Choosing a VFX Ball Size for Your Lens

How to pick between 12.6cm, 20cm and 25cm reference balls based on lens length, set size and how the kit has to travel.

Start from the distance

The further the camera sits from the reference, the fewer pixels the ball occupies. A 12.6cm ball on a wide shot from across a stage gives very little to work with.

12.6cm for tight spaces

Interiors, vehicles and dressed sets where there is no room for a large sphere. These kits also travel in hand baggage.

20cm as the middle ground

Enough size for medium and wide plates, still light enough to hold at arm's length all day.

25cm for wide plates

Large exteriors, crane and aerial plates, and anywhere the sphere has to read from a distance.

Also available on request

Balls are produced at 6cm and 30cm as well, which covers very tight rigs and very wide capture.