Using HDRI instead of traditional lighting...

[Mark (theKeeper)]

Wheeeeew! Man it's been a long time since i've been able to post something!

I've just gotten back into learning C4D more now. And i'm wondering about this HDRI stuff. I've checked out a few tutes and done some basic tests myself... but was wondering if anyone else might have something to say about it...?

Anyone here have any experience using this? And if so... what are your thoughts, or comments, or even suggestions about using it?

[Mark (theKeeper)]

Wheeeeew! Man it's been a long time since i've been able to post something!

I've just gotten back into learning C4D more now. And i'm wondering about this HDRI stuff. I've checked out a few tutes and done some basic tests myself... but was wondering if anyone else might have something to say about it...?

Anyone here have any experience using this? And if so... what are your thoughts, or comments, or even suggestions about using it?

[Earl]

HDRI lighting rocks! However, I see a lot of people using fairly low-res HDR images. These, in my opinion, don't look very good in final output (even if they do a great job lighting your scene). If you're serious about getting into HDRI lighting, the best thing to do is go out and buy a nice SLR digital camera - one that supports swappable lenses, shutter speed adjustments, aperature adjustments, etc. I own a Canon Digital Rebel, and it's probably one of the best digital cameras for creating HDR images with. Since you have to play with the shutter speed and aperature, using film cameras is just too expensive to experiment with. Do you have software to create your own HDR images? There's various freebies out there....

[randyrives]

I have used HDRI in cinema for a few renders, but I am not an expert and usually have to fiddle with it to much. I don't use it much, but it can really make a scene!!

Go to my website: http://www.rrives.com and check out my review of Cinema V8, I have some sample renders using HDRI. You can get to the review from my homepage.

[gidgit]

Hi Mark... I personally havn't got that far yet, still learning the very basics of box modeling... one baby step at a time eh but man, if ya get any more info and/or do up any examples I am all eyes man... and I am sure everyone could always use additional info regarding anything 3D...

Randy, your review comes up with a "sorry, this module is'nt active" message... hmmm, is there any other place hosting said article? thnx in advance...

[Mark (theKeeper)]

Hey gr8, thanks for the camera info Earl. I use HDRShop. It's free, simple to use, and comes with a HDR viewer app too. Both are freebies.

http://athens.ict.usc.edu/HDRShop/
Checkout the "Introduction" link first you new users.

Actually though, i was hoping for more insightful tips about HOW to use this in C4D. Setup, rendering, whether atra lighting is needed etc, etc...

[Mike Bailey]

Hi Mark,

http://www.rain.org/~msavard/hdri/Ar...singHDRIs.html

[Mike Bailey]

http://www.debevec.org/Research/HDRTM/

[gidgit]

Would it be correct in assuming that one would have to have a monster machine to utilize this HDR technology? I know that just rendering with GI slows my loe machine to a crawl... Same same?

[Mark (theKeeper)]

Hey gr8, thanks for the links Mike. I've read both of those actually.

Actually James, from what i've been reading, GI is related to using HDRI. But i myself actually have gotten quicker renders using it than traditional lighting setups -- so far anyway. I'm still playing with it a lot for now.

Other folks also say that using GI slows renders, but only for certain things -- like animations. Apparently, if C4D had better 'baking' abilities, this wouldn't be such an issue. I do little to no serious animation myself, so i couldn't care less about that issue.

I suggest you give it a try James and find out how it works for you. It's not that hard to grasp to get started doing tests with it. Pretty simple actually -- only using HDR in its raw form, not for serious compositions. That's a whole 'nother ball game there. Much more complex.