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Carrara 5.1 Pro, how would you rate it to other renderers?

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#1

Im still in the look for a good renderer and Carrara 5.1 pro has caught my attention when seing its low cost and results from other users. I though Id ask here as im using it with zbrush 3 but also have Hexagon 2 and Poser 7.

Carrara pro 6 is out soon and looks to be a good alternitive to XSI as it has what looks to have a decent hair system.

I Ask that you please only vote if you have used, or viewed each program for their capabilities, not to vote for how popular they are.

This is a perchasing time for me so its going to be Lightwave, XSI foundation or Carrara. I added more to the poll for additional options.

Im looking to render realism.

Thanks for your input.

#2

I have the program ( thank you Daz).
The best recommendation I can make is to
look at the work(s) on this forum of Marcel and Boozy Floozie, whom
I believe use Carrara.
The ultimate question is of course, the work you will be doing
with it.
Illustration, definitely, but if it moves, Mental Ray etc.
Luck

#3

I will be doing mainly still images but aiming for photo realism. I mite get into the animation later on but im sticking to the modling and producing art.

Mainly characters but cars and motocycles also. I actualy should have included MODO as well as the renders in that are my aim, quality wise.

#4

I am a fan of hdri lighting.
If you will be rendering cars, sooner or later you will be giving
Hdri a chance.
Carrara, Maya, Max, Poser, Vue of the programs I have support
it.
The quality of the renders using this form of illumination is unequal.
I do not know if your other choices support this feature,but
I would look into it and use it as a criteria for elimination.

Sorry I cannot speak for the others

Edit: you have Poser, Carrara supports the importing of Poser files.
This was not mentioned by you but is a fact worth noting;)

#5

Thanks bicc39 for your replys.

I use HDRI all the time and yes it certainly brings some realistic lighting to the scene. Poser 7 does a nice job using it, but the renders just dont come even close to the likes of MentalRay, and I wouldnt expect it too either.

It apears that Carrara it much better in the render department than poser but the interface in Carrara it much much easyer than Lightwave and XSI for quick results. Im checking out the demo today of Carrara.

I suppose what Im trying to do is make sure that after I get it I dont then find out that it has problems with Zbrush or its missing some important features needed for realistic rendering that im not fully aware of yet.

#6

i tested carrara 1 week ago. its strange, it has everything what a 3d app need(s) but you feel the low/middle class imho (the manuals arent correct or complete, havent found any good tutorials). i´m not a render geek but nuthin beats the mental ray misss fast skin shader. and of course the light stuff is nice, too.
xsi foundation(mental ray) for 500 bucks is unbeatable. the only downside is that xsi and/or mental ray arent user/artist friendly :stuck_out_tongue:

#7

problems with Zbrush or its missing some important features needed for realistic rendering that im not fully aware of yet.

AS a side note, a few months ago I was trying to import Displacement maps
from Zbrush into Carrara and posed a how-to question here.
If I remeber correctly Mr. Marcus Civis replied and told me how to do it.
Would appear from this and what I have done that zbrush works well with
the “other kid”.
Have not tried anything major with the new zbrush but looks lilke all
is about the same.

#8

Be careful not to get sucked in on the hair system. I asked some questions about it, and got nothing but silence. As you probably know, hair tends to be non geometric in the best interests of system resources. The problem with this is that it often comes with a compromise when it comes to rendertime.

The compromise is often that the hair can’t cast or recieve shadows, sometimes it won’t show up behind transparent objects, and in some cases, it will not show up in reflections. I asked about this, but like I said, I got nothing in reply.

I have to say, Carrara 6 PRO does look like a VERY capable studio, and at the current offer it’s an absolute bargain. But if hair is important to you then perhaps you should tread carefully. Still, they do offer a 30 day money back guarantee, so I suppose it can’t hurt to try.

Hope that helps :slight_smile:

#9

I am positive I read that the hair does cast shadows and is reflected as well.

If I remember where I read it I will post here.

Look at the pictures here. You can see that it is casting shadows on the skin of the model.
Under Sneak peek Item 5 and also number 7 - The shadow cast on the wall. While youa re at it watch the dance video near the bottom.

http://forum.daz3d.com/viewtopic.php?t=63703

Still trying to find the reflection info I saw.

Look at the last image under item 7. you will see the hair IS reflected in her straps. :smiley:

Cheers

Mike R

#10

It seems from using it today that its very easy to get around but a bit limited from my fist looks. Right out the box its producing nice looking renders but there seems to be little control over the shader setup. Poser 7 has far more control with its node tree setup. Unfortunatly Poser 7 dont produce the goods unless your a expert in node setups.

