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Lighting is a complex subject, and important since understanding the way light (and thus shadows) work. An understanding of it can bring more realistic images.
Racer's lighting model
Since version 0.8.17, Racer works in a 'kilolux' lighting mode; 1.0 is 1000 lux. Lux is a common term to indicate the amount of light.
Light metering
There are generic light meters on the market that directly measure light in lux. You can also use a more common camera light meter (such as from Sekonic). I use a Kenko KFM-1100 Auto Digi Meter, which works similarly. It has an option to measure in EV (exposure value). Once you have EV, you can calculate lux:
Alternatively, you can calculate lux from your camera meter, although this is very dependent on your focus mode and such:
Measurements
The light balance between all things rendered is very important. So how bright is the sky, and the sun? Here are some measurements I did with a camera light meter:
| What | Luminance |
| Sky luminance at 12:00 (shade) | 19000 lux (recorded in Holland, latitude ~52, longitude ~5, 19-8-2010) |
| Sun luminance at 12:00 | 60000 lux |
| Car dim light at 0 meter | 29000 lux (13.5 EV) |
| Car high beam light at 0 meter | 41000 lux (14.0 EV) |
Interesting reading material
(last updated November 13, 2012 )