Is there a reset camera to default as rotation about Z axis is lost

Hi,
V5
I have used Set Camera Place target thousands of times in V4 and more recently V5. However today its not allowing rotation as it should do. I dont think this is the first time I have used that function in V5.

lets call it a car, place target on gear shift whilst looking at side of car, mouse left to right only tips it up onto its nose, rotating it about the gearshift. In the past I would have seen car rotate as if it was sitting on a display motorised base at a car show.
and mouse up and down tips it to show underside or roof , rotating about gearshift…as I would expect.

I cant rotate it with mouse left to right and see drivers side then bonnet then passenger side then boot.

I simply cannot, even by placing target on grill at front, rotate to see front of car, it just tips it up, this time about the grill or rotates it to show roof.

Frustrating or what !!!

I have lost rotation about the z axis in any significant amount if any at all.

I simply wish to revert camera viewing to how it was when I first created this file, and get back to normality, as I now cannot view my subject. how is that done ?

…an update,

I drew a simple block car and that performs correctly, I paste my object which I am having fun with into this, and see that what I thought was its equivalent of top of car is in fact car nearside (UK), this object was drawn with its ‘side’ visible in ‘top’ view as thats how it sits on my aircraft, so I have discovered that if one draws a car with its side in top view, one cannot rotate it as if it were on that display motorised platform !

I need a command to say rotate camera view for left to right mouse move about a selected line or axis in the object.

I also still wish to have a command to revert camera to normal view we get when creating a new file !

Steve

Go to the Document Properties menu. Under View Rotate try switching between “Rotate around world axes” and “Rotate relative to view”. Does that help?

Can’t you just rotate the whole vehicle so that’s its wheels sit on the XY plane?

From your description, it sounds as though the car is a legacy model that you’ve imported. Several solid modellers default to this strange ‘Z isn’t up’ behaviour. I’ve never figured out why.

Hi
David …thanks…thats done it that is one to memorise for sure.
Matt, that would also fix this, however when I the copy paste this aircraft part into my aircraft it would be sitting upright like a fin when it should be lying flat as its part of the tailplane.

I used the car example as no way could i describe this item , but behaviour was the same.

I drew it as it fits on the aircraft, and as it would paste into the aircraft. My reason, who knows what reasons others have, I never even considered z up behaviour. With davids solution I am ok.

Steve