* Viewport options:
1 use a locked camera and support your work by a "mobile" Camera.WIP for work in progress
2 record all parameters for a camera for time / keyframe 0
* You can then zoom in/out, pan, tilt, fiddle the focal length, whatever in a non-destructive mode.
* I have set up a few blank .jas templates with all the basic elements I typically require (cameras [locked and / or keyframed], lights, fog, some basic materials, etc) and just load plus save / rename the suitable blank at the start of a project.