Interesting how subjective this sort of thing is. The VC looks absolutely stunning to my eyes! The original is too "grainy" and artifically sharpened looking for me. LR is better but VC looks the best. At first glance it might look as if there is more detail in the original than in the VC, but if one picks out any detail in the original, it can also be found in the VC version.
The VC has a lot of subtle detail. The original has virtually no subtle detail! All the detail is very in your face. I'm guessing that's why it does not look as appealing and why the VC looks more natural.
How about doing one with ME (maximum entropy), Mike?
