Justan,

Here is a link to a thread that helped me. Lots of great information.

http://ddisoftware.com/tech/qimage-ultimate/what's-qimage-ultimate-max-image-size/msg9483/#msg9483

Thank you for the information Mike.

I have been holding out purchasing Windows 7. Especially after your great review some time back . Maybe it's time to take the plunge. I don't know.."If it ain't broke...."

It still puzzles me how even the little I have in the way of available system memory according to QI (obviously not as much as most others), my programs still worked well after loading everything but the kitchen sink. I value your expertise, so, if you have the time you have a student...or just point me somewhere you trust.

I'm glad my numbers are now up, but I did not have a problem before, other than the low numbers I got from the memory check.

Ray,

Thank you!

I used your boot.ini 3GB switch and immediately increased my numbers:

Start:1073MB
Addl: 482MB
Now: 1073MB

Obviously the 3GB switch that I found on the net some time ago had a flaw.

I already have my swap file 1024MB going to my 2nd drive. My system never uses all of the RAM as it is. At least as far as I know, checking the Windows stats. Don't see the need to increase that. RAM is much faster anyway.

I sure do appreciate you sharing your setting with me. That is the best memory number I have ever had using the QI memory checker.

Thank you again Ray! I am always willing to learn!

Ken

Mike,

My numbers are even worse:

Start:482MB
Addl: 448MB
Now: 482MB

I am also running XP Pro with 4GB Ram & additional 1024MB (on 2nd HD). When I check Task Manager/Performance, the PC never uses even 2GB of RAM. It has been this way for over a year now and my system never crashes.
AMD Phenom II X2 550 3.11 GHz processor.

What puzzles me though, I have tried to crash it by opening:
QIU (loaded with images)
PS
LR
ProShow Producer
Infanview
and several other smaller programs at once to see how far it will go.

With all of those open, I can still print photos from QIU...However, they are not the extremely large prints that some of your clients print. My current limit is 13x19 (Canon Pro9000 Mark II).

I have changed my boot (experimenting) to the 3GB switch which gives me an additional 400MB..Start:883 Approx if I remember. Point is, I cannot get the QI memory number to increase. Not a current problem since it does not affect my work, but if anyone has a recommendation, short of going to Windows 7, I would welcome the advice.

You are probably waiting for Mike or one of the experts to answer you question, however, I just felt a need to give a little input.

I also use other tools for my photography processing, LR, PS, etc. With any profession or hobby, many tools are needed if you desire the best in quality and efficiency. Qimage Ultimate, is not just a printing program. The program in fact, has tools other than printing, that the other programs you mentioned do not have. And much of what Qimage Ultimate does do, in my opinion, it does better than any other program available.

I have used Qimage Studio for a long time and some time ago upgraded to QIU. I am not by any means even approaching being an expert. However, the on-line manual and now the on-line videos, have really opened up a new world of possibilities working with QIU. Since you have worked with many other programs, you know that you do not have to "know" the whole program in order for the program to give you excellent results in what you want to accomplish. Same with QIU. I do not "know" the whole program, however, for how I personally use QIU, no other program can compete.

If you are a photographer looking for the absolute best products to give you a superior final product, or you are looking to gain efficiencies in your work flow, the upgrade to QIU is one of the lowest cost, superior products, available for your photographic needs.

If you take your time, learn as you go, I do not believe you will be disappointed. In addition, I do not own ANY other computer program of any kind, that offers the in-depth, personable, friendly & knowledgeable customer service as DDI Software......give it a try.

Thank you Fred & Owen. I appreciate your comments & support.

I will try the test strip comparrison soon & let you know the results.

And, yes Fred, ProShow is the best. I have used Producer for years. Fantastic results!

Merry Christmas to all of the QI & QIU Family!

Ken

Fred,

Thank you for your response. I have cropped images in QIU many times before; however, for what i do with a multitude of prints, sometimes the workflow works better to crop within LR.

LR is also non-destructive. I have setup LR to go directly to QIU for printing at times, other times to the HD to a "printing" folder for later printing of large batches. All are exported as tiffs.

Since you may be shaking your head as to why I do it this way.. The same photo(s) (cropped) may go to:

1)printing
2)slideshow
3)web
4)CD or DVD

all via LR with a couple of clicks (presets).

Soooo, if I do as explained am I losing anything in print quality? It would save me time if I continue processing as described...however, I do not wish to sacrifice quality.

Thank you again for your help & support.

