The ceiling-bouncing flashes is not a bad idea, I like it!
Wishgranter is pretty much gone from this forum, so I wouldn’t count on him too much (prove me wrong Milos! 
Also the staff usually doesn’t contribute too much to such discussions.
It really is about experimenting and finding out what works best for yourself. What do you think where Wishgranter got his amazing knowledge from? 
So roll up the sleeves and click those buttons!
Jonathan, I think 16 bit TIF is supported, so that would be the way to go there. Unfortunately, it is only for input, output is still only 8 bit, afaik. So not really much gain there imho. Did I say this in this thread or another, anyway, I think it helps a lot to raise the shadows (blacks) like crazy to give RC more to work with. It can also result in something coming close (-ish) to a delighted image.