Raytrace file size

[JonathanJanacek]

So I just finished running Raytrace on an exterior of a house.  I normally only run 10-15 passes for most of my pictures and notice the file size is never that big.  

So, just to see how "clear" the image could get, I set it to run for 500 passes.  (yes, I let it run all weekend).  

I increased the size to 5000x2378 pixels and increased the DPI to 150. The file ended up at 1.31 mb.  I'm not complaining that it's too big, but rather I expected it to be much larger.  

 

Is that a typical size for a "high resolution" Raytrace?  Or am I missing something?  I'd like to be able to raytrace an image that will look great when blown up to a 30"x24" picture. 

Thanks,

Jonathan J. 

[JonathanJanacek]

Also, what exactly am I gaining by going 500 passes?  Or increasing the DPI?  When you zoom in on the image, there is still a lot of pixelated areas.  

[TheKitchenAbode]

The DPI setting just determines the print size in inches based upon the pixel width & height. Running 500 passes is not likely going to yield a significantly better Raytrace, I find that after about 30 passes the difference between it and say 100 passes is not often detectable. The last time I sent something out to a printer they wanted 600DPI resolution. Based on your 30" X 24" print size you need to change your width to 18,000 and the height to 14,400 and the DPI to 600. This could take a very long time to Raytrace, double the pixels quadruples the time.

 

Graham