Lightroom vs capture one

[Dsauro]

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How many have switched from Lightroom to Capture one? I am seeing more and more making this switch and wondering who has done that, and whether they stayed with Capture one or went back to Lightroom for raw conversion. I assume that the responders still use Photoshop for localized adjustments. My thought is that, the final printed image should,be the same, all things equal, after photoshop adjustments since Lr and Capture are merely raw converters. Of course many only use Lr or Capture exclusively and stay away from photoshop so this question wouldn’t be for you. For those who have switched, what was the learning curve experience? I have looked at some comparisons and it appears that the initial rendering is a bit more “juiced” in Capture one, while LR is a bit flatter/. But of course this can be adjusted to taste in photoshop with the final product being equal. Or is your experience different in how either program converts Leica DNG files . Thank everyone

[Luke_Miller]

I'm an M system shooter, but have been using Capture One since version 3.7 and Lightroom since the beta that preceded version 1.  I have always liked C1 color better than ACR and Lightroom, but that gap has closed considerably and now with Lightroom 7.3 I could be satisfied with the output from either one. The user interfaces are very different.  If you are comfortable with Photoshop many of the C1 tools work like their counterparts in Photoshop.  Curves and levels are examples.  The tools sets are generally comparable, but there are differences.  No Dehaze tool in C1 and no Structure Tool in Lightroom.  I use Structure a lot, particularly with Monochrom images. Lightroom has a very nice automated tool for perspective distortion, while C1's is manual in operation.

 

I really depend on the Lightroom catalog, which now supports 100K of my images.  So all my work gets ingested into Lightroom.  (The images are not contained in the catalog, just the references to their folder location.) The C1 catalog is not nearly as full featured and does not do many of the functions I use in Lightroom's catalog.  Phase One's Media Pro is much better, but still doesn't do it for me.  After import into Lightroom I either process in Lightroom, or do a second import into my C1 catalog.  My Leica images are almost always processed in C1.  While it might make more sense to run C1 in Sessions mode (and avoid the second import) I prefer to not have the C1 session files intermixed with the images when I do backups.

 

Lightroom and C1 each give me a different starting point after import.  Outdoor shots in full sun have much more contrast in Lightroom  and I have to apply a custom curve to get them to match what I saw at the time I took them.  Indoors in mixed lighting the color shifts (due to different lighting color temperatures) are less in C1. One of the big differences is in how long it takes after import to be able to review and cull shots.  Even with a very fast machine and GPU you have time to go grab a snack before you can review your images using Lightroom.  If I have a lot of images to review I will use FastRawViewer to cull my shots before the import to Lightroom.

 

I've always kept two raw processors, having started in the day when none of them would do justice to all images.  Now it is more a preference thing.  Sometimes I prefer C1 and other times Lightroom.  I could live with either, but if I picked C1 I would have to get a full featured DAM to go with it.

Edited June 16, 2018 by Luke_Miller

[hoppyman]

I haven’t used Capture One since it was initially bundled with Leica cameras so I can’t comment on its performance and features. I find Lightroom compelling first for its digital asset management capability, including duplicating, tagging, organising of files. All of that is vital for me with large numbers of files over some years. In a half day in studio I might shoot 500 to 1500 exposures. I can’t imagine individual handling not to mention being able to find something specific say a year later. The presets option are powerful for default adjustments application. Batch ability for removing sensor dust spots, setting a curve and whitebalance and everything else etc. During developing I can step out to Ps for example for edit tools like layers if needed for example, without leaving the Lightroom workflow. . Finally I find the Print module easiest to use, once you have established profiles for example in Ps. The raw conversion engine in Lr and Ps is the same of course. I should add that my comments are about what is important for me and my style of photography. Someone shooting differently may well have different priorities.

Finally, if you accept the subscription model for Lr you can get Ps bundled with it for nearly nothing.

 

I don’t follow the remark about more juiced conversions in one raw converter though. The default conversions vary I am sure but they are just the starting point for customising the look as you prefer it to be. As an example with the S my DNG files on import have capture sharpening, noise reduction zeroed, medium contrast curve etc applied automatically via a prest

Edited June 16, 2018 by hoppyman

[FlashGordonPhotography]

I worked with C1 exclusively for a couple of years. And dabbled even after I moved to Lightroom. Sometimes I preferred LR and sometimes C1. Since I'm not about to process images twice to see which small difference I prefer I decided to go full LR due to the DAM capabilities and workflow. Now, since C1 doesn't support all my cameras I have lost all interest in trying it again. I do keep a copy of Irident for some Fuji files although with LR updates I need that rarely now too.

 

Gordon

[mgrayson3]

I love C1. I hate LR + PS. But I won't use software that doesn't support my camera. I can work on an image - get it the way I want, and then the next version won't open it? Sure, all software continuity is risky, but there's no recourse with C1.

 

When my only MF was Phase One, I used C1 exclusively. Now that it's the S, I won't touch it.

 

Oh, printing is MUCH better from Adobe. Used to be a total nightmare in C1 - not sure if they've gotten it straightened out in recent versions.

 

Best,

 

Matt

[Stonewall Brigade]

I only shoot RAW with my M10 & Q, and have used Capture One for over 6 years.  Very intuitive to use and does a fine job treating Leica DNG-based raw files.  All of my images (also Olympus & Fuji) here were processed with Capture One:  https://triumph.smugmug.com

[Agent M10]

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I use C1 exclusively with the M and S. We recently published an independent magazine with those cameras and C1and couldn’t be happier with the results.

[Stuart Richardson]

I am nearly exclusively using lightroom for the DAM and printing advantages others noted above. I run a print lab, so in addition to my own files, I take in everything from scans to phones to MFDB files, so having something like Lightroom which can handle nearly everything well is useful. That said, in very limited circumstances, I have found that a more sophisticated raw conversion can be helpful. Raw Therapee is a free and open source raw converter which is difficult to learn and complicated, but does seem to offer better results than lightroom in many cases. I found this is rarely needed unless the photo contains extreme color gamut, moire and aliasing, or other pixel level and color issues. In on instance, I was photographing streetlights in the early evening and the sky temperature was extremely blue...over 20,000K, while the streetlight was around 2000K. Trying to balance properly caused some nasty gamut issues...harsh transitions from yellow to white that caused a noticeable ring around the light of the lamp. Using RawTherapee I was able to change the highlight behavior for out of gamut colors and this solved the problem. I am not sure if C1 gives you that option, but I know that 99% of the time I am very satisfied with Lightroom, and in the 1% of the time that it does not cut it, there are other tools out there.

[glenerrolrd]

Having been a LR user from the beginning ...I have been happy with the results .  As noted above ..the feature set has much improved and the DAM capability is excellent .  The issue has always been ...the raw conversion process.  LR aimed at huge cross section of photographers ..has to balance results against processing resource demands . C1 is targeted for the professional market .

 

 C1 is generally thought to produce the best raw conversions . This comes from more complex and resource demanding conversion algorithms and from better (or at least more complete) camera presets .   

 

I would switch in a minute to C1 if the Leica S DNG was usable .  I understand there are workarounds for the DNG but the C1 software has not been tuned for the S .  Has anything changed ?  

[01af]

The biggest disadvantage of the Phase One Capture One raw converter ist the fact that it's useless for digital medium-format photographers ... unless they're using Phase One backs.

[xiaubauu2009]

The biggest disadvantage of the Phase One Capture One raw converter ist the fact that it's useless for digital medium-format photographers ... unless they're using Phase One backs.

 

 

and those backs, not a MF? I am just picking bones... hahahah They need to protect their sales of digital backs, can't blame them.