Carrara pro 5 demo is very limited on what shaders you can demo so im a little dissopointed. Id rather have a 30 day limit of the full version with a water mark on. I dont seem to beable to point a camera at a target and have the camera folow it, should I choose to move it, this isnt a huge problem but somthink I was getting use to in Lightwave. I know you can point a camera at a target but it dont stay locked to it.

The textures apear very week for some reason. The brightness of the texture is full and I can see much els to tweak. It would apear that this program is target at a novice user while trying to attain quality results.

The specular is called shinniness which made me laugth but my smile soon went when I saw that I again had no control, just one sliter 0-100. I can see that I can add a texture map so at least it looks like I can you spec maps.

It has a nice set of premade scenes and shaders but its a shame that it dont let you go any further into producing them ,so it seems?

Like every new program, you have to spend some time to get to know its strengths and weekneses. I hoping that im wrong in some of the areas iv looked so far as it looks like id have to rely on presets with very little scope to create my own shaders.

#11

Choose your camera then on the top right choose modifiers. Click the + and choose point at. You then have the option to choose what item you want the camera to continue to look at.

Shaders may seem limited but I can assure you they are not. :smiley: I will need tos ee if I can dig out any info on the use of shaders. You can build multilayer shaders with as much complexity or simplicity as you want.

Each item in the shader tree can have multiple layers inside them where you can use Operators like Additive, Curve Filter, Mixer, Multiply, Overlay or Subtract.

Its difficult to explain how powerful the shader tree is but if you come onboard and you need some help I am sure there are plenty of folks only too willing to lend a hand.

Now to the question you posed at the beginning.

If you want an all rounder for very little investment then Carrara is a no brainer.

Is the render quality up to the standard of Modo? Put simply no. However there are plenty of Carrara users who dont say much but sit in the background simply smiling and continueing to earn their money using Carrara.

Currently Carrara is around $200 (Sale finishes on the 14th) so in that price bracket the others cant compare and you do have a 30 day money back thing from Daz.

Cheers

Mike R

#12

:confused: 14th you sure? If so id better get ordering as once that offer has gone that will be it for me.

#13

The 14th is what was said on the forums. I will double check and post here.

Take a look at the first three chapters of these videos to help you get a quick overview of Carrara. These are about the best video tutorials for Carrara 5 pro at the moment.

http://www.vtc.com/online-tutorials/Carrara-5-tutorials.htm

It might explain a bit more about the texture room although I have not actually watched it myself.

Cheers

Mike R

#14

Ahh thanks, all good stuff, glad you mentioned about the sale ending the 14th as I would have been gutted if I had just missed ii not knowing. Dont supose you have the link to wher it says the 14th just to double check.

The VTC training are very good, I had joined then a while back and done a few courses on there including Hexagon athough I new 90% of what was shown, it was a good refresher.

#15

Go to this page… http://www.daz3d.com/i.x/shop/itemdetails/-/?item=4315&cat=331

Look at the top right. It says Save 50% through 8/14/2007

This link is to someones Gallery on Renderosity. Not too bad.

http://www.renderosity.com/mod/gallery/browse.php?user_id=70257

Cheers

Mike R

#16

plenty of Carrara users who dont say much but sit in the background simply smiling and continueing to earn their money using Carrara

Could not have said it better.
One final note, somewhere on DAZ’s site there is a link to a very
good textbook about the program.
If you wished to save money in the beginning, same general book
is out there for previous versions.

Will end my endless commercial here.
Best of luck, whatever your decision.

#17

:smiley: Well due to the last min rush on that ending sale I ordered the pro boxed version. I also go the plat club as that works out cheaper plus there huge discounts on other bits n bods. It worked out £118 uk pounds which is a huge discount.

Now im going get my head down and do some learning.

:+1:

#18

I already owned Carrara 5 standard but at that price I had to get the second copy as C5 Pro.

Remember that C6 has things like absorbtion etc added to the shader tree for more realism in glass and water etc. So plenty more to come I would think.

Cheers

Mike R

#19

Would you mind sharing the info on how to get displacement maps to work correctly in carrara 6 pro?

#20

Carrara Pro has problems with its memory managment which limits to how far you can smooth for render time. Iv had the latest patch for Carrara, and once you get he memory allocation error a restart or Carrara is needed to continue.

Carrara pro 6 only uses 8bit displacments which is why you may not get the best quality detail. As for micro displacments, well your lucky if Carrara dont crash on the spot using shader sub d.

If your having problems just getting a displacmnet to show at all then I can help if needed via video.