M10R = Capture One or Lightroom?

[Shameetman]

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I have not been crazy about the m10r default files from Lightroom. Neither Adobe standard neither de Leica specific profile. I have seen some Capture One recommendations. Before I start installing another system and maybe even invest. Did someone do a comparison on both softwares output?

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[hteasley]

I have used them both, and several others. Lightroom's biggest flaw is it is a subscription: you'll pay Adobe for the rest of your days. C1 is very good, Luminar is very good, I don't get on with ON1. But I favor all of those over LR because LR requires payment forever. That, and the module workflow in LR is not my favorite.

[pgh]

I much prefer C1 and had to pay for it, while I get LR for free and almost never use it.
 

This is all subjective but I feel C1 renders raw files in a different way that is hard to describe but it feels less heavy handed and at the same time I have an easier time making my own presets that give consistently better results. 

I actually prefer the workflow part of LR more and had used it and got on with it well for years but the rendering in C1 was preferable enough I went to the trouble of learning a new program which is very low on my list of things I enjoy. 

Edited June 25 by pgh

[Chris W]

I've used both for the past 18 months, mainly because C1 wouldn't accept Hasselblad files. I tried to love Lightroom for all my images (M10 and X1D2), but I just couldn't.

I think it mostly depends on what you are used to. I've been using C1 as my only processor for probably 20 years. I know a pro photographer who is diehard Lightroom, his M10 (and now) M11 images look stunning, beautiful colours. I don't know how he treats the raw files.

[Dazzajl]

Lightroom is a much simpler interface, conversely C1 gives you options on options on options. For nearly all intents and purposes, you can get to the same place with either so it’s really down to personal preference. 
 

I appreciate that the subscription model of Adobe is a barrier to some people, so that may make the choice for you. 

[frame-it]

6 minutes ago, Dazzajl said:

For nearly all intents and purposes, you can get to the same place with either so it’s really down to personal preference. 

can C1 add blur to a mask now???

[Chris W]

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On 6/25/2025 at 10:03 AM, Dazzajl said:

Lightroom is a much simpler interface

Again, it really comes back to what you started with and got used. I find Lightroom confusing and C1 completely intuitive.

[Deejaybeephoto]

Much prefer using  C1, but as someone has already said, you get to the same place in the end with either C1 or LR (which are the real first division choices for photo editing imo).
As an aside I have spent a fortune (relatively) in the last 5 years buying stand-alone versions and subscribing to C1 - all this and I only get a 20% loyalty discount.  I now subscribe to the LR plan for £120/y for all versions of LR (desktop and mobile) and PS. With discount the C1 subscription is £159/y desktop alone.  With a mobile sub it would be double the price of LR - but still without a PS equivalent included. To buy a C1 perpetual (ie relatively frozen in time) version is about £300 !  Furthermore, I don’t have much confidence in C1 maintaining their prices long term, although this probably won’t bother business studio professionals too much.

[pgh]

53 minutes ago, Deejaybeephoto said:

Much prefer using  C1, but as someone has already said, you get to the same place in the end with either C1 or LR (which are the real first division choices for photo editing imo).
As an aside I have spent a fortune (relatively) in the last 5 years buying stand-alone versions and subscribing to C1 - all this and I only get a 20% loyalty discount.  I now subscribe to the LR plan for £120/y for all versions of LR (desktop and mobile) and PS. With discount the C1 subscription is £159/y desktop alone.  With a mobile sub it would be double the price of LR - but still without a PS equivalent included. To buy a C1 perpetual (ie relatively frozen in time) version is about £300 !  Furthermore, I don’t have much confidence in C1 maintaining their prices long term, although this probably won’t bother business studio professionals too much.

I don’t agree - as much as I’ve tried I cannot get to the same place from LR to C1. If I could, I would stick with LR (as I noted I get mine free and had used it since day Adobe released it long ago, so the incentive is really there for me.)

but also. I am running a now 5 year old version of c1 (c1 20) that I paid for once. Since I am running m10/SL2 cameras it has never once been a problem. I’ve run trials of the new versions and haven’t felt a need to pay for an upgrade yet. 

I’ll upgrade eventually but unless you’re buying new other stuff all the time it’s sort of a myth that you always need the latest software too. When I do I will probably get another perpetual license because the raw processor is for whatever reason just that much better (or you could say different in favor of my preferences). 

for me; both programs have generally usable and learnable user interfaces while different the difference and the only real reason to switch is in the output of the images themselves. 

Edited June 27 by pgh

[Chris W]

On 6/27/2025 at 11:11 AM, pgh said:

 

but also. I am running a now 5 year old version of c1 (c1 20) that I paid for once. Since I am running m10/SL2 cameras it has never once been a problem. I’ve run trials of the new versions and haven’t felt a need to pay for an upgrade yet. 

Really? I find a huge amount has changed in C1 over the past five years. The last couple of updates however have had features I probably wouldn't use.

[Luke_Miller]

On 6/27/2025 at 6:11 AM, pgh said:

I am running a now 5 year old version of c1 (c1 20) that I paid for once. Since I am running m10/SL2 cameras it has never once been a problem. I’ve run trials of the new versions and haven’t felt a need to pay for an upgrade yet. 

