# 3D view

> The Olex 3D view: a virtual camera driven by the mouse to explore the underwater relief, linked to the 2D chart, for wrecks, sand ridges and drop-offs.

Since version 3.8, Olex has offered a 3D perspective that combines the classic 2D chart with a true
three-dimensional view, making the underwater relief easier to understand.

Olex took up and integrated display modes devised by MIS in its [Nautilus 3D](https://www.justmagic.com/historique/nautilus-3d/)
software (page in French): a virtual object, moved by the user with the mouse, explores the seabed more
dynamically and more precisely than the first Olex 3D view (the relief cut out inside a cube). This
virtual ROV (remotely operated vehicle), fitted with a camera, gives a more realistic view, enhanced by a
solid-surface rendering. Users freely choose their position on the 2D chart and see, in a separate 3D
window, the underwater landscape from different angles.

[[image : 3D view of the seabed from the virtual camera, next to the 2D chart]](https://www.justmagic.com/images/Olex_new3D.gif)
*A different, complementary point of view*

[[image : Fly-through of the underwater relief by the virtual camera]](https://www.justmagic.com/images/Olex_flythrough.gif)
*Underwater camera tracking shot, fly-through mode (animation)*

[[image : Camera placed above, then below the sea surface]](https://www.justmagic.com/images/Olex_ROV.gif)
*Camera a few metres above, then below the surface (animation)*

## Mouse control

The mouse is all that is needed to set:

- the camera's degrees of freedom:
  - movement over the 2D chart, for a fly-through in 3D;
  - height above the seabed: close-up view near the seabed for details, pelagic view for a normal scene,
    sea-level view to extend the scene, or oblique aerial view to see beyond the horizon;
  - orientation, towards the seabed or towards the sky;
- the 3D view according to the camera position: to the left or right, forwards or backwards, following
  the vessel, around a mark chosen by the user, or in free 360° rotation.

All the other tools remain available in this view: distance measurement with the bearing tool,
highlighting of a depth range, vertical exaggeration…

## What for?

This view is especially useful to:

- help **locate wrecks**;
- see **sand ridges** on the flat, shallow seabeds of the English Channel;
- highlight a **depth range on a drop-off**.

[[image : Depth range highlighted on a drop-off in 3D]](https://www.justmagic.com/images/Olex_new3D_fond.gif)
*Highlighting a depth range*

[[image : Wreck located in 3D in the Bay of Biscay]](https://www.justmagic.com/images/Olex_new3D_wreck.gif)
*A wreck in the Bay of Biscay*

[[image : Full-screen view close to the seabed with bathymetric cells]](https://www.justmagic.com/images/Olex_new3D_cells.gif)
*Full screen close to the seabed*

[[image : Full-screen panoramic view of the underwater relief]](https://www.justmagic.com/images/Olex_new3D_fullscreen.gif)
*Full-screen panorama*