Depth Map: A depth map is a representation of the distance or depth information for each pixel in a scene. It is typically a two-dimensional array where each pixel contains a value that represents the distance from the camera to the corresponding point in the scene. The depth values are usually represented in metric units, such as meters. A depth map provides a continuous representation of the scene’s depth information.
For example, in Arnold this is achieved through a Z AOV, this collects depth of the shading points as seen from the camera.
https://help.autodesk.com/view/ARNOL/ENU/?guid=arnold_user_guide_ac_output_aovs_ac_aovs_html
https://help.autodesk.com/view/ARNOL/ENU/?guid=arnold_for_3ds_max_ax_aov_tutorials_ax_zdepth_aov_html
Depth Image: A depth image is a visual representation of the depth map. It is similar to a regular image, but instead of displaying colors or intensity values, it visualizes the depth values as grayscale or color-coded pixels. Darker regions in the depth image represent objects that are farther away, while brighter regions represent objects that are closer to the camera. The depth image provides a way to visualize the depth information in a scene.
DeepAlpha vs DeepRGB
Deep EXR files store a variable-length list of samples stored with multiple values at different depths for each pixel.
They collect vectors, transparency values along depth.
This can either be just vector references or also carrying RGBA information for each level (heavier and more expensive to work with).
Arnold DeepEXR driver under Maya:
https://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:1325032/FULLTEXT01.pdf
Arnold deepEXR use in Nuke
Note, you will need to have camera information to properly see the 3D points representation.
https://help.autodesk.com/view/ARNOL/ENU/?guid=arnold_user_guide_ac_output_aovs_ac_deep_exr_html
Foundry Nuke Deep Compositing
https://learn.foundry.com/nuke/content/comp_environment/deep/deep_compositing.html
https://learn.foundry.com/nuke/content/comp_environment/deep/creating_deep_data.html
Deep Compositing Examples
https://github.com/charlesangus/DeepCExamples/tree/master
Nuke 15.1v3 example with the files above (rename to .nk)
VFX Showdown tutorials
