OP author here! > I don't think the stated goal of PBR is to be indistinguishable from reality for a similar observer. At least, I have never seen this stated

OP author here! > I don't think the stated goal of PBR is to be indistinguishable from reality for a similar observer. At least, I have never seen this stated anywhere. I’m, admittedly, highly biased as I work for Wētā FX, a high-end visual effects vendor. We have been developing for over a decade a spectral renderer, i.e. Manuka [1], whose design principles and philosophy are aimed at recreating how a motion picture camera, its lenses, filters, and even colour science, image the real world so that we can integrate virtual cg elements into plates as if they were part of the original photography. This hopefully gives some context to your quote. Whether we are successful at this is a different topic but this is a core business offering we are hired for. - [1] https://www.wetafx.co.nz/research-and-tech/technology/manuka/ https://www.wetafx.co.nz/research-and-tech/technology/manuka...