The last couple of years we have seen 3D renderers such as Bunkspeed Hypershot and Alias Showcase come onto the market. These products offer Industrial Designers the ability to quickly, accurately and, impressively produce 3D life like product imagery in just minutes, with little technical knowledge or training.
The image at the bottom left was done by me with very little effort in Bunkspeed. A $800 piece of software. I can instantly rotate the model and get any fully rendered view I would like in just minutes. The image at the right is a photograph of an actual physical model fabricated by a prototype model shop. The model shop is employed by master model makers and also equipped with some of the most advance prototyped machinery in the world. Cost of the model is estimated at well over 4 times the cost of the Bunkspeed software (mentioned earlier at $800). To also take into consideration, the image at the right was taken by a professional photographer employed at $75 an hour.
Costs aside, take a look at the images and tell me which one is more believable, accurate, crisper, and nicer looking. I’m gonna have to say the 3D render at the left look better overall.
If you want to throw in environmental concerns, the physical model is exponentially more environmentally impactful than the digital model.
To sum up even further, the image on the left was done by me in 1.5 hours with an $800 piece of software and was done 3 months BEFORE the photograph on the right. So this image on the left was available much much earlier than the physical model on the right could ever be produced.
Studioclues is my personal design blog and portfolio site. Here you'll find great design news, trends, and philosophy. 
