but it doesn't seem to take long once you master lighting period.  all the people i've seen who use Maxwell and Vray produce equally splendid renders in Poser or D|S.  it can take a while to render, but if you have a set style and type of light, once you establish those, you're pretty much done with the tweaking.  tweaking is only for those of foolhardy enough to want to keep getting better rather than maintaining status quo.