The ZDepth Render Element provides information about each object's distance from the camera in the current view. Each pixel representing the object is evaluated for distance individually; different pixels for the same object can have different grayscale values. In this render element, objects (or portions of objects) closest to the camera appear as white while those furthest away appear black. Objects between the furthest and nearest points are rendered in varying shades of gray. The lighter the gray, the closer an object pixel is to the camera.

The most common usage of the ZDepth Render Element is as a control for depth of field in the composite.

ZDepth – Enables the ZDepth rendering.

Depth from Camera – When enabled, the Black Distance and White Distance are taken from the far and near clipping plane of the camera.

Clamp Depth – Enables or disables the the sampling of the current render channel for antialiasing.

Black – In a Z-depth element, a black distance is the distance closest to the camera. This parameter allows you to specify how far from the camera the z-depth element starts.

White – In a Z-depth element, a white distance is the distance farthest away from the camera. This parameter allows you to specify how far from the camera the z-depth element ends.