LightZone provides a unique visual approach to digital photo editing, allowing you to focus on what you want to do with your photos, not how you do it. The software allows you to retouch and enhance photos in a simple and natural way, without the steep learning-curve found in many other software programs.
LightZone является прорывом в программном обеспечении для редактирования фотографий, что позволяет легко редактировать цифровые фотографии и быстро добиться профессионального качества результатов.

From editing RAW photographs or JPEG, TIFF or DNG photos, LightZone is a complete digital image editing application in a single software package. LightZone's intelligent editing features help adjust exposures, boost overall color, correct color shifts and white balance errors, selectively sharpen or blur images or parts of images, remove dust spots and reduce the noise often found in high-ISO digital images.

Она предназначена для профессиональных фотографов и отличается различными подходами к редактированию, заставить вас думать не с точки зрения пикселей или использовать сложные математические понятия, как гистограммы и кривые. В LightZone используется интеллектуальная модель, основанная на физике света и методы редактирования вытекают из опыта фотографов прошедшие через десятилетия - в поле, за камерой, и в темной комнате. В программе заложена методика редактирования фото которой пользовались фотографы до цифровой фотографии.

LightZone предлагает одновременно решение для управления фотографиями и надежный комплект неразрушающих инструментов для редактирования.
LightZone организует инструменты, используемых для редактирования ваших фотографий в Стеки (stack) аналогично "слои" в других программах. В отличие от слоев других приложений, каждый инструмент становится слоем - инструментом стека. (Например, вы создаете "оттачивающий" инструмент, как слой, а не "заточку" существующего слоя.) Это означает, что каждый инструмент неразрушающий и поэтому может быть изменен или удален в любой момент.

Preferences
LightZone has a handful of user preferences that affect how it operates. They are described below.
* Auto Save
Ordinarily when you are editing a photo, if you try to edit another photo, LightZone will present you with a Save alert asking you whether you want to save your work before viewing the preview image for the other photo. Selecting this option will save your work automatically.
* Browser Cache
To operate quickly, LightZone caches thumbnail images of your photos in hidden folders on your computer. The hidden folders can either go in the same folders as your photos ("local") or all together in one location ("global").
* Copyright Preferences
These preferences allow you to set default values for the name of the artist/photographer and the copyright notice when editing the metadata of your photos.
* Direct Save
When checked, using LightZone as the external editor for another application will cause LightZone to save your photo directly back to the other application when you select File > Save.
* Interactive Rendering
This controls when your photo is updated while you create or adjust a region.
All the time: Your photo will be updated continuously.
Between Region Changes: Your photo will not be updated until you release the mouse.
When Regions are Done: Your photo will not be updated until you are done adjusting a region (by clicking outside the region, or by pressing either the return or esc (escape) key).
* LightZone Basic Mode
If checked, LightZone operates as LightZone Basic. (The checkbox is disabled when LightZone is licensed with a LightZone Basic serial number.)
* Memory Limit
This sets the upper limit on the amount of memory that LightZone will use. A high limit enables LightZone to operate faster and smoother; a low limit leaves more memory available for other applications.
* Reset LightZone Settings
Clicking the Reset button will reset LightZone to have its original factory settings. This can sometimes resolve some problems you may experience. Note that after a reset is performed, LightZone must quit.
* Scratch Folder
This is the folder that LightZone will use to store data temporarily while you edit your photos. If you have a fast hard disk, using a folder on it will enable LightZone to operate faster.
* Show Tool Titles
When checked, the user interface shows titles for the buttons; when unchecked, only the buttons themselves are shown.
* Save to Folder
This controls the folder to which your photos are saved whenever File > Save is selected the first time for a photo.
* Save LightZone files as
This controls the format of the image file used when you save your work.

