This topic warrants a bigger post, but for today I'll just share a quick few views. I have some video footage and coming later I have a special gift from a new Simmer friend who has offered to share something with us that is on this topic. More on that later, but for now a  quick look at what the world looks like through the camera lens.

Close Ups and Lighting

I know that many people are commenting on how "cartoony" the sims look, and in some ways I agree, in others I disagree, but what I will say is that if you look at the detail and structure of the sims the canvas from which CC creators have to work with is, in my opinion, much more realistic. I have no doubt that we will be blown away with the outcome once cc comes to life (for those of us who are addicts). But, as for the native appearance of the sims, I challenge you to take this same shot with your Sims 3 game without cc, outdoors and show us what you get. (I should do this to compare later).

Not only do I love the detail, but I absolutely LOVE the lighting. This was taken outdoors with no fill light. If you have ever tried this in Sims 3 you would notice unsightly shadows. The lighting has definitely improved and will be noticeable when you take shots in the two most challenging scenarios - sunlight and dark shadows.The photo below was taken in a dark room with minimal lighting and yet retains a nice amount of detail. So yes, lighting is one of the things I took note of.

And here is a great example of the much improved night skies lighting.

It lends a beautiful ambiant effect I think.

addition - photo courtesy of http://getsimplyruthless.blogspot.ca/

Depth of Field - Outdoor Views

Shallow depth of field, in camera terms, describes what you see here where the close part of the photo is in focus, but the background is less so. This is more or less noticeable in different camera positions. It is a gorgeous effect and one that I have always wished to have, but at the same time it is not something that you will want all of the time. I have to confirm this, but I was told that you can change this in the camera settings. We will have to figure that out when we get our hands on the game again, but if not there may be a way to do so in the .ini files or with an easy mod. More on that in the future.

View of the World from the Camera Lens

Despite the fact that the world is not truly open as we now know it, the background does not just drop off at the edge of the neighbourhood. What you see here is the home and land across the river which is not accessible to me from this position, but is there visually to create a wonderful backdrop. Beyond that is the far off scenery.  Unfortunately we cannot change that scenery at this time, but more on that in another post.

Here are two more examples of the camera view from above.

So that's all for today, but I still have so much more to share. Stay tuned.  And don't forget to drop by to

discuss or ask questions in the forum thread HERE