Photoview360

[Andy]

Seeing as there's nothing in this section yet, I thought I'd kick it off with a couple of Photoview360 renders.

Visualize is hugely faster, but for my needs I find it needlessly complicated, and frankly I often get better results in Photoview!

Anyway, here's a couple of samples, to maybe spur a little conversation.

[matt]

@Andy Looks great!

[Andy]

@Andy Looks great!

Thanks, Matt. Hopefully it will encourage either some sharing of renders, or some chat about usage of PV360 and/or Visualize.

[matt]

Thanks, Matt. Hopefully it will encourage either some sharing of renders, or some chat about usage of PV360 and/or Visualize.

I never got to use visualize, kind of wish I had.

[Andy]

I never got to use visualize, kind of wish I had.

For all the hype (by SolidWorks), I find PV360 better. It's much slower, but 9 times out of 10, the results are much more pleasing.

Visualize lighting is much harsher, and I find more difficult to control. It takes longer to tweak all the settings than it does just to render in PV360. This is a typical example of my results in it. The images are sharper, but too synthetic in my opinion.



I'd like to see some Visualize renders from board members, and input on settings.

[BuseHase]

.....
I'd like to see some Visualize renders from board members, and input on settings.

What do you mean with "settings"? Quality settings or rather lighting and materials? Post processing could be also necessary.

[Andy]

What do you mean with "settings"? Quality settings or rather lighting and materials? Post processing could be also necessary.

To be fair, I'm not sure really! I've not spent much time with Visualize at all, as I find it's just not particularly intuitive, and while I have no doubt it can produce great renders, I can get the results I need far more quickly and easily with PV360.

Maybe because I wasn't able to get satisfactory results by generally just tweaking the defaults when the models are imported, I just prematurely wrote it off? Back then there weren't any decent tutorials, and it was just easier to stick with what I knew. If my boss even asks me for more realistic renders, of if I see any decent threads/tutorials on it, then I'll have to have another think.

[BuseHase]

I think you are right, PV360 is more intuitive to learn by "normal" Solidworks users. In the past, as Visualize started, I've big struggles because the workflow of Visualize is much complex then PV360. The results were worse in a direct comparision to the fast (or rather easier to create) renders, and my incitement to learn Visualize were very small. But by using Visualize more and more, the results were getting better and better. At the end my renders maybe not top notch like the renders of professional freelancers or designers, but as a hobby I (and the most members in the old Solidworks forum) would say my renders at a high level.

Never the less, as I stop using PV360 I did a render comparision between the 2 programs (I think in 2016) for one and the same 3D model. Just to know the differences for myself. Btw both images were post processed.
Photoview360

Visualize

[matt]

...Never the less, as I stop using PV360 I did a render comparision between the 2 programs (I think in 2016) for one and the same 3D model. Just to know the differences for myself. Btw both images were post processed.
Photoview360
glass_pv.jpg
Visualize
glass_VS.jpg

Thanks for that comparison. Can you comment on the two images and what you see as better in one compared to the other? Maybe there is something that should be obvious to "the initiated", but not to the rest of us who just see two pictures of a glass.

[Andy]

Thanks for that comparison. Can you comment on the two images and what you see as better in one compared to the other? Maybe there is something that should be obvious to "the initiated", but not to the rest of us who just see two pictures of a glass.

I agree with everything @BuseHase says, but also with your comment/question, Matt...

No disrespect, but the Visualize render doesn't look significantly better than the PV360 one to me, personally. It looks better, yes, with more depth to the glass, but certainly not better enough to warrant the investment in time required to learn the software in my case. Sorry.

I think my time is better invested in streamlining my modelling. For my applications, PV360 is more than adequate, but my models are more static/mechanical than organic.

[zxys001]

...pumpkin render spirit for the holiday...

[temo]

Andy: can you please give a short "PW360 for dummies" on the basics of how you get such a crisp render, I've tried many times, but mostly ending up with a JPG image save from a "saveAs".

I find 316 stainless steel especially difficult, as it gets more colored than a shiny mirrored surface. I even think if I use mirror glass as substitute it look better than stainless steel.

[Steen Winther]

Render done with PhotoView360. A highres render takes ~7 min on a Ryzen 5 3600. Why would I use Visualize when I can get any stand-alone render engine that doesn't require Solidworks subscription? I hate the fact that I would have to redo all appearances and render settings when leaving SW. PhotoView360 is integrated and you only need to define colors and appearances once!

[BuseHase]

Render done with PhotoView360. A highres render takes ~7 min on a Ryzen 5 3600. Why would I use Visualize when I can get any stand-alone render engine that doesn't require Solidworks subscription? I hate the fact that I would have to redo all appearances and render settings when leaving SW. PhotoView360 is integrated and you only need to define colors and appearances once!

You have to differentiate between effort and anticipated image quality. For the normal renderings (like the render of the caterpillar) for presentations or something similar, I 100% by your statement. But, when you want to create high-end (or rather high quality) render, you will never reach the same result with PV360 like you can reach with Visualize.

I'm also by your statement, that you can reach some good render with less effort in PV360 and that's what PV360 is made for and for nothing more. Visualize is made for a different or rather higher level of renderings, therefore the big amount of options and settings etc.

I've more than 7 years experience with PV360 (since 2008) and by today 6 years with Visualise, and I would say the better tool is Visualize. But as I said, you have to differentiate between the 2 types of expectations of both tools. In my whole experience with both tools, with PV360 I never reach a level of photorealism like I can reach with Visualize.

But I also have to say that Visualize isn't at the same level like 3Dmax, Blender and Unreal etc..