Just had word from Mike Chaney that he's released QImage Pro 9.0. This innovative image processing application grew from a simple NEF (Nikon RAW image format) converter and print layout application to an almost indispensable tool for digital camera owners. There are so many enhancements I can't fit them in this summary.. see inside for more details.

Click here to download QImage Pro v9.0

Here's an example of what QImage Pro v.90 can do with Nikon D1 images

Original D1 JPEG FINE QImage Pro "D1 JPEG Plugin"
Photoshop Profile-to-profile NTSC->sRGB D1 NEF (RAW) converted to JPEG in QImage Pro v9

New white balance filter: Available in the batch filter, you can enter red and blue bias values directly or use the eye dropper and click on a neutral (white or gray) area of the image to reset white balance. As the white balance filter is applied as the first operation, you can now ensure that the Qimage Pro color profile plugin is working optimally since you can correct white balance before the plugin is applied! Had your camera set on the wrong WB setting for the whole shoot? No problem. Just find *one* image in the entire batch that has a small area of white or gray and use the batch processing capability of Qimage Pro to correct the white balance for the entire shoot at once! In addition, the white balance filter is fully integrated with the Nikon D1 NEF decoder so that your change to white balance is "passed" to the NEF decoder for processing up front in 16 bit space. This ensures optimal performance by setting white balance before final conversion to 8 bit space and before color correction is performed (to ensure perfect color).

Exposure compensation filter improvement: The "exposure" filter has been changed to take maximum advantage of the dynamic range of your images without introducing highlight "blowouts". You can now use this filter without fear of blowing out your highlights!

Image location on page editor: The image location that is displayed as you move an image in freehand mode using the page editor has been changed to indicate the exact location on the page rather than the location within the printable area on the page (older versions). Now, if you want the upper left corner of your image at exactly 2 inches from the left and 2 inches from the top, you can do this with ease. This is great for labels and stickers.

New unsharp mask available via the batch filter. The Qimage Pro unsharp mask blows away the traditional USM by providing an image just as sharp, while producing much less noise and eliminating the edge color fringing found in other USM's. Check out the USM quality comparison in the Qimage Pro News v8.8 link!

New unsharp mask now integrated with Nikon D1 NEF's: When you use the batch filter screen to convert NEF images (rather than right clicking "Convert Images" in the queue), the USM settings on the batch filter override the settings under "Options", "NEF Format Options". Again, this ensures that the NEF decoder does all sharpening in 16 bit color space as the last operation performed on the NEF. It also allows you to associate different levels of unsharp mask to different NEF images.

Complete redesign of the batch filter window: Easier and smoother access to all the filters that you use most, plus the new additions.

Further memory improvements: Qimage Pro now requires even less RAM to run, improving performance and your ability to perform highly memory intensive image operations such as interpolation, etc.

Enhanced error detection (for images, print driver errors, etc): ensures that Qimage Pro detects common problems with images and printers that might have lead to crashes in prior versions.

New help file: completely "revalidated" for v9.0 with new insights on image processing and printing. Online help also updated.