Understanding PhotoView 360

PhotoView 360 uses CPU resource however SOLIDWORKS does require GPU to display the model in the graphics area. When you fire a render the model data is first transferred from SOLIDWORKS to PhotoView 360. Once PhotoView 360 process begins it then uses the CPU resource.

When working with any rendering application we usually tweak the settings to get the final output as required. This article will help you to briefly understand some commands and settings that will be helpful while rendering.

 Modes: Preview, Final and Integrated preview these are the three modes in PhotoView 360. The preview and integrated preview mode are similar and helps to preview the render before final render. When you are tweaking around some settings use this mode as it consumes less computation resource.

There is also a region render option available now this helps you to render specific region. This is helpful when you have modified the appearance of a component in a large assembly.

Tip: When you are in these modes (preview and integrated preview) if you mouse hover over the model the rendering is conducted around that region.

There are certain options like Bloom, Direct Caustics etc. are only available in Final render mode.

Render Quality: This is under menu PhotoView 360 > Options. These settings are for two modes; Preview and Final render. These are Good, Better, Best and Maximum. ‘Good’ takes less time than ‘Best’ or ‘Maximum’ to render.

The below table helps to understand the differences between these quality settings.

The below example the good quality image is bit darker while the maximum quality image is more smooth and you see what’s inside of the pot.

Good Quality

Maximum Quality

The effects of these settings are noticeable with Final Render mode. It is usually recommended that Preview Render quality should be set to Good. This is because when final render the model, PhotoView 360 initially creates a preview render and then Final render window appears. So if both the render quality settings are set to ‘maximum’ then it will require double computation resource.

Gamma effect: When the images look like below faded that indicates the Gamma is set high. Gamma settings are under PhotoView 360 Options.

Gamma 5.4

 Gamma 0.6

If you want to make the dark appearances in the render look more dark set the Gamma to less and the image output will be as below.

Lights: There are two type of light settings available one for SOLIDWORKS and PhotoView 360. By default PhotoView lights are off and turn them on to view the effects on the Final Render output. There is no option to turn them on all the time best way is to do that in the part template.