iRadiance - Light Probe. Why?
Pippen
Posts: 265
in The Commons
I see three of these. How does one choose? The description is the same for all three. How are they different?
https://www.daz3d.com/iradiance--light-probe-hdr-lighting-for-iray--expansion-4
https://www.daz3d.com/iradiance--light-probe-hdr-lighting-for-iray--expansion-5
https://www.daz3d.com/iradiance--light-probe-hdr-lighting-for-iray--expansion-6
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I noticed that there is one sentence different in each description. Here's a copy/paste of the different sentence in each set.
Set 4: Your reflections will look more natural and your lighting more detailed than ever before with iRadiance Light Probes.
Set 5: Preset found here will provide moody, high contrast lighting perfect for dramatic scenes.
Set 6: Presets found here will provide lighter, more uniform lighting great for clean visuals.
They're different color combinations with different lighting effects, intensities and balances. Look at the pictures with the identical headshots included in each promo and you can see what effects are included in each bundle. Since these are HDR based rather than seperate lights, what you see is pretty much what you get.
And DimensionTheory's work is top-notch, so you're getting a real deal.
These are hands down great products. I have a LOT of Dimension Theory's lighting products and I use them quite often. Seeing these expansions show up at PC+Club prices during the sale has been wonderful. If you can, use the discounts to grab the previous expansions. Options are always a good thing and at these prices, you wont regret it.
These are really great products and alot of fun to play with.
But I don't understand what it is or what I am supposed to do wit h it? Is it an HDRI set, a set of lights, or a way of testing my lights (which is what the term "propbe" would seem to imply)?
In this case, it's an HDRI set. Probe at DAZ seems to mean whatever the PA wants it to mean, as there are other DAZ products that are called probes that are actually mesh lights.
probe is a very ambiguous word
rednecks near Roswell would assign yet another meaning
To be fair to DT, it's an established term.. just google 'light probe' :)
Mmm. people are making me repeat myself! "A light probe image is an omnidirectional, high dynamic range image that records the incident illumination conditions at a particular point in space." "
"What are the differences between a light probe, spherical image, LatLong, vertical cross, cubic (etc) versions of HDRs?
Depending on what application you are using, the names of the shapes of the HDR will change.
Most 3D programs want/need an image that looks like an unwrapped world map. This file can be called “Equirectangular”, “Spherical”, “LatLong”, and also a “Latitude Longitude” file. These are called different names, but they are all exactly the same!
Vertical Cross, Horizontal Cross, and Cubic HDRs… these are all just six 90-degree views of a scene or panorama. They just happened to be place together in a certain shape (vertical or horizontal cross) or saved out as six separate cube faces as six different files. Retouching is pretty easy with these as long as you do not try to retouch any of the edge pixels. If you need to do some cloning or color correction across the seams, then convert the image to a spherical image and work on that. Then convert back to a cubic format if needed.
“Light Probes” are full 360x180-degree spherical (or LatLong) HDR files that have been converted into a ball shape. Visually, it appears that they are chrome balls, but in reality they have a mathematically much simpler distortion and they may or may not have been created and captured that way. A few 3D programs directly support Light Probes (ball-looking) images, but almost all support LatLong shaped HDR images. When you make an HDR from a series of pictures of a chrome ball, this too, is considered a “light probe”. In fact, any fully immersive HDR panorama can be considered a light probe, no matter what unwrapping format it is in. They are also sometimes called "Light Maps" as well."
The Iradiance series are excellent products and are sets of abstract spherical HDRI's which have a light "hotspot" so that they light your scene and provide realistic reflections and shadows. An example (i wanted GoatBoy to have an even studio light so I used of the Iradiance products to provide the even blue backdrop and the light shining onto his face):
i need 1,2, 3 ... place on sale please.