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which renderer to choose?


mesht
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i've been using max's default scanline renderer since i first started learning max. guess u could say i'm backward in technology achievements :)

 

eversince with the availability of IES files, my scenes all along have been rendered scanline with Radiosity. produced acceptable results but still far from superb quality

 

now, i decided to migrate to GI rendering and since i'm new to GI, i've heard of the debates between 3rd party renderer like Finalrender, Brazil, Vray, and Maxwell. so, i don't know which one to start off with. all produce exceptional quality, but also have it pros and cons.

 

and, how do i convince my office to get a few copies?

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mostly still interior images....and some exterior. in my office, clients expectation is high, so our guys try their best to use whatever they have, rendering with mental ray.

 

as for me, i deicided to try GI both for personal and office.

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I would recommend going with something that you can get relatively good results from with the least amount of effort. In this case I would say Vray is you best bet, I'd stay away from Final Render it's just to slow and has too many bugs with little support. Vray seems to be fast and it has some advantages like MTD which can produce some very nice looking grass.

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I would download Vray free, I think alot of people beleive that because its free, that its useless, but that couldn't be further from the truth, I use it all the time,

its missing some of the bells and whistles of the advanced version, but its far better than the scanline, and much easier than MR...

 

If you end up liking it, then buy the advanced version...

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thx guys for the tips. i have seen a lot of people using VRay, but i was also looking at Maxwell, seems to deliver equally good quality images. i guess it all boils down on a user preferrences.

 

Vray and Maxwell are within my budget, but Brazil and Pure1800 is a bit too much.

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if you're looking for a working/production ready renderer then (if have either to pick up vray or maxwell) go for vray. maxwell is not even in beta and at the moment can't be used in production. it still have too many limitations (render times is not the only one). of course you can bet on its future and on its development, it's up to you.

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I keep thinking it would be great to get all the FAQs like this together into a consise spot. Seems at any given day we have multiple vray v. the world postings. Maybe it could have a poll attached and a couple of "Gee I love FR" Or "Wow those support guys at Vray forum are great. Isn't Vlado swell!," type responses. Then you would have to have "All tools are only as good as the user".

 

This is a good question and obviously valid otherwise it would not come up so often.

 

For my experiance vray is worth the money. It is not simple to use, it takes time to learn but it gives great results.

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I would avoid pure option as it is hardware, and actually hardware PC are cheap, and software renderer evoluates lot faster and smoother for a renderfarm.

For us, finalRender is the fastest with cleanest GI, and materials are definitely the best with lot of control. But learning need some time, as all is controllable. Once you know it, you get what you want, and very fast, but it can be disturbing at start (that's why some people try it and just let it, saying it is slow etc... )

 

Kib

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Which 3rd party renderer is easiest to use for someone who is still new to 3rd party renderers?

 

I respect that vray is top dog amongst most users, but it also seems to be the most complex to start off with.

 

I'd like to start off with something that has little settings to mess with and is easy to get a pretty decent result. I'm trying to upgrade from fakeosity to something that gets me a bit closer to realism without much fuss.

 

I know vray FREE is free, but I've also seen Final Render 0 for a mere $90. I'm willing to go either direction, but I'm not sure how complex FR is compared to what I've heard about vray. Is FR simple to use out of the box?

 

Also, how easy is it to integrate vray and FR into VIZ 4.2?

 

Thanks in advance,

T : >

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I use to use finalRender stage 0 a long time ago and th setup on it is pretty complicated compared to Vray. I would say, start with Vray Free... pretty sure it is the fastest and cheapest option there is. Once you get hungry for more, look into others, including Vray, Brazil, and finalRender stage 1. If you like Vray Free staick with Vray free, if you have big issues with it, see if you can solve them with the pro version, or if you simply need another solution.

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Don't go for fR Stage0, it is too old technology and too complicated. If you find Vray complicated then well yes don't try Stage1 ... Stage1 allow you to control each part of each features, which make it extremely flexible but once more you need to know it well before ! If you have time to learn and need complete renderer go for it, if you need results now and don't care being limited in several aeras, go for Vray.

 

Kib

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I'm a Stage 1 user and I can tell you the learning curve is extremely steep. One of the biggest problems with Final Render is it's far to complicated for it's own good, and there are virtually no tutorials to learn from other than the ones that come with the program which take for granted that your already familiar with Stage 0. Vray seems to be much friendlier and I think there are just a lot more people using it which can make a big difference when you need help.

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finalRender Stage0 is a renderer, but which come on top of max scanline, with new functions like new lights, GI, new materials etc. It was powerfull, but ergonomically not very good, lot of functions everywhere. Stage1 is definitely two steps ahead as it is now a pure raytracer like vray/brazil/mentalray with its own algorythms and so, totally independant from max scanline. The two products have really not much comparable both in features/speed and workflow.

 

Kib

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