Mathf.Abs(delta.y) > deadZone.y)
        delta.y -= Mathf.Sign(delta.y) * deadZone.y;
    else delta.y = 0;

    transform.position = Vector3.SmoothDamp(
        transform.position, transform.position + delta,
        ref velocity, smoothTime);
}

Camera Bounds (Clamp to Level)

public Vector2 minBounds, maxBounds;
public float camHalfHeight, camHalfWidth;

void LateUpdate() {
    Vector3 pos = target.position + offset;
    pos.x = Mathf.Clamp(pos.x, minBounds.x + camHalfWidth,
                               maxBounds.x - camHalfWidth);
    pos.y = Mathf.Clamp(pos.y, minBounds.y + camHalfHeight,
                               maxBounds.y - camHalfHeight);
    transform.position = pos;
}

Cinemachine

Virtual Camera Types

Camera	Use Case
Virtual Camera	Base camera with composer/lookat/follow
FreeLook	Orbital camera around target
Blend List	Sequenced camera cuts
State-Driven	Switches per Animator state
ClearShot	Auto-picks best view avoiding obstacles
Dolly	Track-based movement
2D Camera	Orthographic 2D follow

Follow & LookAt

CinemachineVirtualCamera vcam;
vcam.Follow = playerTransform;
vcam.LookAt = playerTransform;

var transposer = vcam.GetCinemachineComponent<CinemachineTransposer>();
transposer.m_FollowOffset = new Vector3(0, 5, -10);

var composer = vcam.GetCinemachineComponent<CinemachineComposer>();
composer.m_TrackedObjectOffset = Vector3.up * 1.5f;

Damping & Dead Zone

Property	Description
X/Y/Z Damping	Smoothing per axis (0 = instant)
Dead Zone Width/Height	No movement within zone
Soft Zone Width/Height	Gradual movement beyond dead zone
Bias	How much to favour centre (0–1)
Lookahead Time	Anticipate movement direction
Lookahead Smoothing	How quickly lookahead adjusts

Camera Shake (Cinemachine Impulse)

# Generate impulse
CinemachineImpulseManager.Instance.GenerateImpulse(
    transform.position, direction, 0.5f, 0.2f);

CinemachineImpulseSource source = GetComponent<CinemachineImpulseSource>();
source.GenerateImpulse(direction * force);

# Listener on VCam
CinemachineImpulseListener listener;
listener.m_Gain = 1f;
listener.m_ChannelMask = ~0;

Camera Shake (Scripted)

public IEnumerator Shake(float duration, float magnitude) {
    Vector3 originalPos = transform.localPosition;
    float elapsed = 0f;

    while (elapsed < duration) {
        float x = Random.Range(-1f, 1f) * magnitude;
        float y = Random.Range(-1f, 1f) * magnitude;
        transform.localPosition = originalPos + new Vector3(x, y, 0);
        elapsed += Time.deltaTime;
        yield return null;
    }
    transform.localPosition = originalPos;
}

Shake Presets

Type	Duration	Magnitude
Gunshot	0.05s	0.3
Explosion	0.3s	2.0
Footstep	0.1s	0.1
Earthquake	2.0s	1.5
Hit reaction	0.15s	0.5

Orthographic vs Perspective

Aspect	Orthographic	Perspective
Depth perception	None	Realistic
Size consistency	Objects same size regardless of distance	Farther = smaller
Use case	2D, isometric, strategy	3D, FPS, TPS
Zoom	Adjust orthographic size	Adjust FOV or move camera

Camera cam = GetComponent<Camera>();
cam.orthographic = true;
cam.orthographicSize = 5f;

cam.orthographic = false;
cam.fieldOfView = 60f;

Multi-Camera Setup

public Camera[] cameras;
int currentIndex = 0;

void SwitchCamera(int index) {
    foreach (Camera cam in cameras) cam.enabled = false;
    cameras[index].enabled = true;
    currentIndex = index;
}

IEnumerator Cutscene() {
    SwitchCamera(1); yield return new WaitForSeconds(3f);
    SwitchCamera(2); yield return new WaitForSeconds(5f);
    SwitchCamera(0);
}

Cinemachine Blend

CinemachineBrain brain = Camera.main.GetComponent<CinemachineBrain>();
brain.m_DefaultBlend.m_Style = CinemachineBlendDefinition.Style.EaseInOut;
brain.m_DefaultBlend.m_Time = 1.5f;