360 degree photonlight

[leope]

Can the Angle slider of the photonlight be increased to 360 ( or 359 ?) ?
In some cases it can be useful.

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--------------------------                                            ----------------------------
|reflective/refractive |                   pointlight                   | reflective/refractive|
|            object     |                                             |            object          |
--------------------------                                            ---------------------------

This case need two photonlight. They can be more efficent (small cone directed to an object) than one 360, but the 3dview become more friendly with only one.

leope

[IanCalvert]

Using a small cone is MUCH more efficient. Each photon light should just about cover the object directed at. Using a 360 degree light would waste thousands, nay, millions (depending on settings) of photons just for convinience.


Ian

[leope]

If I have a room with:
0.only one pointlight
1. not many
2. flying
3. glass (or mirror) objects
4. of different geometry complexity
then tracking (target) one photonlight per object is good for me,
but if there are:
1.many
2.flying
3.glass (or mirror) objects
4.with similar geometry complexity
I don't know.
If a lightbeam (cone) of a photonlight don't cover an object exactly (typical)
when it partially cover another near objet can be result a variation in caustic precision (more photons? More precision but different caustic intensity and shape). (Caution on use of colored photonlights with more than one pointlight).

If I have a closed room and a lot of CPU maybe it simply, imho, manage a single 360 photonlight per pointlight (especially for animation), but
maybe the time gained on setup is lost, after, in rendering

leope

....
sorry for my bad eEnglish

[IanCalvert]

You could put full GI on, put photons on and the caustic bounce setting up. Then place a single omni light to emit the photons.


Ian