High-Quality Capture
Export your framed Photo mode view as a crisp, print-ready still image up to 8K resolution.
HQ Capture works with all render styles. Photo mode captures benefit most from the higher quality settings.
High-Quality Capture is only available in Photo mode (the Photorealistic render style). Switch to Photo mode and frame your shot before opening the export dialog.
Choose resolution
Select from the available resolution presets:
- 1080p (1920×1080)
- 2K (2560×1440)
- 4K (3840×2160)
Custom width/height can also be entered. Higher resolutions take longer to render.
Set anti-aliasing quality
Choose the anti-aliasing level:
- 1× (no SSAA) — fastest, suitable for quick previews
- 2× SSAA — renders at double resolution and downsamples, eliminating most jagged edges
- 4× SSAA — renders at 4× resolution, highest quality edges at the cost of longer render time
Set progressive rendering passes
Increase the rendering passes to further improve quality — especially for soft shadows, ambient occlusion, and plant foliage. More passes reduce noise but extend render time. For most deliverables, 4–8 passes is a good balance.
Choose output format
Select the output format:
- PNG — lossless, supports transparency, best for compositing
- JPEG — smaller file size, no transparency, best for sharing
- WebP — modern format, good compression with quality
Render and save
Click Render. A progress bar shows rendering progress. When complete, the image is shown in a preview. Click Save to File to download, or Copy to Clipboard to paste directly into another application.
Apply a color style (optional)
Expand Color Style and pick a Mood — No adjustment, Natural, Warm Afternoon, or Cool Morning — or upload your own .cube file. Use the Strength slider (0–100%) to blend the grade with the ungraded image — a setting around 60–80% usually produces a natural result without over-saturating the scene.
Choose an output format
Under Format, select PNG for a lossless image (best for further editing or printing) or JPEG for a smaller file suited to email and web sharing. PNG is recommended whenever you plan to composite the image in another tool or include it in a deliverable PDF.
Start the render and save
Click High quality export to begin, or use Quick Preview for a fast Standard-tier draft. A progress overlay tracks each render phase: preflight, vegetation build, scene ready, accumulating samples, finalizing, and encoding. The entire process has a maximum budget of 5 minutes. When complete, the finished image opens in a preview — click Download to save it or Copy to paste it directly into another application.
8K resolution (8192 × 6144 pixels) requires significant graphics memory and can take a couple of minutes to render. Confirm your framing, color style, and background-blur settings at 2K or 4K first, then re-export at 8K only for the final delivery image.
For fast client drafts, use the Standard quality tier at 2K. Switch to High or Premium at 4K only for final deliverable images. This keeps iteration quick while reserving render time for the shots that matter.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Export HQ button is greyed out — why?
The button is only active in Photo mode. Make sure the active render style is Photorealistic (Photo) in the Presentation sidebar. The button will become clickable as soon as Photo mode is active.
What is the difference between Standard/High and Premium/Ultra/Cinematic?
Standard and High use raster-based progressive accumulation (16 and 48 samples respectively), which is fast and produces clean results for most scenes. Premium, Ultra, and Cinematic switch to a path tracer that simulates physically accurate light bouncing, soft area shadows, and global illumination. Path-traced tiers look significantly more realistic but take much longer — plan for several minutes at 4K and above.
My render timed out before it finished. What should I do?
The maximum render budget is 5 minutes. If a path-traced tier (Premium, Ultra, Cinematic) times out, try dropping one tier (for example, from Cinematic to Ultra) or reducing the resolution. At very high resolutions with the path tracer, 4K and below is the most reliable choice.
Can I reuse a color style across multiple captures?
Yes. All export settings — resolution, quality tier, background blur, and color style — are remembered between captures within the same session. For consistent grading across a project, upload your own .cube file once and it remains available for all subsequent exports.
PNG vs JPEG — which should I use?
Use PNG when you plan to composite the image in a design tool, include it in a deliverable PDF that will be printed, or when the scene has large uniform sky areas that JPEG compression tends to artifact. Use JPEG when file size matters and the image will only be viewed on screen, such as in an email or web presentation.