Life is funny.
I read Jack's initial thread and thought to myself "heck, I want the best quality. I use LR, why I never tried C1 ? Well, REALLY tried C1?". He and Guy Mancuso are really into the C1 PRO.
So I downloaded a trial C1 PRO. Bought a new camera ( D800e ) and LR is so-so with its files. So I started fiddling with C1.
I saw "the light" : Jack was right. I understand Guy. This is REALLY different.
However ( I'm on a Mac, not a last gen but a good one ) I never had any crash. Not a single one.
I do miss LR simplicity. I do miss LR way to index, select and tag things. C1 is clumsy.
Funny enough, mid trial C1 PRO launched a campagin 50% off - price was decent, bought it.
Oh man, the interface on this thing sucks. Its dreadfull. The way to catalog & index files and sort them out is pretty much non existant. Its slower. Easy integration with plugins, silver efex or autopano giga ? nope, there isnt any.
But the files.. oh man, the files. They are just gorgeous. Very different.
I went back to LR and try to process the same file and getting them closer. Just couldnt - and please note that I'm using Lightroom since v3. So I'm quite lightroom-savvy.
C1 just have less mimmicks and its less slider friendly - but it delivers.
Since I bought the D800E I was unhappy with the greens on LR. C1 works it out.
The clarity and sharpness are trully fantastic with C1.
Thank you Jack & Guy for "forcing" me to learn ( or its a ongoing process ) C1.
LR served me well with my Leica's ( M8, M9, S2 ) and old Nikon's ( d1x, d2h, d2x ).
But D800e should come with a C1 PRO trial at the very least.
Oh and I'm happy that things improved massively in C1 latest interation