RAW processing with ... Qimage?

[Mike Arst]

I'm on the Qimage mailing list and recently got some mail from the program's author, noting that the latest "Studio Edition" version can used "canned" ICC camera profiles (which he provides for a nominal fee) -- for raw conversions. The e-mail reads in part:

> the latest versions of Qimage Studio Edition have undergone
> major improvements with respect to raw processing, raw photo
> quality, and how Qimage Studio Edition handles raw files, making
> raw processing almost effortless!

I haven't yet upgraded Qimage to this latest "Studio Edition" version and haven't seen its raw-conversion quality. I'd be very interested to know if anyone Out There has tried this approach and if so, how well did it work out? I've used Qimage's editing features only rarely. They seem useful for emergency "repairs" just before printing, but I have never used them to make permanent changes in image files. In my experience Qimage lives up to its claims re: quality of interpolation during printing, especially with its "Pyramid" setting -- and its "smart sharpening" feature works very well. But I haven't ever considered using it as an image editor...

[rdonson]

Qimage still isn't an image editor.  

It does provide global adjustments for images and now does that for RAW as well.  Mike is using DCRAW for the conversions and it does a reasonable job.  It will never be a substitute for Lightroom or Photoshop but it does a good job and as you've stated is much better than either for printing (IMHO).

[Mike Arst]

Qimage still isn't an image editor.

It does provide global adjustments for images and now does that for RAW as well.  Mike is using DCRAW for the conversions and it does a reasonable job.  It will never be a substitute for Lightroom or Photoshop but it does a good job and as you've stated is much better than either for printing (IMHO).
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=225155\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks for the feedback. I didn't think it progressed to the point of being a decent image editor. If ever he decides to make it that kind of program, he's going to have to work a bit on his editing dialog. Well, more than a bit.

I used to struggle mightily to get margins exactly right when printing from Photoshop, when I was printing something where very precise margins mattered (like custom-made greeting cards). I'd have to make one print, see how far off Photoshop was, then manually adjust the margins in the print dialog, then try again. With Qimage the margins are right on the mark every time. Qimage is quirky. It seems to make its own decisions re: image placement until I fight with it a bit, but in the end it always gives up the fight and lets me make the decisions.  :-)