Version: 9.5.0
Build Date: 2026.0703
Released: 14 July 2026
Requirements:
Windows: 10, 11
Mac OS: 11.4 (Big Sur) or later
Linux: Centos 7.9 and compatible distributions
Plug-in Connection Requirements:
3ds Max - 2025, 2026, 2027 - Plug-in build 2026.0327 Release Notes
Blender - 3.6.12 LTS and higher (inc Apple Silicon support) - Plug-in build 2026.0324 Release Notes
Cinema 4D - 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 (inc Apple Silicon support) - Plug-in build 2025.0518 Release Notes
DELTAGEN - 2019x and higher, Stage 2019x and higher - Plug-in build for 2026x 2026.0212 Release Notes
Houdini - 19.5, 20, 20.5, 21 (with Python 2.7, 3.7, 3.9, 3.11) (inc Apple Silicon support 19.5+) - Plug-in build 2025.0908 Release Notes
LightWave 3D - 2018, 2019, 2020 - Plug-in build 2022.0513
Maya - 2025, 2026, 2027 - Plug-in build 2026.0327 Release Notes
MODO - 15, 16, 17 (Windows and OSX) - Plug-in build 2024.0318 Release Notes
Octane Standalone: 2024.1, 2025.2 (Windows only) , Plug-in build 2025.0609 Release Notes
Omniverse - Create 2023.2.2 and higher (now called Omniverse Kit) (Windows only) - Plug-in build 2025.0225 Release Notes
Rhino 6, 7, 8 (Windows only) - Plug-in build 2024.0307 Release Notes
Unreal Engine - 5.5, 5.6.1, 5.7.1 - Plug-in build 2025.1225 Release Notes
Maxwell Studio - 5 (Windows only) - No additional plug-in installation required
Patchwork 3D 2023 - Windows - No additional plug-in installation required
SOLIDWORKS Visualize - 2017 and higher (Windows) - No additional plug-in installation required
VRED - 2025.2, 2026 - Additional Plug-in Installation Required Plug-in build 2025.1014 Release Notes
What's New in HDR Light Studio 9 Drop 5
Area Light Improvements
HDR Light Studio lets you create an HDRI map design alongside a set of 3D Area Lights with HDR textures. The Area Lights are displayed on the Canvas to help you understand their place in the scene as viewed from the centre of the world, but they are not part of the HDRI map design itself.
In previous versions, Area Lights were composited into the Canvas image according to their position in the Light List, which could give misleading results. Any light positioned above an Area Light in the Light List could obscure it altogether, or change its colour and appearance. Importantly, this only happened on the Canvas - the actual lighting of the scene was never affected.
To make working with lights on the HDRI map and Area Lights clearer, we have changed this behaviour. In HDR Light Studio 9 Drop 5, the Canvas now always draws Area Lights on top of the HDRI map design, regardless of their position in the Light List. The draw order amongst the Area Lights themselves is determined by their distance from the origin.
See how the full map blue colorizing light is not affecting the color of the area lights on the Canvas.
New buttons above the Canvas let you show and hide the HDRI design and the Area Lights independently. This means you can work on the HDRI map design without the distraction of Area Lights covering the map, or isolate the Area Lights to work with those. Irrespective of the display status on the Canvas, the HDRI design and Area Lights will continue to light the shot. Additional buttons have been added to show and hide the Light Selection Handle and the Lat-Long Overlay Guide Lines. These are all available from the Canvas menu in the top menu bar.
Display toggle buttons - from left to right: HDRI Map Design, Area Lights, Light Selection Handle, Lat-Long Overlay Guide Lines
Area Light display turned off
HDRI design display turned off
Improved Zoom Region Tool in Render Views
You can now drag a rectangle of any proportion, and that section of the image will be fitted into the view.
Improved Zoom Tool in the Streaming Render View
The view zooms into the region of the image where the cursor is placed. This also applies when using middle mouse scroll.
Bug Fixes:
•Fixed numeric values being read incorrectly on systems using a comma as the decimal separator, which could dramatically alter any decimal value in a project (light sizes, positions, and more). The 'C' locale is now forced so decimals are always read as periods.
•Reversed the order of the pop-up Light Selection list in the Render Views so that it matches the Light List order.
•Holding CTRL while dragging and dropping a preset onto the Canvas now creates the light as an Area Light. This feature had stopped working following other changes in HDR Light Studio, and is now fixed.
