Pandora <pan### [at] pandora-softwarecom> wrote:
>     I think there is a need in POV for a more realistically modelled 'area
> light' (for the want of a better term) and John's Photon Challenge images
> neatly demonstrate why

  Uh? Photon mapping is more efficient with area_lights because you have
better control on how many photons are shot from it. Also AFAIK the photons
are shot randomly from the entire surface of the area light, not from the
individual point lights in it, thus getting actually a better result than
with a grid of point lights.
  Any artifact you may see is produced simply because too few photons are
shot, which is remedied by fine-tuning the photon mapping parameters.

  By the way, I added an entry about area lights to the povQ&T page.

-- 
#macro M(A,N,D,L)plane{-z,-9pigment{mandel L*9translate N color_map{[0rgb x]
[1rgb 9]}scale<D,D*3D>*1e3}rotate y*A*8}#end M(-3<1.206434.28623>70,7)M(
-1<.7438.1795>1,20)M(1<.77595.13699>30,20)M(3<.75923.07145>80,99)// - Warp -

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