# Introduction to camera output

> Learn about using the DepthTextureMode API to output a depth or motion texture from a camera.

A [Camera](/engine/6000.0/manual/cameras.md) can generate a depth, depth+normals, or motion vector texture. This is a minimalistic G-buffer texture that can be used for post-processing effects or to implement custom lighting models.

These are mostly used by effects; for example, [post-processing effects](/engine/6000.0/manual/post-processing-and-full-screen-effects/overview.md) often use depth information.

Pixel values in the depth texture range between 0 and 1, with a non-linear distribution. Precision is usually 32 or 16 bits, depending on configuration and platform used. When reading from the Depth Texture, a high precision value in a range between 0 and 1 is returned. If you need to get distance from the Camera, or an otherwise linear 0-1 value, compute that manually using [helper macros](/engine/6000.0/manual/materials-and-shaders/shaders/writing-shaders-birp/use-built-in-shader-methods-birp/sl-builtin-functions.md).

Depth Textures are supported on most modern hardware and graphics APIs. Special requirements are listed below:

* Direct3D 11+ (Windows), OpenGL 3+ (Mac/Linux), Metal (iOS), and popular consoles support depth textures.

The Camera's depth Texture mode can be enabled using [Camera.depthTextureMode](/engine/6000.0/script-reference/unityengine/camera/depthtexturemode.md) variable from script. It is also possible to build similar textures yourself, using [Shader Replacement](/engine/6000.0/manual/materials-and-shaders/built-in/shader-built-in-birp/sl-shader-replacement.md) feature.

There are three possible depth texture modes:

* **DepthTextureMode.Depth**: a depth texture.
* **DepthTextureMode.DepthNormals**: depth and view space normals packed into one texture.
* **DepthTextureMode.MotionVectors**: per-pixel screen space motion of each screen texel for the current frame. Packed into a RG16 texture.

These are flags, so it is possible to specify any combination of the above textures.

## Under the hood

Depth textures can come directly from the actual depth buffer, or be rendered in a separate pass, depending on the rendering path used and the hardware. Typically when using the Deferred Shading rendering path in the Built-In Render Pipeline, the depth textures come "for free" since they are a product of the G-buffer rendering anyway.

When enabled, the MotionVectors texture always comes from a extra render pass. Unity will render moving GameObjects into this buffer, and construct their motion from the last frame to the current frame.