Now that Reality 3 is out there, I'd like to know - from those who know and who use them - what are the different options for rendering a Poser scene in something other than FireFly?

There used to be Bryce (I go back a long way), I think Vue can/could, there's Reality3 and Pose2Lux, and probably more.

Which - if any - can take a Poser scene and render it without my having to learn all about that program's shaders, etc.,, blah, blah, blah?

For the most part, I'm happy with what I can get out of FireFly, but there are some images I would like to render so that they look like photos, so render time is not the big issue - it's ease of use and final quality.

BTW: I did see some of the Daz Studio/Reality pictures, but I can't get on with DS4 so that's a dead end for me.

TIA for all your opinions and advice.

The obvious ones are Lux and Octane. I've used Lux but not Octane. Lux takes a long time to render unless you have a compatible GPU, Octane requires a compatible GPU.

As you point out Vue will import Poser scenes although its normally necessary to tweek the shaders to get best results. I would say it does not have much an advantage over Poser for rendering figures realistically (others may disagree on that point).

What type of scenes are you looking to render?

I recently bought both Reality and Octane and I'm really loving Octane.  You'll need a good card though to get the most out of it.  I have a GTX660 and it does a good job. The renders are super fast bit you still get SSS, good IDL etc. Octane is a more expensive however but I'd recommend it over Reality.

Octane?

Gotta Google that one.

As for the scenes I render, mostly figurative but mostly clothed too (no more NVIATWIS pics).

Attached Link: Octane Render Website

There is a Poser plugin for it, so you can render in Octane directly from Poser, but I haven't purchased that, I still just export my scene from Poser then import it into Octane, then assign materials manually(which is where the plugin would save me time).

Now if you wanted to render Poser animations in Octane, the plugin would be necessary.

Vue 10 Esprit up (or with the Import and RenderUp modules) can import Poser scenes and render them.

You can re-pose in Vue and also use the Poser shader tree. Those two features are pretty memory hungry to actually use in my experience... but do work well if enough system resource.

Edit... yeah, what ironsoul said above basically, I'd tend to agree with... 

The Octane plugin does the major work for you in converting materials and when rendered already looks pretty good, but you still have to modify some materials to get the best out of it. Lighting is easier in Octane as in Poser. You can use the Poser lights, but you get the best results if you set up more specific Octane lights (in that respect it is the same as Lux)

There are some limitations in conversion of Poser materials - not only for Octane, but for Lux as well and probably most other external render engines. The Poser material room is very powerful in manipulating materials - but they cannot be easily converted (if at all). Examples are skin layers (tattoes, sweat drops, soap bubbles, etc), UV map manipulation (offsets, positioning, etc), procedurals (skin, edge blend, noise, etc.). But there are ways to get around that, but those are not automated.

Yes, converting materials sometimes takes work. But once I figured out Octanes nodes, I now know it's possible to layer tattoos, etc, on skin, through the Material Mix node, it works just like Poser's Blend node. Most things in Poser can be done in Octane, ya just hafta use yer noodle and do sum figurin' out.

Quote - Yes, converting materials sometimes takes work. But once I figured out Octanes nodes, I now know it's possible to layer tattoos, etc, on skin, through the Material Mix node, it works just like Poser's Blend node. Most things in Poser can be done in Octane, ya just hafta use yer noodle and do sum figurin' out.

Layering can be done, but not in an automated way - there are often too many nodes involved to make an accurate conversion. I have use the mix, material mix and multiply to a great extent - and that works, but it is different for each type of layering. If it involves offsettting the transmap/control map, you are out of luck and have to resort to Photoshop or other program to blend the layers. (example: putting a mole on a face by moving a control map to the correct position).

I've always been very happy with how Vue renders figures, but it does take some time to clean up all of the materials if you're not using the Poser shader tree inside of Vue.  And SkinVue, to me, is a must have.

I'm still working out Reality 3 myself, so I don't really have a strong opinion on it until I work with it more.  A simple portrait has turned out quite nice, but an outdoor scene just wants to be grainy even after running all night.