Ken

I have a question regarding "resizing & cropping" in QIU.

I have always cropped my images in LR then printed them (after specific QIU adj) using QIU. I don't believe that I am losing print quality by doing that. Is my thinking correct?

Resizing is different as I understand it. I always us QIU for that.

I read somewhere in a post that I should only do cropping in QI before printing. Need the experts advice please. Thanks.

Outstanding image Terry!
Love the examples you guys leave for us. Gives us all something to shoot for. Appreciate your work!

Hello Bodtwo,

I am also a QIU & LR3 user. A while back I posted the work flow that works for me using both products. Here is the link if you are interested..
http://ddisoftware.com/tech/qimage-ultimate/qimage-ultimate-works-well-with-lightroom/

Since that post, more improvements have been made to QIU..substantial improvements! I use LR because in addition to posting my photos to a site that has a LR plug-in, I create show DVD's for my clients that also has a plug-in. The time savings just using those plug-in's (for me) is substantial.

That being said, there is NO photo that I process for printing, or special showing, that is not edited and/or printed using QIU! Since I keep allot of photos for potential future use, they are all cataloged in LR. But the select quality photos have ALL been touched by QIU.

Test for yourself. Don't discount the use of QIU because you use LR. Use the best products available for your work. Other than for special effects editing & cataloging/keywording, a serious photographer would only require QIU to obtain the highest quality image! Now with HDR in QIU, even special effects has become a reality! Exceptional value

Mike

Thank's again! The resizable window in the Flash Card Copy/Move dialog will save me time. Much appreciated. Thank you for the other additions also.

I am always experimenting (attempting to save time and increase quality) and I am finding that your editing features in QIU are outstanding. Especially for all general photos and nature/landscape photography.  I am using LR less for that purpose. I have thousands of photos (just like everyone else) and have a need for the cataloging, etc. But man, what we can do now with QIU is causing me some anxiety.

I am going to QIU first (for my select photos), perfecting my RAW photo(s), then saving as a tiff(s) or jpg(s), and importing back into LR. I keep comparing between QIU & LR. The processed results are outstanding in QIU! I still use LR for special effects and vignetting (and portraits). LR takes more effort to get good results (at least for me). LR cannot compare with the results obtained with TTS, printing, and now your HDR combination options.

I now have to work on batch processing in QIU to save time in getting my photos back into the LR catalog.

I will look it up, but are you able to edit multiple raw photos and save those multiples (with the original name) as tiff's or jpgs in QIU? Just not a fan of sidecar files.

Practice will reveal more & more to this QIU novice.

Thank you for the continued improvements.. I will deal with the "anxiety".  
 

Jeff,

Very impressive photography! Watched the entire slide show. Told a "beautiful" story.

Thank you for sharing. Did you use TTS on some of the shots?

Thanks again. Would love to go there someday.

Ken

Thank you very much Mike. Just got back to the PC. Hope tomorrow I can experiment a bit more.

Just looking at your settings will get me out of my, "confined thinking" using QIU. I never imagined using a radius of 8.. for anything. I'm going back to the photos I have already played with and will start again. Conservative by nature I suppose...must expand the use of the tools you have provided.

Can see that QIU can probably be used to extended softening of portrait backgrounds when required. Some of my best portrait shots have been unintended....then the PP softening is required...bokeh effect.

I am always fearful of checking "shadow noise" after using TTS. Does it soften the photo after sharpening? You seemed to use it effectively combined with, -100 strength.

I am still amazed at how well this program works. You never (or at least I have not) experience the "photo shopped" look. The corrections all blend.. just as you remember when taking the photo.

Thank you again. Will gladly attempt to absorb QIU advice from the experts.

Ken

Mike & Jeff,

Would you both mind sharing the settings that you used (TTS, HDR, Fill, Curves, etc.) to obtain your desired results. I understand how each photo we process will be entirely different.

Just curious as to what each of you did.

Both are very nice photos.

BTW..Thank you Mike for the HDR options. Experimented late last night (barely awake) and had a couple of very positive results from some old RAW photos. At least my wife was impressed.

Appreciate your work.

Ken

Impressive detail. Great photos Terry!

I sure appreciate you and Fred sharing how you use the new features in QIU. It helps in the learning curve. Actually, your posting of the various settings you used when TTS was introduced motivated me to try the editing in QIU. Now any photo that is posted or printed has the QIU touch.

Your willingness to share your expertise so all of us can enjoy the highest quality in photography is admirable. Thank you!