If your version of C1 meets the need, there is no reason to upgrade.  In my case the new masking features in C1 (and Lightroom) allow me to do selective processing that was never practical before. For example, I do a lot of shooting in mixed lighting, so a correct white balance for the subject can produce weird colors in the background.  A mouse click produces a mask for the background and allows me to use a different white balance setting.  I find lots of other use cases.

Edited June 28 by Luke_Miller

[Stuart Richardson]

On 6/24/2025 at 9:49 PM, Shameetman said:

I have not been crazy about the m10r default files from Lightroom. Neither Adobe standard neither de Leica specific profile. I have seen some Capture One recommendations. Before I start installing another system and maybe even invest. Did someone do a comparison on both softwares output?

You can try the Cobalt imaging profiles. I had the S3 and did not like its colors in Lightroom, like you, neither the stock ones or the Leica one. It shares a sensor with the M10R, though I am not sure the colors are identical. In any case, it is cheaper both in time/effort and money than switching to Capture One. 

[leicarox]

 

To be honest I don't think you can beat Lightroom Classic especially if you're on the $10/mo plan. For ultimate image quality I prefer Capture One so if I'm having an issue with one in Lightroom for whatever reason I'll bring it over there. You can try Cobalt Image or create a few profiles for Lightroom, or make some custom presets. I've tried every image editor and asset manager out there multiple times and have settled on this combo. 

[pgh]

On 6/28/2025 at 8:21 AM, Chris W said:

Really? I find a huge amount has changed in C1 over the past five years. The last couple of updates however have had features I probably wouldn't use.

That could be but what am I really missing? I don’t do much - I am a documentary photographer and even my art projects go by that ethos. I do some dust spotting and some global toning to files generally and that is about it - I have presets that do this to my preference. 
Most advances I see these days (Ai implementation, more efficient selective editing tools) have to do with things that don’t aid in this process but I’ve admittedly not spent a whole lot of time looking. If it ain’t broke…

Edited June 30 by pgh

[Luke_Miller]

Here is a situation most will recognize where selective editing is useful.  With a backlighted subject the camera metering tends to either under expose the subject (creating a background that is close to properly exposed), or correctly expose the subject (creating a background that is overexposed). In both cases there is unlikely to be a global post processing adjustment that will produce a pleasing image.  In less extreme cases the Shadows and Highlight sliders can bring foreground and background into balance.  But full sun shots can likely exceed the adjustment range of these tools. Masking, whether Ai or manually created, allows one to more easily bring subject and background exposures to proper levels without extreme adjustments.

Previously, since it was so much work, I only used selective editing to "save" an image I liked.  Now that it has become so easy I regularly find cases where it improves the shot.

[pgh]

@Luke_Miller that makes a lot of sense. I can see that especially for events and weddings etc. 

I’ve always used a flash (the SF 40 suffices, gel if need be for background lights of different color sources) for these scenarios where that balance was badly needed, but generally just bias it towards what I’m finding most important and let accept the limits of the sensor fall where they may. I know this isn’t a strategy everyone can afford to embrace - somehow with the ever evolving perfection of high resolution sensors and AI/algorithmic editing I’ve been trying to more fully embrace (to an extent) the real flaws and limits of the moment of capture. I don’t want it to make a picture fail, obviously, so it’s a sort of balance to strike but I digress. 

Edited June 30 by pgh

[FarbSpieler]

On 6/24/2025 at 10:49 PM, Shameetman said:

I have not been crazy about the m10r default files from Lightroom. Neither Adobe standard neither de Leica specific profile. I have seen some Capture One recommendations. Before I start installing another system and maybe even invest. Did someone do a comparison on both softwares output?

I’ve been down that road—wasn’t thrilled with the default M10-R rendering in Lightroom either, especially with Adobe Standard or the Leica profile. They can feel a bit flat.

That said, I stuck with Lightroom and analog film profiles - RNI All Films (v.5, profile-based). The colors are much more natural and filmic, and I don’t feel the need to fight the files.

Capture One does give a different look—some say more “punchy” or crisp—but it’s a bigger workflow change, and not everyone loves its rendering. If you’re already in the Adobe ecosystem, trying RNI demo first might save you some switching hassle.

[jaapv]

On 6/24/2025 at 11:49 PM, Shameetman said:

I have not been crazy about the m10r default files from Lightroom. Neither Adobe standard neither de Leica specific profile. I have seen some Capture One recommendations. Before I start installing another system and maybe even invest. Did someone do a comparison on both softwares output?

Shouldn’t you begin by installing profiles of your choice? Or make your own preferred one? If you don’t like your partner’s cooking will you make a present of a cook book, cook yourself or start an affair? 

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[Shameetman]

I have done a lot of testing over the last couple of days: Capture One has more accurate and richer images compared to the standard Adobe and Lightroom m10r camera profile. They’re more vibrant. To get the same results in Lightroom, you need a lot of tweaking. And from my expierence the vibrance slider in Lightroom can better be avoided. 
 

I don’t think the system is that complicated. Besides that, I find editing color much easier. I like some of the “style” options and I like that you can select them by turning them on and off. 
 

Also tried other profiles in Lightroom, like Jaap mentioned. But in the end I just think the color science of Capture One is great.
 

I have had doubt on the Leica m10r, in another post I have said I liked the Hasselblad x1d much more. Now I think the gap is closing and I can finally start enjoying the Leica as I should. 

Edited July 2 by Shameetman

[Chris W]

It's a hassle at best to get Hasselblad X images into Capture One btw.