Capture One Pro or Lightroom??

I've just upgraded my underwater camera to the EM-1 MkII and of course that means CS6 won't process my raw files.  Not interested in giving Adobe subscription money and I need a new raw editor.  I know I could go DNG but I really don't want to have another file to deal with. 

In any case I know ACR and what to do with it.  I could mine through Adobe's site or buy a retail copy off a third party and it will support this camera, but eventually I'll probably upgrade again and the lightroom path won't be there, so I'm leaning away from that option.

So I have a few questions about Capture one vs ACR,

I use clarity a lot and vibrance on my UW images, contrast is often low and they look a little flat, I assume the C1 version is similar for clarity , what about vibrance?  what's the equivalent feature in C1?

I currently use Breezebrowser for culling (which will need an update quite likely - surprised it didn't need it for my EM-5 MkII) which I plan to continue using.  Presumably I can set BB to launch C1 same as it now launches ACR.  My current thought is to Raw process and launch into PS as I've got a good workflow there that I'm happy with.  Presumably C1 will allow me to launch the converted file into PS?

I see C1 has catalogue capabilities.  I'm pretty casual about by image catalogue and it seems to work out most of the time.  Currently I download images into month folders for terrestrial images and dive site/year folders for UW and cull the RAWs down with BB, then the Raws stay there.  Any processed files are then stored in various folders.  I'm a regular shooter but not a high volume shooter.  In total my collection fits easily on a 1 TB drive.  So my question is how easy/feasible is it to put my very casually organised catalogue into C1 if I wanted to get a little more organised?

My initial thoughts are I could sort the images into subject matter folders or however that is best managed in C1.
 
Anything else I should know about differences in C1 vs ACR workflow?

Chris I moved from Lightroom to C1 more than a year and half ago when I realized that Adobe would eventually go to a subscription model for all their software. Now to your questions:
Clarity - C1 has 2 forms of Clarity the first is very similar to the way LR implements it called Clarity. The 2nd is called Structure which really brings out fine textured detail much better than the way LR does it. Overall I much prefer the way C1 has implemented Clarity and Structure.
Saturation - C1 does not have separate sliders for Vibrance and Saturation. Instead they have a single slider labeled Saturation which works somewhat similar to the way the Vibrance slider works in that low saturation colors are saturated before heavily saturated colors are. One of the things I find when working with C1 is that I use less Saturation than I did in LR. I think it has to do with the fact that C1's color rendition is far superior to LR. As a result I use far less additional color Saturation or Vibrance. Note that C1 is able to saturate or desaturate a specific color with much more control than LR.  The learning curve of mastering the C1 controls is far steeper than LR but once mastered I believe you will get far superior results.
Culling - when I used LR I also used BB to do initial culling, as LR was painstakingly slow in rendering newly imported images. Even after import was complete rendering in to 100% zoom was also very slow. In C1 importation and zooming is a 1,000 percent faster than in LR. Consequently I do all my culling in C1 now.
Cataloging - I was able to import my LR catalog into C1 without losing ratings or keywording (this works only when you have the metadata written to a sidecar file). You are able to keep the same folder structure in C1 as you have it on your hard drive.

Overall C1 is a far more powerful program. However this power comes at the price of a much steeper learning curve. Phase 1 has a lot of very good training videos on their website and YouTube. Take the time (and it will take time) to view all the training videos as it pertains to the major aspects of the software.

I'm sure E. J. will add his insights to this thread as he is far more knowledgeable about C1 than I am. Yeah there are a few things that I like better in LR than C1 but overall C1 software is more stable, more powerful program and it produces far better results.

A lot there so let me start by saying that you can download the full C1 Pro and use it for a month for free so you can test all of this out. There are some really good resources for learning C1P on their YouTube channel as well as the Luminous Landscape tutorial videos starting with C1P v. 7 and then the follow on updates have videos too covering the new features.

As a RAW converter C1P is in a different universe than ACR. It has many many many more things you can do prior to RAW conversion including adjustment layers, adjustment masks, a very powerful color editor, much better lens correction, etc, etc and the conversions are just so much better it's mind boggling once you really learn the program.

As for BB, not sure why you would even need to continue to use that once you convert to C1B but you can use them together if you want. If you do that you will want to run C1P in sessions mode, not catalog mode since in a catalog database you really need to do everything within the program to keep the database healthy. the beauty of C1P in that regard is that you can use it in a LR style catalog mode, a Bridge like folder management style (using a single session), or in a full sessions mode which is not offered by Adobe. From what you describe, it sounds like you are like me and use a structured folder approach which is perfect for a single untitled session method. Bottom line, you do not need to change your folder approach that you have been using at all.

Thanks EJ, though I must say structured is not a word I would use to describe my system, the Raw files are sorted fairly well if somewhat basically, the processed tiffs not so much and they are a bit scattered.

