Thanks everyone for the replies. To the first post, it is not a matter of me deciding for myself. I need to first know if someone else has used it, then if they tell me their experiences with it. Perhaps I can make a decision based on what they think the product is capable of.Because I've seen Lux in action, and it looks great. But I've also seen Fire Fly in action too, and it can also get good results when done right.

I also had to ask because of money reasons. I've heard that Lux/Reality 3 does take awhile to render. I always thought that had something to do with settings, memory, or the type of computer that was using it.I've seen people get quick renders on youtube with it. Granted I don't mind using Firefly. I just wish I understood how to use the Environment sphere to reflect the lights. I've tried using it many times and have never gotten the results people claim that it can get. And I've done plenty of renders on Deviant Art without the use of Gamma Correction and managed to get half decent results. So I guess I'll just keep doing retries until I get something right.

A learning curve doesn't really bother me as long as I can grasps the concepts quick. For instance if someone said "Position a Point Light here, and Put the spot light there." Then that would be easy to keep in mind. I've used light sets that would come with 15 or more lights just to get the look that is advertised. And I'm thinking "No way" I don't want to figure out what each of those lights do and half the time their not even positioned in the right spots to give me the results. That means I have to adjust their position. All 20 or so lights. And that takes up a lot of time when you're just guessing versus actually knowing where to position all of those lights.

One question I've always had about IBL is does it matter which direction the three arrows within the circle are pointing? I usually point the arrows facing the figure.