[Copy of posting from LUF GRD II thread]
Originally Posted by sean_reid
...I haven't tried Lightzone - I'll have to look into it. So far I'm converting in Photoshop. The problem, for me, with picking up new RAW converters is that it takes time to learn them and I'm in the midst of 12 articles...
Sean, LightZone is quite easy to understand in terms of its paradigm. However, making tonal and contrast adjustment by pushing zones takes some getting used to: initially, I felt that I always had to go into Photoshop to finish up with a final Curve tweak, but now can do everything in LightZone. If you're in he middle of testing 12 cameras, you may want to stick with Photoshop.
The other issue with LightZone is that it's written in Java, which means it uses and needs a huge amount of your computer' resources, needs a huge amount of RAM and, at the end of a long edit with many tools stacked up, can slow to a crawl when refreshing the screen and saving files — even with my latest 17 inch MacBook Pro with 2.4GHz Intel Core 2 Duo and 4GB of RAM, of which I allocate one-half to LightZone.
I look forward to your GRD II review, as I have to decide whether to sell my GX100 and my GRD. Although I have the 21mm converter for the GRD/GRD II and shall get the 40mm one my initial inclination is to keep the GX100 for the convenience of the stepped zoom and the ability to switch so easily between 24-28-35-50mm focal length — I hardly ever use 72mm. An important part of the decision will be when I get back to Bangkok next week and see whether GX100 files can hold up for the huge prints (40x52 inches or 100x133cm) that I have been able to make with the GRD, even at ISO 800.
As for the GRD, I'm toying with the idea of keeping to shoot at ISO 200 because that speed on the GRD II may be to "fine" — too exquisite — for me; but it's hard to go back to 14 second file save times after the GX, which takes 3-4 seconds, which is about the same as the GRD II, except that with the latter one can shoot two shoots, one immediately after the other, before the camera writes the two files. But as I've only had the GRD II for only one day it's premature to decide what to do with the GRD and the GX100.
It would be great if you could get the 40mm converter before you do your GRD II tests, because, if it is good, it allows the camera to be used for another type of shooting, even more than the way the 21mm converter does because 40mm-type shots are more different than 21mm ones compared to 28mm. I find the 21mm converter to be spectacular: I put it in the same class as the Leica-M 21mm ASPH, which I think is a fantastic lens.
In any case, with 12 cameras to test, don't run yourself ragged even with Christmas, and it's financial imperatives, coming up.