Yeah, I tried the headlamp and that wasn't it. Sooo strange. Here is the exact procedure from an empty project in DAZ Studio 4.8

1. Load Genesis 3 Female ( the blank one from the starter kit )
2. Applied "Jeane All MAT" which was in the library. I assume from the starter pack?
3. Add a point light ( which turns off the headlamp ).

I was lead to believe that it was a surface parameter issue when I added a primitive cube, and it was shaded dark as expected, so it wasn't the headlamp or lights in general.

And that's it. turning off the headlamp did not work. I'm pretty sure it's the ambient setting in the surfaces since ( once exposed after importing the other MAT file ), turning the ambient setting down to zero worked perfectly. I'd just like to do it without the hack.

I'm sure there is a simple solution. I'm just new to Daz Studio and unfamiliar with all the little nuiances :)

LadyGodiva