Hi 1. I was wondering, which is overall better, DazStudio or Poser 5 (I have both, so price isn't important) 2. I am using Poser 5 to render graphics for video games and stuff, would DazStudio have a faster / better renderer? 3. Is the DazStudio interface a lot quicker than the Poser 5 one? Sorry, I haven't used DazStudio much as I am faaaar more experienced with Poser 5. Thanks :)

It's very much a matter of personal taste. The DS renderer may be faster, but it will depend a LOT on your graphics card. DS works best with Nvidia cards, whereas poser doesn't use the card at all. It will also depend on shadow mapping, reflections, shaders, etc. The interface - I would say DS is definitely far superior, but a lot of people don't agree. If you're used to poser (or if you like non-stardard UIs), you may not like DS. Personally, I find it much easier and faster to use. The simple answer is this. Daz studio is free. Get it, try it, and see what you think. It won't cost you a cent, just some time to figure out how it works. mac

I'll agree with everything mac says. I learned to use D|S first, and I find it much easier to use, and the quality of the renders far surpasses anything I can do in Poser.

Yes I agree with you all! DAZ Studio is by far the best for Renders and it does render much faster. The quality of renders produced by DAZ Studio are way better too ;-) I have Poser 6 but would prefer DAZ even if it was not free.

DAZ|Studio is still in beta, therefore not reliable. I would go for Poser 6.

I would try out D|S first, since it's free; you can always go out and buy P6 afterwards, if you find it "unreliable". Of course, it's always easy to spend someone else's money. ;)

A recent version of DAZ|Studio was found to crash when loading DAZ|Studio-native content, and it killed Bryce 5.5. It's better to wait till it's out of beta.

The problem with native content has been repaired; I can't speak to the Bryce issue because I don't use it. I'm not sure why there's an issue of free vs. upgrade here. Why not have both? You can easily use D|S with most Poser content (except for the dynamic stuff). I've found it much easier to do production quality renders with D|S than P5. However, someone who's used Poser exclusively might not find that to be the case. If you've got the spare cash, go for P6. If not, give D|S a try. No reason to wait.

The point is that D|S is still in Beta. Problems still happen after each new version. Last I'd heard, the Bryce problem is still not fixed. D|S is screwing up other programs. Not good.

As far as I know, it's only Bryce that's a problem because it uses D|S as part of the system. It's not like DAZ|Studio is corrupting other files on anyone's system. If one doesn't have Bryce, it's really not an issue to consider.

i have P5 and D|S and i have to say that once i started really using D|S, its my preferred program. it has some bugs but i feel its a lot less clunky than P5. i havent opened P5 for quite a while now and my desire for P6 has considerably lessened. its considerably quicker than P5 in renders. i used to set up a P5 render and then go to bed. now i dont need to do that. there is a learning curve to getting used to the interface but its not difficult. when going back to P5, i find myself looking for the tools that D |S offers. i guess just like D|S better. ive never been a big fan of the KPT-style interface. and like everyone says - its free! there is also a P6 demo to try now so maybe this will be all moot. :-)

DAZ is better simply because when you export a scene in Poser as an OBJ, you lose the textures sometimes. In DAZ Studio, you do not.

khaan11, i'll put it this way..DAZ Studio = more bugs than windows 98...Poser = More stablr than anything else like it. You pick now which one you want to use ;)

I have both P5 and D|S, and IMHO, even this long after P5's "final release" version, D|S is less buggy. Maybe it's how it performs in the hands of any given user?

PickersAngel, i find it strange how you can say "it's how it performs in the hands of any given user?" considering i am not the only one that says D|S has more bugs than windows. Yes i admit the people at DAZ are doing a great job at finding and fixing the bugs in that program. I will also admit that i have only been using it since late last year and to date i still have trouble with a few aspects of it. One being making clothing or hair stay on V3 or M3, even though i have the head and body morphs..may be something that i am not doing or something i need as well.. CrazyDawg (One day i'll learn to ask for help with D|S ;))

i was all about p5 and i would install then remove D|S because i didnt really care for it until i starting really using it. and yes, there are major differences but as i stated before, once i became used to D|S, poser5 has remained inert on my system. i have experienced the hair thing with aiko 3 but all i would do is delete it, make sure the head is selected and insert it back into the scene (if it wasnt conforming hair) and it fit right on her. also, the render engine (for me) works so much faster in D|S and the 3d space controls seem more natural to me than the P5 tools. my only real complain with D|S is the lighting system and i cannot say that is a problem with the system but rather with myself. p5 has an easier lighting setup - click and go - but D|S doesnt always seem to work the same so going from poser to studio, there is a curve with the lighting. im hoping, as D|S gains popularity, that more people will put out free lights as I hate messing with it! other than that, i havent run into the bugs that other people have. it perfoms consistently for me and i like the library selection a lot more than p5. i always feel like im clicking a million times just to get to the props from the figures. i think D|S makes better usage if desktop space although it doesnt slow when using multiple view panels. i like D|S more than poser but it just feels right for me, for some reason. i am willing to put up with the bugs in this beta D|S than the bugs in version 5 of poser. each has its strengths - im not anti p5 despite how this sounds - but i just like D|S.

