depth of field noise\grain

[greg]

is there a specific way to control noise or grain when using depth of field (DOF) in mental ray? is it tied explicitly to image sampling?

[bart]

It is typically tied to the samples taken in the lens shader. Sometimes this is exposed by the shader UI and sometimes not.

You might notice a Phenomenon the wraps around a default of 4 samples in the physical_dof, for example.

[greg]

in max DOF is typically controlled by the "Multi-pass effect" setting on the camera itself (or in the render parameters for perspective views). there are no sampling controls for either..

looking around in the .mi includes (max 2009) i noticed an "Arch: DOF/ Bokeh " shader and a "Physical Lens DOF (physics)".. are these intended to be used for DOF?

[bart]

yes, the bokeh is the more modern of them, and that is what I'd recommend

[greg]

thanks, bart!

edit: fyi, the Arch: DOF/Bokeh shader is still hidden by default.