14 DAY TRIAL // Over the years, certain workflows and conventions have formed when it comes to doing things on the computer. Being shaped both by the available programs and technology but also the needs of the users, these conventions pretty much determine the applications we see today and anything that strays from them is either fantastic or incredibly useless. Of course, there will always be offshoots such as the pixel drawing applications and word processors specifically designed for writers, but these are a refinement of the paradigm, not a new one. When it comes to image editing, applications such as PhotoShop are the de-facto standard and nearly all other applications work on the same principles. Because of this, Applications such as LightZone stand out like a sore thumb; the question is: are they better or worse?
What it does LightZone is an application specifically tailored for the editing of digital photos. Unlike PhotoShop or any other similar application, LightZone makes use of traditional darkroom techniques and concepts to offer a workflow and tools that you won't see in other places.
Working with it Touching up photos in LightZone consists of two phases, locating the photo and making the actual adjustments. While normally locating images is a simple step, not a phase, the application has its own browsing interface which you can use to parse through the contents of your drives and locate the images you are interested in. Unfortunately, the ever expanding list paradigm is a bad choice and navigating using LightZone's Browse interface is arduously slow. Instead, you are far better off just using the standard open command and using the Finder's interface to select the image you want.
Once you have selected the subject, it is time to start experimenting and LightZone offers plenty to play with. Unlike other applications, this application has its own tools that it uses and that you won't likely see in other places, both the Relight and Zone Mapper being good examples. The relight tool essentially makes your photo look as if the lighting had been different when you took it. It does this by altering large scale contrast and at the same time tweaking local contrast. The program focuses a lot on the behaviors of the human visual system and gets great results. Similarly, the Zone Mapper tool works very differently from the way Photoshop and other applications do things. LightZone breaks the photo down into 16 grayscale zones, each differing by 50% brightness or half an f-stop from the next. This makes it easy to visualize the exact highlights, midtones and shadows of the image, and each and every area can be tweaked individually. The tools are incredibly different from those commonly found in other applications, but if properly understood they can be used to get fantastic results.
Besides the tools themselves, LightZone comes with quite a number of Styles. These are essentially presets, which consist of one or more tools preconfigured to certain values. While the selection is not massive and the names are not always very indicative of what they do, Styles are a good way to quickly experiment and once you do find something you like, you can tweak it and even add more of the standard tools as needed. There is no limit here and you can apply the same tool with different values as many times as you like.
Mindsets As I have mentioned, LightZone works by using traditional darkroom concepts and techniques. This makes it a perfect choice for people who have worked in such an environment since everything will be familiar and make sense. Conversely, if you are used to working in traditional computer image editing applications, you will find LightZone to be frustratingly different and difficult to work with. The tools will not function in the same way that they do in other programs, or might not even be present at all. What sets LightZone apart and makes it so special is ironically the same thing that will lead to it being ostracized and shunned. This is one of those applications that you will either love or hate with a passion.
The Burden Besides LightZone being a very different application, it also suffers from more objective problems. First, this is a Java application, and unfortunately, it does not dispel all those preconceptions people have about them. It is painfully slow, especially when working with large images and lots of effects. It is even slow when it comes to using the built in interface to browse the content of your hard drive. Even when it is fast, it is still slow, never managing to get close to that 'snappy' feeling you get from other applications. LightZone can quickly become a burden for your computer and any other intensive applications you might have running at the same time will make things worse. Second, LightZone can be quite a burden for your wallet, with its rather high price tag. While traditional photographers might find the workflow enticing enough to actually buy it, for anyone else, the cost of this application would be hard to justify.
The Good
A very special program that brings the dark room into digital image editing. Very different and clearly a much better choice for those used to the traditional techniques.
The Bad
Quite slow and quite expensive, this program won't be to the liking of many.
The Truth
The fact that LightZone is such a different program from other image editors works against it more than for it. The price tag and the programming behind it further make it less attractive than cheaper, native applications. If you find the idea of editing images based on darkroom techniques, give it a try, otherwise, you're probably better off with something a bit more mainsteam.
Here are some screenshots, click to enlarge:
