[Radiance-general] Radiance Vs Viz

[Mark de la Fuente]

I've been having a discussion with the people at my office about the
differences between Radiance and 3D Studio Viz & Lightscape.  (They are
used to using Lightscape and don't know anything about Radiance)  And I
was hoping some of you might have some comparison or contrasting
comments on this subject since I'm sure most of you have had some
experience with this sort of discussion.
 
Even though we are specifically talking about Radiance Vs Lightscape &
Viz, I think this is in part more a comparison about radiosity Vs
raytracing.  From what I know, the big problem with radiosity is that it
simplifies things and assumes lambertian reflections.  This is obviously
a deviation from reality, but I assume it's still possible to achieve a
pretty accurate calculation of some sort depending on the situation.  (I
know the person I'm having this discussion with is certainly convinced
you can).  Therefore what I am more interested in, is knowing what type
of calculation you really CAN'T do with radiosity (Viz or Lightscape)
that you could do with Radiance.  Like if I am trying to evaluate the
performance of a light shelf, can I use a radiosity based engine to
compare the differences from one light shelf of material A with the same
light shelf made out of material B?  I mean if material A is matte white
paint and material B is chrome, how could you compare the two scenarios
if the software assumes lambertian reflections?
 
I appreciate your feedback.
 
Mark de la Fuente
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