Hey guys, Having a problem finding much info on what to do with my depth map I've saved out. Anyone got any links/tips/tuts?

You can use it to create DOF in an image by using the depth map as a mask in photoshop or psp. Start with your color image, duplicate it on another layer, apply a blur (e.g. gaussian) and then apply the depth map as a mask to the blurred layer. Adjust the opacity of the blur layer to taste.

Interesting! No doubt much faster than rendering the Depth-of-Focus (sometimes called "Depth-of-Field") special effect. The whole post processing and layer exporting part of Vue 5i seems a rich field for exploration. One i have not gotten to yet.

Quote - You can use it to create DOF in an image by using the depth map as a mask in photoshop or psp. Start with your color image, duplicate it on another layer, apply a blur (e.g. gaussian) and then apply the depth map as a mask to the blurred layer. Adjust the opacity of the blur layer to taste.

Ok, I need a step by step of this process. Button by button as it NEVER seems to work for me.  I cant figure out how to load the depth map AS the mask. I have a blurred layer, apply a mask, and go to channels, it's simply black.  I cant copy/paste my depth map there.  I see no option to load a file. Grrrrrrrrrr.

Another (possibly spurious) use for a depth map (then again, maybe not so spurious) -
It could always be used as a terrain height-map..:-)

More than once (in Bryce) I've used a similar technique, creating a complex terrain using primatives and imported objects, made and saved a height-map (Bryce doesn't have a depth map - at least, my old version doesn't), then (after a re-start, to get rid of all the clutter) used that to derive a terrain. saves resources, and after a bit of smoothing etc, all/any hard edges gone...

I'm reasonably sure that a similar technique could be used in Vue, except I haven't got round to trying it yet..

Cheers,
Diolma

I'm just saying screw it and doing a file where all I render out is depth.  Front cattails only 1st.  Then the large amount of cattails. I'll just color the textures black, set everything to white, and doit via selection in photoshop.

I'll lose the gradual DOF but I just cant figure it out the other way. 

OK, you have to get the depth map into a new Alpha channel in the colour image. Use this to create a selection, and apply whatever kind of blur you want.

If you use the lens blur feature in more recent versions of Photoshop, you specify the depth map in there and have more control over where the focus is.

There's also a depth of field plug-in by a chap called Richard Rosenman which uses a depth map, but whether it has any benefits (it's not cheap) over the one mentioned above, I'm not sure.