camlight

Create or move light object in camera coordinates

Syntax

camlight

camlight(position)

camlight(az,el)

camlight(___,style)

camlight(lt,___)

camlight(ax,___)

cl = camlight(___)

Description

camlight creates a light to the right and up from the camera position.

camlight(position) creates a light at the specified position. For example, camlight("left") creates a light to the left and up from the camera position.

camlight(az,el) creates a light at the specified azimuth az and elevation el with respect to the camera position. The camera target is the center of rotation.

camlight(___,style) creates the light with the specified light style.

camlight(lt,___) uses the specified light instead of creating a new light. Specify lt as the first argument followed by any of the input argument combinations in the previous syntaxes.

camlight(ax,___) creates the light in the axes specified by ax instead of in the current axes (gca). Specify the axes as the first argument in any of the previous syntaxes.

cl = camlight(___) returns a Light object. Use cl to move the light or modify properties of the light after creating it. For a list of properties, see Light Properties.

Examples

Create Light Object

Create a sphere and shine a light on it. Position the light to the right and up from the camera position.

sphere
axis equal
camlight

Add a second light to the left and up from the camera position.

camlight("left")

Move Light Object

Create a sphere and shine a light on it. Position the light to the left and up from the camera position.

sphere
axis equal
cl = camlight("left");

Move the light directly in front of the camera position.

camlight(cl,0,0);

Delete the light.

delete(cl)

Specify Target Axes

Since R2019b

You can display a tiling of plots using the tiledlayout and nexttile functions. Use the tiledlayout function to create a 1-by-2 tiled chart layout. Use the nexttile function to create the Axes objects ax1 and ax2. Create a surface and corresponding light in each plot by specifying each Axes object as the first argument to surf and camlight.

In the left axes, create a surface and position a light at infinity shining directly towards the surface. In the right axes, create a surface and position a light at infinity shining from the right and above the surface.

tiledlayout(1,2)
 
% Left surface
ax1 = nexttile;
surf(ax1,peaks,EdgeColor="none")
lt1 = camlight(ax1,"headlight","infinite");
title("Infinite light shining at surface")
 
% Right surface
ax2 = nexttile;
surf(ax2,peaks,EdgeColor="none")
lt2 = camlight(ax2,"right","infinite");
title("Infinite light shining from the right of surface")

Input Arguments

position — Position of light source

"right" (default) | "left" | "headlight"

Position of the light source, specified as one of these values:

• "right" — Place light to the right and up from the camera position

• "left" — Place light to the left and up from the camera position.

• "headlight" — Place light at the camera position.

The location of the light depends on the value of the style argument.

az — Azimuth of light position

scalar value in degrees

Azimuth of the light position, specified as a scalar value in degrees.

el — Elevation of light position

scalar value in degrees

Elevation of the light position, specified as a scalar value in degrees.

style — Type of light source

"local" (default) | "infinite"

Type of light source, specified as one of these values:

• "local" — The light is a point source that radiates in all directions from the location specified by the light position.

• "infinite" — The light is placed at infinity and shines in parallel rays in the direction specified by the light position.

lt — Light to move

Light object

Light to move, specified as a Light object.

ax — Target axes

Axes object

Target axes, specified as an Axes object. If you do not specify the axes, then camlight creates the Light object in the current axes.

Tips

• The camlight function sets the Position and Style properties of the Light object. The light does not track the camera. To keep the light in a constant position relative to the camera, call camlight whenever you move the camera.

Version History

Introduced before R2006a