I am thinking more if I decide to go with C1 how easy it would be to put some order in the processed files? It's a mixture of scanned film images obviously without metadata and digital images. some keywords but not too many. If I can get the hang of it i would like to try to get some order in the files so I can find stuff a bit easier. I was using thumbs plus many years back but I basically don't have any kind of DAM right now, never really got into using bridge, found it too cumbersome.

The reason I use BB now is speed and I like the rendering of the images- instantly I can tell if it's worth working on.

You could always set up a catalog system for the TIF and leave the RAW in your folder based approach - the various methods can coexist in C1P

These might be useful:
https://blog.phaseone.com/fast-track-gu ... e-one-pro/
https://blog.phaseone.com/fast-track-gu ... one-pro-2/

EJ,

if you go the Sessions route, does that still allow you to do a keyword/metadata search across all Sessions?  Or must you go Catalog to do that?

Thanks,

Rick

Ranger Rick wrote:EJ,

if you go the Sessions route, does that still allow you to do a keyword/metadata search across all Sessions?  Or must you go Catalog to do that?

Thanks,

Rick

Since I don't keyword I can't definitively answer or test that.  Perhaps somebody else will chime in...

Here is a video tutorial on C1P's keywording facility:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0SlGgRx95U

I have tried various RAW converters over the last few years and settled on C1 since version 9. There is a reasonable learning curve however its not too long before you will find a workflow that works for you. I believe the processed image to take into PS is superior to Adobe's offerings. C1 can now do a round trip to PS and back and still work on the PSD in C1.

As far as searching goes I believe that you can only search in one catalogue or session. They have a good youtube channel detailing different elements and tutorials.

I use Photo Mechanic as my ingestion program as it is lightening fast and can integrate with other programs. I cull and do some keyboarding there, plus star and colour ratings and this can be carried across into C1. As EJ mentioned, give it a go and see how you feel. The article linked below is a podcast from Martin Bailey on his switch from LR to C1.

I still use CS6 for some functions and do not ever imagine not using something in addition to C1 for my work. I have bought Infinity Photo with a view to eventually move on from Adobe when I have to upgrade my computer.
https://www.martinbaileyphotography.com ... dcast-534/

Good luck

Hoppy

The next thing that Adobe is likely to do to in their never ending quest to try to force you to go to CC is to stop validating CS6 and earlier licenses.  You get a new computer, you install CS6, go to activate it and it won't activate despite the fact that they sold you a perpetual license to CS6.  the fine print in any perpetual license says that they own the software, not you and you are just paying them to use it...  Microsoft has done that with old versions of Office (2007 and earlier) to try to force you into the 365 subscription model...

I, for one, will not do business with a company that forces me into a subscription to access my own files.  As such my imaging software includes the following:
C1P - perpetual license version
PTGUI
Helicon Focus - forever license version
Topaz Studio
Nik
Photoshop CS6 (evaluating replacements for future - Affinity being the leading candidate)

I’m just loading up a new MacBook Pro and as I still use CS6 on occasion I was a bit apprehensive when it came to activation. For now it  works.

Imaging Software Preferences might be an interesting thread all on its own.

My list:

Capture 1 Pro
Macphun Creative Kit.
Luminar
Aurora HDR
Helicon Focus
CS6


E.J. I’m intrigued by PTGUI. Can you give us a rundown on what you use it for?

Edit: I forgot Affinity Photo for when Adobe pulls the plug on CS6. 

PTGUI is a powerful panorama stitcher. While Adobe's Photomerge often works, often it doesn't and PTGUI may work in those situations in automatic mode or if not, you can take complete control of the stitching points allowing you to stitch sequences that the automation can't figure out.

Thanks all, believe I'll download the trial version after I return from overseas travel next month and give it a go.

I know this is most likely dependent on current operating system, but as I am Win7 for a while longer, would I be able to use the Nik plug-in with C1 - at least until I learn the program?

Richard

You would use the Nik plug-ins with Photoshop, not Capture One. It has nothing to do with the OS. Both work well with Win 7.

Hi,

I currently use Lightroom 5.8, but when I get my next camera it won't be able to read the files.

At that time I'll buy a different product to replace Lightroom. I refuse to rent my software by the month.

There are several programs out there that are as good, and even better, than Lightroom.

Have Fun,
Jeff

Hi,

I just came across this article at Fstoppers https://fstoppers.com/apps/creative-clo ... obe-200441

Have Fun,
Jeff

Chris,

One thing to consider is if you use Smugmug for any "plug-in" type of activities. My entire site is managed from within LR via a Smugmug plugin for LR which is great. Unfortunately, per DGRIN, currently there is no way to design a plugin for C1. The plugin requirement (as well as seamless transition of LR keywords stored in sidecar files) are a must for me.

Just one more thing to think about (at least for me).

Best,

-- Vivek

If anyone is sitting on the fence about switching to Capture One Pro now is the time.

B&H have a $75 off sale right now.


Capture One Pro

MND wrote:If anyone is sitting on the fence about switching to Capture One Pro now is the time.

B&H have a $75 off sale right now.


Capture One Pro

Excellent timing, thanks Mike. I owe you $75.00.

Cheers
Carl