Focusing cam on other avatars using what...Zoom?

I'm toying with the idea to add a feature to my hacked version of Jesse's 3DRadar that will allow someone to touch a prim indicator on the radar that is currently showing the position of an avatar, and allow the person to be able to 'view' the avatar indicated through a map viewer not a HUD. Two questions, is that even possible with the current CAM controls (lsl)? And is this not a breach of the ToS? Just wondering about the latter as products with similar 'cam' views of avatars through a HUD are showing up on SLX and others.

Not sure what "through a map viewer not a HUD" means, exactly. Keep in mind: "Camera controls are only supported for scripts in objects that are attached to an avatar, or upon which an avatar is sitting. Attempts to use them in stand-alone objects result in the error: 'Camera control currently only supported for attachments and objects on which you are sitting.' (1.13.1 (5))." (From http://lslwiki.net/lslwiki/wakka.php?wakka=camera .)

About the ToS, I should think it would depend what the user *does* with the functionality.

(Oh, and since it still shows up on my forums sig: all this has nothing to do with what CamCaster does.)

Hi Qie, well, you answered my question there despite the fact that I was not clear on the actual application. I wanted to not use a HUD or attachment as I hate having to first 'install' something to experience something, and had hoped to simply use some sort of streaming to the media tab onto a prim a snapshot or view of the avatar one is seeking. The SLX tools I saw make provision for this but through a HUD, and I now realize I cannot use Cam at all unless it is attached to the av somehow. Unless I make ppl 'sit' somewhere on my 3D Radar / Map thingy

Accepted that this has to happen (attachment / HUD) can one use camera to zoom in on an avatar somewhere on the same sim as yourself?

Sure can, and if you can get the agent's location, you can do it on neighboring sims, too. This isn't quite as exciting as it sounds, though, because if they get too far away, you'll not see much around them, even if you're tracking them; but it's useful for situations where you're near a sim border. What the script would need to do is to put the cam position somewhere near the agent to be tracked, pointed at the agent; tracking of the avatar's motion should happen automatically, as it does with the normal unscripted cam--as long as nothing was between the cam and the agent when the cam focus was set, and other cam parameters weren't changed to set the focus to fixed (or something like that).