Camera Obscura Serverside Rendering Mod FAQ
10 questions players actually ask, answered.
How do I take my first photo?
Hold the camera item in your main hand, aim at what you want to photograph, and right-click. If item consumption is enabled in the config, make sure you have the required consumable item in your inventory. The rendered map will appear in your inventory immediately.
Why is my photo blank or all black?
Check your render distance setting in the config—if it's too low, distant terrain won't render. If you're indoors or in darkness, enable fullbright in the config to ignore lighting levels. Also verify that renderEntities is not set to 0 if you're trying to capture mobs or players.
Can I take a photo from another player's perspective?
Yes, use `/camera-obscura ` to render from a target entity's viewpoint with optional map scaling up to 3×3. For PNG exports, use `/camera-obscura save ` to save from that perspective directly to your server folder.
What's the difference between taking a map photo and saving a PNG?
Map photos create filled map items you can place in item frames for in-game display, while PNG saves export full-resolution images directly to your server files for external use. PNG exports support higher resolution and scaling than map items.
Do players need to install anything to see my photos?
No—the mod is server-side only, so players joining your world see the rendered maps without needing any client-side installation. They just need to be on the server when you take the photo.
Why aren't mobs or players showing up in my photos?
Entity rendering is experimental and disabled by default. Enable renderEntities in the config and set renderEntitiesAmount to control how many entities appear. Make sure the mobs or players are close enough to the camera position to be included in the render distance.
How do I adjust the camera's zoom or field of view?
Use the fov config setting to adjust the field of view between 30 and 110 degrees—lower values zoom in, higher values zoom out. You can also use the scale parameter in commands to enlarge multi-map renders up to 3×3 for maps or 10x for PNG exports.
Can I use a different item as the camera instead of the spyglass?
Yes, change the cameraItem setting in the config to any vanilla item you prefer. You can also configure whether taking a photo consumes the item and what item gets consumed via cameraConsumesItem and cameraConsumeItem.
My renders look washed out or colors are wrong—how do I fix this?
Try disabling biomeBlend in the config if color transitions between biomes look off, or enable fullbright if lighting is making the render too dark. Adjusting render distance and FOV can also affect how the scene looks overall.
What does /camera-obscura clear-cache do and when should I use it?
This command clears cached textures, resource pack models, and render data from memory. Use it if renders look corrupted, textures aren't updating after a resource pack change, or if you're experiencing performance issues from accumulated cache.