Ahhh... maybe I can help, mdbruffy... : )

It might be a bit pricey ($29.00) considering you only want one tree; but Xfrog's Weeping Willow at Turbosquid includes three versions of a 3D Willow tree, in the following formats:

3D Studio ( .3ds ) (can import to Poser)
Bryce 4 (.br4, .obp)
Lightwave ( .lwo, .lw, .lws ) (can import to Poser)
Maya 5 ( .ma, .mb )
OBJ ( .obj ) (can import to Poser)
Cinema 4D ( .c4d )
3ds Max ( .max )
Vue 4 vob (.vue)

Just a note that the full DVDs of these trees (Xfrog's Basic package) contain 3 versions of 20 species, for a total of 60 3D models for $149.00. So if you use vegetation a lot, and can afford it, you'll only pay $2.48 for one model with the full package.

Hope this is of some use to you!!  : )

Quote - Thought it might be an idea to have a thread where we can post/discuss the best render options for Vue 7 ...I've no doubt that Vue7 has different ways to accomplish the same thing.

Astounding idea!! I have loaded some scenes, atmospheres, etc. in Vue 7, the behaviours of which were familiar to me in Vue 6 -- wondering,  "WTF???"

But then I remembered reading about Vue7's new radiosity engine, etc.
As in most things, improvements = change, and I simply have to learn what to change! :P

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Quote - Good idea!  Vue 7 has really changed the render settings and atmospheres too - so what worked in 6 may need some tweaking...

Absolutely!! It's only a matter of finding how to produce X result with Y version... : )
I'm in for all tips!

Whiners and lazy folk need not apply! lmfao

Quote - ...for coincidence, in one of the images I'm currently working on I'm using poser shaders.
...It's just a WIP - the light is bad, the render quality is bad, the composition is bad, the props are bad...

SHOWOFF!!

Dude, I would SO welcome your "light is bad, composition is bad", etc... render into my gallery if I was able to render something equivalent in quality!

Seriously, though: it shows me how very much I need to improve. ; )
I find your "bad" render extremely lovely in many areas.
And I would love to be able to do a "good" render one day, as good as your "bad"!   :P

Quote - ...I'm glad you like the final result - I havnt been modeling long.

Really?  Now I'm truly jealous!  I tried my hand at modelling, and let's just say... I came up with a good sphere. lmao

Quote - If you, or anyone else, want it too please  site-mail me a regular e-mail address and I'll e-mail back a vob file. It is a bit on the large size -6.6 MB.

What a wonderful offer!! Mail forthcoming!! : D

Quote - Its proportions seem to be OK - I exported an untextured obj file from vue and imported to poser. with a scale of 0.5% Simon sits quite comfortably and his arm fits well on the armrest. 
I may put it (and maybe a poser file) in free-stuff in the near future.

If you add this as a free-stuff item, I can only image the people who will jump on the opportunity to use it! I was very surprised to not be able to find a similar (and suitable) model, anywhere... Yours is exquisite!

Quote - There's also 'ColorCop' which I've used for years....The magnify on the eyedropper is one of those things that I couldn't do without!

SOLD***, to the lady in -- in -- (looks down to see what color I'm wearing, as I threw on just anything today ) -- RED!!

The features are AWESOME!! It's like AColorPicker and Colorzilla combined!
COOL recommendation, thankees!

Quote - Angelsinger,
cue the 64 bit PC build tutorial link in signature! ;)

You made me literally laugh out loud! :P  :P

Yes... yes indeed... Did you not, btw, write a post about a recommended machine at cornucopia somewhere? (Ahhh, nvm! I just searched the Big Corn, and found it here! 

Y'know... I've been keeping my eye on that post, for the time when I will finally get THEEEEE Machine of my Dreams. HAHahaah!!

Your post is most helpful... THANKEES!  ;)

ArtPearl, what can I say? That is ABSOLUTELY beautiful!!

When I first saw thefixer's request, I confess that I looked all over.
I went to sites with freebies.
I went to sites with pay-for products.

Nowhere, and I mean NOwhere did I find any peacock chairs as beautiful as your creation.
I envy your skill! (And LOVE your chair!!!) 

LOL.. wait... it DID work... :P

I mean, changing the association in Folder Options now causes Vue 7 to open the scenes...

It didn't work before because (BIG DUH!!!) -- I was using Vue when I made the change.
After closing Vue, .vue scenes opened in Vue 7. :P

It's extremely coincidental that you mentioned this, ralfakerkhoff. I was considering writing a thread about this... but thought it might seem a little wacko!

Since I have both Vue 6 & 7 installed, when I click a .vue scene, it is opened with Vue 6. :P

I tried to assocate .vue with Vue 7 in the 'open with' list -- but saw the same thing as Flak.

So...lol... the next step was to try to change the association in Folder Options, selecting "VUE File", clicking the "Advanced" button, & editing the "Open" command.

It didn't work...

I usually fiddle with the registry in these cases, but when it comes to messing about with Vue, I am a total coward. I'm leaving it as it is for now! :P :P

Quote - So, conclusions? My conclusion is that there's no universal comparison V6 / V7 because these things are non linear. Some things are faster in one, other things are faster in other.

I understand what you mean.... Thank you very much for that (and for your additional testing!)
Btw, I am envious of your 1m36s & 1m40s times!! (Time for a new comp for me, eh??) 

First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to test the scene, Rutra!

Quote - I couldn't render it in Vue6, for comparison, because the scene was saved in Vue7.

DUH! I should have sent you the Vue 6 version... :O

Quote - ...I disabled the clouds and it rendered in 5 seconds...

Hmmm... maybe this is worthy of a bug report, then...? Because it seems odd that Vue 6 should be able to handle those clouds beautifully & quickly, but Vue 7 drags terribly when using the same exact clouds.  

In short, I thought Vue 7 would be able to not only match Vue 6, but excel it...
I appreciate all your help! At least I now know what the problem is. :P

I should have known it would be you to the rescue! Many, many thanks!

Since I can't remember which atmos I used (it's either a vue6 atmos used as-is, or slightly tweaked), I'll send you the scene. (Don't worry, I'll remove the mat from the ground so there will be no copyright issues)!

In the meantime, I'm going to test your tips & check out the pdf file. (Btw, I'm pretty sure it was your tips I had read before! The bit about the quality slider in the atmosphere settings sounds verrrry familiar!)

Thanks again!

Quote - ...to tell you the truth, I hadn't even searched for it, I guess I just assumed it didn't exist... :-)

LOL... same here! All I could think when I finally learned about it was, "If only I had known about this sooner!"  :P :P

Quote - I'm sorry I forgot to say I was on a Mac.

Dude, Mac comes pre-installed with the Digital Color Meter. (I miss my Mac... he died)!  :(

I thought you were on Windows because (as far as I know), Windows doesn't have a built-in color picker...

AnyHOO, go to your Applications folder -- Utilities -- DigitalColor Meter.
You can discover the color of anything on the screen with this.

Thar' she blows.

I never saw any such thing in Vue, uncle808us... But you can download a free, small utility called Absolute Color Picker. (Windows only, but there is no mention of it being compatible with Vista)... AnyHOO, it uses little resources, so you need not worry about opening it when Vue-ing. ;)

I've been using it for some time, and I must say the screenshots link doesn't do the utility justice. You can choose many viewing modes like these (there are more):

After clicking in the little box with text in it and holding down your mouse, you can drag your mouse anywhere on your screen to get the color codes. It works for anything you see on your desktop, including the desktop itself. :p