artBee, you raise many points. I have a lot to do at the moment, but this struck me as odd, if you know how gamma works.

Quote - I have found that when I create a colorcalibration texture in any image format, apply it to a simple object, apply a 100% intensity full white flat lighting and no tonemapping, my render result exactly matches the input when measuring pixel values in Photoshop, whatever the Render gamma value.  

This is not new information, and you present it as if it refutes something or is a surprising result.

Given some image, with the actual stored value in it of x, and GC enabled with gamma=g, the equation of what you just described is:

(x ^ g) ^ (1/g)

Work that out and it is x. In words, it means that in the scenario you described, there can be no variation in outcome, regardless of g, unless g = 0.

The first step, the anti-gamma step, is exactly matched by the final gamma correcting step.

You found no difference because you artificially set up the simplest possible rendering equation, where everything is basically a variant of input * 1 * 1 * 1 + 0 + 0  + 0.

But if you actually use lights, and have surfaces turned, and have to combine diffuse and specular using addition, well things rapidly change.

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