I have a question though. Am I really editing the 16 bit raw file, or is Paint .NET or DCraw sampling it down to 8 bits in the background?
I'm asking because I do not get a prompt to reduce the colors, but Paint .NET applies changes faster than anything that I've ever used. If I adjust curves, it's almost realtime on a 10+ meg RAW file, and it previews and prints as fast as my other programs do on jpgs (beautifully too, I might add, without whacking out the colors like PSPP11 seems to).
Even at 8 bits, that's simply amazing, but it astounding to consider if it's actually working on the full 16 bits. Other changes are applied very quickly too, even the effects. Either way, it's obvious that Paint .NET is highly optimized.
Thanks again!