Interesting list of "Camera Features" in Maxwell Render, erlik! Here we all are geeking out about 9 curved aperture blades for smoother bokeh; while that software lets you pick a nice ugly hexagon if you want it.

I am shocked, shocked, that Mike even linked to this abomination. Why, in the first 3:30 there is bright-ring bokeh in practically every shot ;-) Seriously, this does make me very curious how those lens-focus effects are rendered. Do CG wizards get into shoving matches over which ray-tracing engine is smoothest in the OOF areas?

Isn't it a bit pathetic that today we must plead with manufacturers to give us better-than-f/2 lenses on small, high-quality cameras? This was the norm with so many film models of the 1970s: http://www.cameraquest.com/com35s.htm Admittedly autofocus changes things. Faster lenses mean heavier chunks of glass for the little motors to push around. P.S. Another advantage of fast lenses: A greater range of f/stop choices between full aperture and the smallest ones where diffraction becomes objectionable.