yiku, Here's omething that may help you. This is from the help file for a new product of mine (the DS version). Sorry about the product references, but it'll work for any cameras or lights. ------------------------------------- Cameras The camera presets I've included can be added to any scene. They cover some of the more useful views you might need. For example, the cam plug cameras show you a view of the wall sockets. When you morph a plug to fit in the socket, you can use these cameras to get a closer view. I've switched visibility off for all cameras. This doesn't affect the view in any way. It just means they don't keep appearing in the scene. You can switch visibilty on for any camera in the scene pane or parameters tab. Some camera views may not be exact. It will depend on the size/shape of your viewport. The model cameras (especially the head camera) will depend on the height/pose of your model. Remember that you can use the frame / aim functions in DS with any camera at all. Simply select a figure, body part or object in the scene, and use 'frame' or 'aim at' to center it in the camera view. Camera framing - ctrl-f / View Pane - top right icon - Centers the selected object in the document window. If no objects are selected, this action will frame the entire scene. Camera aiming - ctrl-shift-a / View Pane - center right icon - Aims the camera so that it orbits around the selected object. If no objects are selected, this action will aim the camera at the entire scene. Shadow cameras and lights If you go to the camera dropdown menu above the document window, you'll see that any lights you have in the scene are listed there too. Select a light in the dropdown and you'll get the view that the light 'sees'. This view is used to calculate the shadow map, but it's a great help in positioning lights. If you select the flash-head and rotate it, you'll see the light's view change as the flash-head moves. You can use this view to frame your figure in the light's path. You can also use it to see the effect of the Spread Angle slider, which controls the size of the light beam and the area it covers. New lights, cameras and dialog options One of the most useful new functions in studio is the ability to add a new light or camera and position it using an existing light or camera view. Here's how it works. Suppose you have the 0 scene file open and you want to place a light in the make-up room. In the camera dropdown list, select cam make-up, which gives you a view of the make-up room. Rotate/move/zoom the camera to position it where you want your light to shine from. Now click on New Spotlight or New Distant Light. In the dialog box which opens, if you don't have the options showing, click on the 'Show Options' button. In the options list you'll see these two items - 'Apply Default Settings' 'Apply Active Viewport Transforms : ' If you select the second one, your new light will 'see' exactly what the make-up camera sees. In other words, it's in the exact same position as the camera and the light shines from that camera's viewpoint. If you want to check this, go to the camera dropdown list and select your new light, (this is the view the light 'sees' used to calculate the shadow map). It will be almost identical to the make-up cam's view, (there may be a slight difference due to variations in the focal length). This works with any camera, including the default DS cameras or camera views for existing lights. You can set up any camera viewpoint and add a light to shine from that same position. The other options allow you to select items in the scene tab, then add a new camera or light and copy the settings from the selected item. So, if you want to have an extra make-up camera, select the existing one, and choose 'Copy Selected Item : '. The same dialog allows you to name the new item as you add it, or you can rename it later in the scene tab (click it's name and type in a new one). ------------------------------------------------- mac

I have both! I started off using DAZ before I got Poser. Which my pictures look the same if you ask me. So I really don't see much of a differents there. I use DAZ for finding the images that I want, but try to do everything in Poser 6. The problem that I find is that with DAZ, there's an updated version every week or so (which I'm getting tired of re-installing it). I do like the fact that with Poser I can move an object easier then clicking. If there was a way to combine the two would be great.

DAZ|Studio is still in beta, so there is no really fair comparison to Poser.

'The problem that I find is that with DAZ, there's an updated version every week or so (which I'm getting tired of re-installing it)' Yes, I can understand that, but I prefer it that way. At least we users have some say in the development of the program. Most betas are done with a small group of selected people and the public knows nothing until the program is released. At least with DS, we can see it getting better and request features we want. 'I do like the fact that with Poser I can move an object easier then clicking. If there was a way to combine the two would be great' Not really sure what you mean by that, Both poser and DS have exactly the same tools for moving any obect. With the mouse by choosing a tool, or with the dials/sliders. mac