Which Renderer?

[GrimR]

First off, I have to say that this forum has been a goldmine of great information, and bewildering why I haven't come across this site earlier!

 

I'm a long-time Microstation user and so far, have been using it for both 2D and 3D imaging purposes. I have tried to push Microstation's limited rendering capabilities to the max for the past few years, but have finally come to the conclusion that I'll need specialised rendering software to move up another level.

 

I have been scouring the web for information on MAX, VIZ, Modo, Lightwave, C4D, the various standalone/plug-in renderers i.e. Maxwell, V-ray, MEntal Ray,etc. Needless to say, I'm totally bamboozled by the options.

 

For my needs, I require very high-quality photo-realistic visuals (mostly exterior building shots) with some fly-through capability, without the high price-tag. Obviously, the shorter the rendering times, the better. In addition, a package which is good enough "out-of-the-box" would be great. For these reasons, 3DS MAX seems to rule itself out.

Lightwave and Modo seem to be well-priced, and from the images I've seen around i.e. Otacon's Lightwave images, I'm inclined towards them. Modo doesn't seem to have animation capabilities though. Maxwell, from what I've read, seems to take a horrendously long time to render!

 

I've download the Modo demo and will be having a quick shot at it shortly. Pity Newtek does not offer a demo/trial copy off the website.

 

If anyone has recommendations and pointers, it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[AJLynn]

I think Max is now as good enough out of the box as anything else I've used - it's got some mental ray improvements targeted at design vis that I've been very impressed with so far. Anyway, don't take my word for it or go by other people's images (Otacon's got so much game he's probably better with Accurender than a lot of people are with Vray), get some demos.

[renderbeads]

Try vray.

[manta]

If you're saying Max is too high priced for you (I think that's what you're saying)

 

Then think about Viz and vray as an option...

[Nic H]

Second that.

[GrimR]

Thanks for your comments.

 

VIZ seems to be a fav here.

 

Just had a quick browse at purchase prices for single-licenses here...

 

3DS MAX A$5500

VIZ 2007 A$3000

Maxwell Studio A$1350

VRAY A$920

C4D Arch bundle A$3000+

Lightwave A$1250

Modo A$1600

 

Looks like a VIZ plus VRAY package will set me back almost $4000/-.

Does anybody have an opinion on Lightwave 3D v9? The quality one gets from the rendering engine seems well-priced at $1250.

[Arnold Gallardo]

you might want to consider LW+Fprime+G2:

 

http://www.worley.com/fprime.html

 

http://www.worley.com/G2/g2_main.html#startit

 

That could suite your price better.

[ctk111]

If you have a small budget or no budget at all, why not try some of the free open source software? Blender is a free open source modeler. Pov-Ray and YafRay are two renderers.

 

http://blender.org/cms/Home.2.0.html

http://www.povray.org/

http://www.yafray.org/