Correct HDRI settings?

[bob dobbs]

Hoping this is an easy one. I never understood why the dome light is so much more exposed when visible than the amount of light in the scene would lead me to believe. If the background appears properly exposed, shouldn't a close to white sphere with direct sunlight appear close to white? Is this an issue with the HDRI color space, camera exposure, or is the background (dome light texture visible) not supposed to be the literal brightness? But then my reflections start to get very bright if I increase the exposure to achieve a brighter diffuse.

Should I just bump up the Affect Diffuse amount until it looks right?

Any thoughts appreciated.

[vlado]

Can you post your scene? This result can depend on a number of things, but it's hard to say without taking a look.

Best regards,
Vlado

[bob dobbs]

Absolutely, honored to have you look at it.

I ended up adding a light source for the sun and boosting the Affect Diffuse to 8 to get the look I'd expect. So maybe the issue is with my HDRI exposure?

https://bentimagelab.com/wp-content/.../HDRI_Test.zip

[vlado]

Thanks for the scene, the issue is that the HDR image has really low range, it most definitely does not have the correct intensity for the sun. Adding a separate light source for the sun like you did is the best way to fix it - or maybe just use a higher-quality HDR image.

Best regards,
Vlado

[kosso_olli]

The HDRI does not have any dynamic range. I would call it an LDRI.

[bob dobbs]

Haha! OK, thanks so much for looking into it. I made the HDR and now know that I have much to learn! Appreciate your time.

[joconnell]

Loads of good info on this blog:

http://blog.hdrihaven.com/what-is-clipping/