The plug-in in its current state is made for users who used a SweetHome3D.l4j.ini file, a Linux launch script or Jar command lines to change the photo renderer properties.

In this thread , Emmanuel Puybaret gives some explanation about those properties.
And you can find information on caustics here .


Here are the definitions of the quality parameters given in the PhotoRenderer.properties file:
* Minimum and maximum antialiasing used to compute image

* Global illumination algorithm: "default" or "path"
- "default" uses ambient occlusion during day hours in virtual visit mode
- "path" takes much longer to compute but gives more realistic view at day hours

* Maximum bounces done by light rays when global illumination "path" is used
- Increasing this value greatly slows down rendering process

* Caustics photons count, with 0 producing no caustics
- If different from 0, should be higher than 1000000 to obtain some visible effect

* Shader used to render shiny materials: "default", "glossy" or "silk"
- "default" uses silk shader at high quality level and in virtual view mode, glossy otherwise

* Focus distance in cm when depth of field is used

* Lens radius when depth of field is used
- A bigger value produces a narrower depth of field