Well, I guess what one considers "photorealistic" is a bit more subjective, these days, with everyone claiming their software produces "photorealistic" output. Admittedly, Swift 3D is not comparable with global illumination (because it doesn't have it), which is the new standard of photorealism, but it certainly stacks up favorably with most raytracers, save, perhaps, for those that do radiosity renders. Anyway, how realistic it has to be all depends upon what one needs the images for, in the first place. For most architects, still, something as banal as Artlantis seems to suffice. I think those who value GI most are in other fields, such as motion picture and TV production. Anyway, it's close enough to meet my needs.
I don't have Max, but, thanks for the tip, anyway. By the way, Swift 3D has a polygon modeling interface which is capable of duplicating most, if not all the modeling functions of Max.
Gary