Capture One vs Photoshop Processing

Hi. Yesterday was my first time processing batch of raw files. I always shot in jpeg, but now I bought 4gb CF card so I had enough space for raw+jpeg, if anything I would have the jpeg files. I tried ACR and also downloaded trial of capture one pro. After few tries Capture one seemed more user friendly and I was getting better results. My question is that with my limited Photoshop skills is it better to do all the processing in capture one and not just white balance and save it in jpeg or just correct the white balance and exposure and the rest edit in Photoshop. I know these programs have different purpose but what I mostly do is just process and post the pictures on the web.
Sharpening in Capture one looks pretty good.

It was great that I had raw files because for some reason I set my 430ex flash instead

+1 1/3 to 2 1/3 so most pics were pretty light. With raw I was able easier to fix it with EC. Plus reading the thread about shooting to the right of the histogram now makes sense to me.

Thanks in advance,
Yan

n/t

yan said:

but what I mostly do is just
process and post the pictures on the web.

Click to expand...

I have been shooting RAW for about 2 and 1/2 years, and using
Capture 1 for the same length of time.

The sort of question you are asking has been posed before, and the
general outcome is that there are two groups of people, and it's
pretty much split 50-50.

Probably there is some agreement that C1 has the better interface,
but Photoshop is fine too, as far as interface. Capture 1 is just a
bit better, as far as interface.

I never use Photoshop for anything, other than cloning out dust spots
in the image from dust on the sensor. Photoshop can do that via the
clone and stamp tools.

But the Photoshop people will always say something like, "but without
Photoshop how can you... ?" ... and it's always something I never
do.

But with Capture 1 I can really do quite a lot. Cropping, putting the
image as black-and-white, white balance, exposure compensation,
changing the contrast, et cetera. It's great.

For me, C1 is enough. Although Photoshop can do more.

The last time I used C1 was when C1 Rebel was released. Since then, I've used Photoshop/ACR. I am no longer well informed as to C1 capabilities. Some of the features I like about ACR and Photoshop are the following:

1. CA and vignetting correction in ACR
2. Curves in ACR
3. Local contrast enhancement in Photoshop
4. Selective color layers in Photoshop
5. Masks in Photoshop
6. Blend modes for Photoshop layers
7. Blend-if function in Photoshop layers
8. Built-in or plugin solutions for lens aberrations
9. Builtin or plugin solutions for noise removal

Like I said, I don't know if C1 has these capabilities, but these are capabilities I use regularly and would certainly miss if my PP software did not include them.

If you don't need these capabilities, then use whatever gives you the workflow you like.

Regards,

jgb

yan said:

Hi. Yesterday was my first time processing batch of raw files. I
always shot in jpeg, but now I bought 4gb CF card so I had enough
space for raw+jpeg, if anything I would have the jpeg files. I
tried ACR and also downloaded trial of capture one pro. After few
tries Capture one seemed more user friendly and I was getting
better results. My question is that with my limited Photoshop
skills is it better to do all the processing in capture one and not
just white balance and save it in jpeg or just correct the white
balance and exposure and the rest edit in Photoshop. I know these
programs have different purpose but what I mostly do is just
process and post the pictures on the web.
Sharpening in Capture one looks pretty good.

It was great that I had raw files because for some reason I set my
430ex flash instead
+1 1/3 to 2 1/3 so most pics were pretty light. With raw I was
able easier to fix it with EC. Plus reading the thread about
shooting to the right of the histogram now makes sense to me.

Thanks in advance,
Yan

Click to expand...

--
Galleries: http://www.pbase.com/jon_b

Photoshop and Capture One PRO - different programs for different tasks.

Adobe RAW converter and Capture One PRO - this is probably what you looking to compare.

For converting RAW to .... TIFF, JPEG.. whatever you need - I prefer Capture One.

I like the result better and it also keep my Photoshop free to work on other things.
Also, I found Adobe RAW algorithm more noisy.

If this is not for your professional work - use whatever you feel works better for you -

both programs are very good - you need just flow with your subjective preference.

This is my 2¢.

C1 to convert, no sharpening.

PS CS2 to do editing of the TIFF

Outoftime said:

C1 to convert, no sharpening.

PS CS2 to do editing of the TIFF

Click to expand...

C1 is really a great converter, especially with the Magne Nilsen profiles.
Color is dead-on, detail is high, and noise is low. I do WB, exposure,
contrast, and saturation in C1. I convert to 16-bit tiffs and "finish"
the files in PS.

I do not sharpen or use noise reduction in C1. I reserve these tasks
for PS, if and when required.

Rob

--
'Don't sneak up on it - surround it'

Simple to do this in bridge at raw format and send the file to PS for final PP.

C1 is a much nicer processor than ACR IMO

I'm starting to like Apeture over CS2 and then final in PS

Does C1 let you adjust the RAW settings, such as white balance, as if you shot with those settings i the first place? Or is it just a set of manual adjustments?

--
Thanks,
http://picasaweb.google.com/picsforum/

yan,

I don't batch convert my RAW images. Instead, I use BRIDGE to cache the RAW files (takes a few minutes) then visually review my images. I do some early culling of the images, deleting the hopeless loosers at this time. When I see an image that I like, I double click the image to open it in the ACR converter. I start from the AUTO settings, making fine adjustments from top to bottom in the RAW converter. When I am pleased with the conversion, I export the image to PSCS2 as a 16 bit TIFF. Then proceed with anything else that needs to be addressed.

Batch processing never made any sense to me. I want the control of tweaking each keeper image individually. It may take a bit longer to accomplish but I think the effort is worthwhile.

If you want to learn more about processing RAW images with ACR, get Fraser's book, REAL WORLD CAMERA RAW. It is an excellent guide to RAW conversion and has lots of good info you won't find elsewhere.

I've tried Capture 1 on two occasions and never could get comfortable with the workflow. I know many on this forum get great results using it, but I am way too happy with PSCS2 and ACR.

All the best,

jim

--
Shoot more, ***** less!
galleries at: http://www.pbase.com/sandman3
photography workshop schedule at:
http://www.pbase.com/sandman3/schedule

Thats the way to do it. Try Apeture for a quick review and simple correcing for potos not needing much processing.

While Canon DPP is fine for color, it's detail rendition leaves a lot to be desired. The RAW processing is more prone to jagged edging in area of high contrast differentiation than C1 or PS.

As a RAW convertor, there are far better choices than DPP.

Thank you everyone for all this info. I am definitely going to pick up a book on raw conversion because i still have a lot to learn.

A lot of people do the basic editing in converters then do sharpening and saturation in PS. The question is that how much of difference would make to sharpen and saturate in raw converter let it be acr or capture one or in Photoshop.
Would you get better quality image?

I understand that converters and Photoshop are two different purposed software but for basic processing both will do the job.

Thanks again,
Yan