I would really love it if I could get 64 bit RGB (4 channels x 16 bits each) render passes out of Poser...any chance or rumors that this is coming soon (Poser 8?) , or possibly even doable now in Poser Pro?

Thanks !

Attached Link: http://www.poserpro.net/New_Index_9000.html

Follow the link.

Then on the menu buttons, open up the section "Rendering/HDRI". Then click on "HDRI Optimization".

Thanks, bagginsbill, 'preciate it.

So I don't know, but it looks like I'd have to output to 32 bits per channel, then dumb it down to half precision elsewhere...I'm pretty sure  Fusion 5 would do that for me just fine. It would be nice to have that option right out of Poser Pro, but...

Hm. I made an assumption that I've now tested and found to be false.

I thought that if you turned on the extra precision, and saved as TIFF or whatever, you'd get prompted for 8 or 16-bit. Doh.

So Poser reads 16-bit TIFF but can't write them. Not what I expected.

Yeah...that's a bit odd, but somehow I'm not surprised.

Save as OpenEXR, that has 16bits/channel.

Maybe a good suggestion, Stewer, thanks. But,  would still have to convert to png anyway...can't get around that extra step it seems. But yeah, the more options, the more chances of making it work how ya need it to.

12/3/08

For those of us who don't know, what advantages to the average user is 16 bits/channel? A long answer is not needed, just a hint?

LMK

More bit depth means more information can be carried, so more aspects of the render can be manipulated . For me, the issue is critical because it's an absolute requirement of a certain proprietary internet render-on-the-fly application. 

Okay, here's an update: I was wrong on that Poser Pro 32 bit output needing "dumbed down" to 16 bits...it actually needs smartened up to 64 bit. (I was thinking in terms of bits per channel)

The terms can get confusing (obviously confusing me for "a bit" there), but now I know with certainty that the file output by Poser Pro is 32 bits per pixel, whereas my requirement is 64 bits per pixel. Thus, no new hope in Poser Pro for me, can't do anything (for my requirement) that I couldn't do in Poser 7.  

Oh, I forgot stewers' suggestion...let me see what I can get out of that OpenEXR format...

Okay, here's the final update (I think)
Poser Pro does not properly import (into the material room) the 64 bit image concerned, so there is no chance that it will work for me. What's happening is that it cannot read the image properly and so the image hue gets pushed way bluer, and much of the gradient nuances are lost as well.
So...I'm off to try to settle the issue of which program I will go with. I'll probably stick with Lightwave for now, because I'm used to it, and there is a decent amount of Poser (assets) to Lightwave pipeline interest / tutes / training out there. In the long run, I'm not sure. Whatever can use nice cheap Poser assets the easiest.