Thank you for understanding/forgiving, JAG.  Regarding the light emitter box, I also avoid it for the same reason as you do.  Still, for many, it provides a quick and easy fix.  I usually try to nudge up the IDL quality and IDL cache, and increase pixel samples to fix IDL splotch in general.  Hair seems to be a particular issue, I would guess because it is a transparency in close proximity to other surfaces.  So, I've tried adjusting shadow bias too.

     I have an idea regarding violating conservation of light energy.  Previously, I made a Poser model telescope and found that it actually works! - place the camera to the eyepiece, render, and you get a magnified view.  :blink:

     What if we made a Poser model night vision scope, giving the viewscreen a material which intentionally does show (much) more light than it receives?    Hmmm...  I think I'll whip up a model and experiment a bit.  That would be neat for animation, because the scope image would automatically follow movements of the scope.  Imagine a HALO Spartan panning his rifle side-to-side in the darkness, scanning for enemy;  the scope image would change with the change in yaw angle of the weapon.

Poser 12, in feet.  

OSes:  Win7Prox64, Win7Ultx64

Silo Pro 2.5.6 64bit, Vue Infinite 2014.7, Genetica 4.0 Studio, UV Mapper Pro, UV Layout Pro, PhotoImpact X3, GIF Animator 5