Open the render options window and check 'Open GL'. DS will now do renders in a few seconds. With this option unchecked, it's doing ray-traced renders, which take a LOT longer. There's also an option to render in a new window at any size you want. Don't import the flamingo. Go to the Content Palette and click on the button that says 'studio alpha'. You should see a list of your Runtime. Go through it and find the flamingo cr2 and just double-click to open it. If you save any scene with in DS, it will save as a .daz file (native format) One more thing - To save any render you must add the extension to the name, like 'myimage.jpg', not just 'myimage' DS seems funny at first, but it works fine once you know what to do. Most of us had the same problems at the beginning. The posts here and at the DAZ forum will probably cover most of the things that puzzle you. It's worth looking through them as well as reading the manual. mac PS Before you ask.... part of the manual is missing too!