Grant,
Your observation was a good one. After switching the falloff things look a bit better. I am still struggling with the whole auto-exposure dilemma, though.
I'm trying to design using the actual photometrics of my equipment, and the renderings end up blown out. However, when I use the auto-exposure I get different results from different vantage points.
I am a proficient photographer, and I'd like to see things work the way a camera does. I don't think this is the case. Is there any way to set a relative exposure and lock it in for the renders?
How are others handling this problem?