Ok I didn't realize the render in Maya is 8-bit....Once I rendered a frame in Qmaster I was able to get a 16-bit image out....so Duh on my part and much thanks for the suggestion....

I still have banding but I will play with the quality settings now that I know how to get it out of Maya at a higher bit depth...

I think the problem lies in the Water Light Decay setting of the Physical Fog (Water).

Because if I set the Water Light Decay to zero...banding is not an issue...

The problem is without using the Water Light Decay I am unable to create the same underwater effect.


Here are my settings if anyone wants to see if they can get rid of banding with these settings

https://dragonflystudioproductions.com/envwater.jpg