3D Camera Movement or 3D Image Movement

[Jason Milligan]

It depends on the individual project.
Think of it like a film set. Directors and cinematographers decide what is most practical and visually pleasing when deciding if and how to use a camera move. It’s the same in AE.
Different circumstances call for camera movements, object manipulation, or sometimes both.

If you want a fly through of the digestive system, animate the camera.
Have debris flying away from an explosion? Animate the objects.
Most of the time, you’ll use a bit of both.

There is no effect needed to move on the z axis.
Turn on the 3D switch for a layer and you will gain z position, z rotation, and orientation properties.

[Carlos Garcia]

You can use any of them depending on what seems to be easier and faster for you. Sometimes I prefer to make simple camera movements and mix it with some object movements it gives a nice strange look.

But when I want to make more radical camera movements I definetly use a camera, cuz I feel I can have more control than moving every object or parenting them all to an object I will move.

[Darby Edelen]

You can think of moving your camera as moving all of your 3D layers in unison. If you need your 3D layers to move independently of one another then you should animate the individual layers.

Darby Edelen