So - I have been using SU Podium for a while and have been happy with my results for quite some time. That being said, I just finished my M. Arch and have not been able to afford to purchase anything else and liked the simplicity of Podium which has allowed me to spend a great deal of time working on design rather than render. And yes V2 came out today and I have been using the Beta for a while and it is great... my issue.

I now work for an old school lighting designer. We do high end residential and commercial (the only people who pay for it) and I am looking for a program which I may import IES lights into to create photo-realistic representations for in-house and clients... My boss has done it by feel for years with a great deal of success and he is quite the artist. Though, I would like to represent the projects before they are brought to fruition. We don't need the most stellar renderings but something that renders fast enough to move with our work flow. We have a very small office and 'have nor care for the man power to have someone rendering all the time.

We use a lot of Sketchup and want a rendering program which works inside. So, I believe Twilight renders IES Lights (imported) and V-Ray as well... and I am sure there are others. Currently I am wondering if V-Ray is worth the time/$... Help:)?