Exterior vs. interior render times

[red_shift]

Rendering the same model using 'interior progressive' from one view and 'exterior progressive' from another yields TOTALLY different render times. The interior view (with identical lighting and materials setup as exterior) renders reasonably fast. The exterior view takes forever (too long to wait for a result). I am using emitter material applied to a number of spheres and tubes for lighting as well as the sky of course. Any idea why the two would be so very different?

[Fletch]

The "exterior" setting is for Sun and Sky only. Adding any other lights increases render times dramatically with that setting.

If progressive (unbiased) method is preferred for both, I would just use Easy 9 for both.

[Sepo]

Are you saying one should use interior 9 for exterior rendering ?

[Chris]

Exterior scenes are usually lit only by sky and sun. But when they are not, when you have a lot more lights (especially mesh lights), the Exterior preset is not the best choice. You can certainly use it, but it's not intended for that kind of situation. The defining factor is the lighting: sun and sky in a relatively open scene Exterior works fine; lots of lights or a complicated, contained scene, Exterior won't work well even if it is "outside". In that case, the interior presets are much better.

[Ecuadorian]

When using emitter materials on spheres and tubes, always use Preset Easy 09, aka "Interior", no matter what.