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I'm having an odd issue - When I try to zoom in on a detail using my MMB, the "camera" in the 3D view seems to be cutting off the exterior surface of my object and showing me the inside instead. I'd expect this behavior, but only when I was much more zoomed in. If I zoom out a bit (one click on the scroll wheel) then I can see the exterior as I intend.

Is there any way to adjust this behavior? Thanks!

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3 Answers 3

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Clipping in the 3D Viewport:

It sounds like you have your camera's Start Clipping Distance set too high in the 3D Viewport Properties. Clipping distances define the range (in distance units) within which objects are visible. If your distances are set incorrectly, your view gets "clipped" when you cross the clipping threshold, as you describe.

To change the 3D Viewport clipping settings:

  1. Zoom in/out until your objects get clipped

  2. Go Properties panel (N) -> View tab

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  1. Set the Clip Start distance lower or the End to higher until you see the objects you are interested

NOTE: These settings only effect display when NOT in Camera view)

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You can read more about clipping in the 3D Viewport here.

Camera Clipping Settings

Just so you know, there is also the option to adjust the clipping range of a camera. This effects the scene when viewed through the camera, such as in Camera View or when rendering. To change these properties:

Select camera -> Object Properties window -> Camera tab -> Lens section -> adjust the Clipping Start and End values

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To visualize the camera clip distance, select the camera and enable Display > Limits.

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You can read more about camera clipping distance here.

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  • $\begingroup$ Thom,thanks for the response. The problem is not with the actual camera perspective. It's with the user perspective. Is there a way to adjust the clipping distance for that? Nevermind...I found it. $\endgroup$
    – Vadaar
    Apr 13, 2014 at 16:17
  • $\begingroup$ Just out of curiousity, what might be the use of this feature? $\endgroup$ Jan 7, 2017 at 22:17
  • $\begingroup$ @PeterGašperan I am not familiar with it, but this is what I found on google: Purpose of camera clipping $\endgroup$ Jan 8, 2017 at 1:33
  • $\begingroup$ @PeterGašperan according to blender: "A large clipping range will allow you to see both near and far objects, but reduces the depth precision resulting in artifacts. In some cases, a very large range may cause operations that depend on the depth buffer to become unreliable although this depends on the graphics card and drivers." $\endgroup$ Jan 20, 2020 at 5:57
  • $\begingroup$ The first link on this question is broken $\endgroup$ Jan 31, 2023 at 22:06
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The issue you're having has to do with the "clip point".

Blender sets limits past which objects will not get displayed.

There is a start (close) and end (far) clip point. To change press N and look for the clip settings in the View rollout. Change the start clip to a lower number.

ClippingViewAdjust

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Press N to open up this panel, go to view and change the Clip Start value accordingly to the size of your object.

The panel

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