• Redshift – Forum

  Octane or Redshift?

  Posted by joanna on October 8, 2024 at 6:08 am

  Hello,

  I know there are plenty of Octane tutorials on CGShortcuts site. I just wondered if people are using Octane or Redshift which now is a part of C4D? Or any other renderers, like Arnold?

  Dave replied 1 week, 2 days ago 4 Members · 5 Replies

  • Redshift
• 5 Replies

• 

  Dave

  Administrator

  October 8, 2024 at 5:51 pm

  All 3 are very capable renderers, and all 3 work in very similar ways, so you should be able to go from one to the other pretty easiliy if you ever needed to.

  Here’s a few reasons I switched to Redshift:

  1. It’s just as fast (if not faster in some cases) as Octane.

  2. It’s the most popular and widely used Renderer for Cinema 4D at studios around the world.

  3. It’s deeply integrated into Cinema 4D (and is developed directly by Maxon).

  4. It’s a Biased Renderer, meaning it’s very easy to art direct and get the exact look you’re after which is great in a production environment.

  We’re trying to help as many people as we can in C4D so it made sense for us to switch to Redshift (plus we actually find it easier and more intuitive to use)

  • 

    joanna

    Member

    October 11, 2024 at 10:36 am

    Ok, good to know! That makes sense since Redshift comes with C4D.

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  Cristal

  Member

  March 24, 2025 at 2:43 pm

  And… what made me switch too was that Redshift is always updated alongside C4D, unlike Octane. For example, displacement doesn’t work with vertex maps in Octane.

  However, I love how volumes work in Octane—it’s a whole different story in Redshift, kind of crazy! It would be amazing if we could combine the best of both render engines.

  • This reply was modified 3 weeks, 1 day ago by  Cristal.
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  Jazmin

  Member

  April 7, 2025 at 3:24 am

  I guess I’m the odd one out lol.

  I still use Octane. For the specific aesthetic that I want for my projects, I find that Octane gives me that out-of-the-box in fewer steps than Redshift.

  I knew I wasn’t going to be an artist that goes back and forth between renderers so I asked myself a similar question before going all in on one renderer. When I found out all my favorite artists and even the production team behind the sci-fi shows that I loved all used Octane, that was pretty much my answer.

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  Dave

  Administrator

  April 7, 2025 at 3:38 am

  Hey all,

  Love seeing everyone’s input on this—great perspectives all around!

  Like I mentioned earlier, all three (Redshift, Octane, Arnold) are solid options and work in very similar ways, so switching between them isn’t too tough if the need ever comes up.

  Personally, I made the switch to Redshift mainly because:

  • It’s fast (on par with Octane in most cases).

  • It’s widely used in studios, especially for Cinema 4D work.

  • It’s developed by Maxon and tightly integrated with C4D, which makes it feel really solid and stable.

  • It’s a biased renderer—so great for art directing a specific look quickly.

  That said, I totally get what Cristal and Jazmin are saying—Octane has its strengths too. The way it handles volumes and that “instant cinematic” look out of the box is hard to beat for certain styles. And yeah, if your inspiration and dream work align more with what Octane delivers, then that’s a good enough reason on its own!

  Ultimately, it comes down to what suits your style, workflow, and goals best. There’s no wrong choice—just the best choice for you.

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