E.J. Peiker wrote:
Finally, we know what the loyalty discount is in their new model. For a perpetual license the $299 upgrade price to the new version out in October is 40% for those that have upgraded religiously over the years. That actually puts the price lower than the old $199 upgrade price. This discount goes up by 20% each year meaning that after 5 annual upgrades (clock started in 2021) you get the 5th one for free. I still think their model is unnecessarily complex but at least in 2022, they did continue to update, upgrade and add camera models throughout the year and did not make you wait for the next full release to realize these.
New features in the version due out in October that are being teased include AI masking which is supposed to reduce complex mask making time dramatically and dramatically improved tethering. The first could be big for nature photographers depending on how well it works, the second one not so much.
Well, I had purchased C1-23 before February 2023,- precisely back on November 27, 2022 and thus have been eligible for updates and new features until September 30th, 2023 according to their new timetable with the period therefore actually being shorter than the free upgrades for 1 year, that they claimed elsewhere in the new policy, btw. Nevertheless, I just updated to C1-23 v16.2.4 without problems which obviously still is the current version. However, it's October 22 now and there's still no release date of the new version on their site - only teasers but no concrete list what to expect in order to take an informed decision to buy in time before the discount of 40% possibly gets halved. Until recently I had not got the code for the loyality program either, originally announced for February 2023. But it's shown in my account now. So that's ok.
Anyway, first of all I need to decide if I buy a new perpetual license in advance to get 40% discount - or wait until the new version actually is released and the new features are effectively known. However, if the release date is delayed after Nov 27, 2023 (see above), I will get only 20% discount. Moreover,if I stay with the perpetual model, I will have to pay for a new license again once new features (with a new dot-version) are released or/and if I purchase a new camera.. And so you'd have to pay for upgrades several times a year if you want to stay up to date with new features (and stay on a perpetual license). Also, updates with bug fixes (.x.x releases) are only available for free until the next .x version is released.
I've been a loyal C1-customer for more than 40 years and since have purchased all versions except C1-22..But I fully agree with the opinion of the former Phase One VP Kevin Raber you had linked above. When Adobe switched to the subscription model there was a furious reaction of many users,me included. Many photogs pointed at PhaseOne as an alternative and praised them for standing with the perpetual model and loyality for their photographers' base - in contrary to Adobe's approach. But in consequence of Adobe's change, I already was sceptical at that time as for C1's future strategy and have said it thereafter many times :- It's just a matter of time until they go the same route. Of course, you can object that C1 currently still gives you the option of a perpetual license while Adobe does not. However, their pricing and update/upgrade strategy makes it totally clear that they want to drive you on the subscription route. Locking out all perpetual licence holders from new features while offering them only to the subscribers in kind of a two-class system is a clear proof of their goal, and very poor "reward" and depreciation of their long-time paying customers. I bet that the perpetual model will be skipped completely before long - once they have tied the majority of customers to the subcription, at least. Therefore, in my opinion, the current alternative is probably just a transitional step. Beyond that, the new model is much more complex and intransparent. I had to read their edits, price lists, and descriptions carefully and repeatedly to (hopefully) get it. There are still traps and intransparencies, though.
At first glance, you are certainly better off with the subscription model compared to the perpetual license in terms of costs and features for now, as C1 naturally intends. I personally don't want to be tied to more and more subscriptions and to be dependent on life-long rental models for all my work, though. Additionally I've lost faith in C1 regarding their hypocritical "loyality" to the customers as pointed out above, also in their promises and offers, i.e. to switch back to a perpetual licence at a discount (or for free after 5 years of subscription) once you want to terminate the subscription. I also don't trust in the statement that you can keep your current perpetual license (working ??). They easily could change their mind, raise prices for the subscription, introduce new programs etc. And as Mr Raber mentioned, nobody knows how long C1 will be around to get the loyality program to work. The company isn't as big as Adobe and can fail taking the wrong approach. The monthly subscription rate (amounting to 18,25 €/month here) is already significantly more expensive than Adobe's Photo plan - while C1 has offered less improvements in the last versions,- for nature photographers, at least. Of course, nobody knows, if/when Adobe will raise the prices, too, after the increasing implementation of AI. But I think we have to admit, that Adobe's pricing was fair and unchanged over many years now - contrary to the assumption.while C1 has considerably raised the prices for the new perpetual version every autumn by offering not much more in the past 2 or 3 releases. That said, CaptureOne's IQ in processing has been the big plus and superior compared to LR, IMO. Beyond that, many experienced photogs agree that Adobe is specifically inferior for Canon's RAWs regarding profiles and noise. Seems Adobe and Canon are no good friends for whatever reason..That's one reason why I had paid the annual prices for the perpetual C1 license which included all updates over the year and no limitations, at least. And I haven't used LR for post processing up to now. But things may change, and there are other options, too. I haven't decided yet if I can come to terms with the changes - or need to give up on C1 completely after all and look elsewhere . In any case, I am very disappointed with C1's strategy of confusing with complex charts, options and numbers, probably to conceal the main goal, which is only to milk the customers, disregarding THEIR loyality included..
Wolfgang