- Camera requirements
LightZone supports every camera ever made using JPEG. LightZone reads JPEG(JPG) files, and most every camera ever made uses JPEG files. In addition LightZone can read specific RAW file formats from all major manufactures for additional image quality.
- RAW file support
Advanced photographers appreciate saving disk space with LightZone. LightZone is the only photo-editing application that edits RAW photographs without the need to convert them.
- RAW
Many digital SLR's and other cameras shoot in a format called RAW. In addition to JPEG, TIFF, DNG, LightZone supports the following RAW formats: ARW, CR2, CRW, DCR, KDC, MOS, MRW, NEF, ORF, PEF, RAW, SR2 and TIF.

Поддержка RAW файлов
Опытные фотографы ценят экономию дискового пространства LightZone. LightZone является единственным приложением для редактирования фотографий, которая редактирует RAW фотографии без необходимости конвертировать их.
Многие цифровые камеры снимают в форматах RAW. В дополнение к JPEG, TIFF, DNG, LightZone также поддерживает следующие форматы RAW: ARW, CR2, CRW, DCR, KDC, MOS, MRW, NEF, ORF, PEF, RAW, SR2 и TIF.

The currently supported camera RAW types are:
Canon
EOS 1D, EOS 1D Mark II, EOS 1D Mark II N, EOS 1Ds, EOS 1Ds Mark II, EOS-1D Mark III , EOS-1Ds Mark III, EOS 5D, EOS 10D, EOS 20D, EOS 30D, EOS D30, EOS 40D, EOS D60, EOS Digital Rebel (300D, KISS Digital N), EOS Digital Rebel XT (350D), EOS Digital Rebel XTi (400D), EOS 450DFlagNew, EOS 1000DFlagNew, EOS Kiss Digital Powershot G2, Powershot G3, Powershot G5, Powershot G6, PowerShot G9, Powershot S30, Powershot S40, Powershot S50, Powershot S60
Fuji
FinePix E550, FinePix E900, FinePix F700, FinePix F710, FinePix S20 Pro, FinePix S3 Pro, FinePix S5 Pro , FinePix S5000, FinePix S5100, FinePix S5200, FinePix S5600, FinePix S7000, FinePix S9000, FinePix S9500, FinePix S2 Pro, FinePix S100FSFlagNew
Kodak
DCS Pro 14N, DCS Pro SLR-C, DCS Pro SLR-N, P850, P880, Pro Back, P712
Leica
M8 Digital, R9 Digital Back DMR, D-LUX 2, D-LUX 3, Digilux 2, Digilux 3, V-LUX 1
Minolta
Alpha-7 Digital, Dimage A1, Dimage A2, Dimage A200, Dimage 5, Dimage 7, Dimage 7 HI, Dynax 5D, Dynax 7D, Maxxum 7D
Nikon
D1H, D1X, D2H, D2Hs, D2X, D2Xs, D3, D40, D40X, D50, D60FlagNew, D70, D70s, D80, D100, D200, D300, D700FlagNew, E5400, E8400, E8700, E8800
Olympus
C-5050Z, C-5060WZ, C-70Z, C-7000Z, C-7070WZ, C-8080WZ, E-1, E-3, E-10, E-20, E-20N, E-20P, E-300, E-330, E-400, E-410, E-420FlagNew, E-500, E-510, E-520FlagNew, SP-350, SP-500UZ, SP-550UZFlagNew
Panasonic
DMC-FZ30, DMC-FZ50, DMC-FZ18, DMC-L1, DMC-LC1, DMC-LX1, DMC-LX2, DMC-L10FlagNew
Pentax
K10D, K20DFlagNew, K100D, K200DFlagNew, *ist D, *ist DL, *ist DS
Ricoh
GX100, GR Digital II
Sony
DSC R1, DSLR A100, DSLR-A200FlagNew, DSLR-A350FlagNew, DSLR A700
Samsung
GX10

System requirements
* Vista or Windows XP SP 2;
* Pentium or AMD CPU w/SSE2;
* 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended)