gamma correction slow renders

[smashley]

I was suprised to find out that when using a 2.2 gamma correction on 8bit images, the render times almost double. Why would gamma correction within vray be so taxing? It makes me want to render in float from now on

[vlado]

Unlike other render engines, V-Ray takes color mapping into account when rendering. This is because, if you apply a 2.2 gamma to an image rendered in linear space, dark regions of the image will appear very noisy. More samples are required to clean up the noise - which V-Ray does automatically when you apply the 2.2 gamma.

Best regards,
Vlado