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Capture One vs. Lightroom

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leighton w

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Have any of you switched from one to the other? If so, what were your reasons?

For the record, I'm a die-hard LR user but there are a few things in Capture One that look very interesting. I consider myself quite proficient in LR now, so I don't know if I'd make the change. What are your thoughts?
 
leighton w said:
leighton w wrote:

Have any of you switched from one to the other? If so, what were your reasons?

For the record, I'm a die-hard LR user but there are a few things in Capture One that look very interesting. I consider myself quite proficient in LR now, so I don't know if I'd make the change. What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
I am a LR4 user but got and used the trial version of C1. In my view there was nothing in the full product to justify the cost and the Express version was lacking some of the functionality that I would want. On top of that I did not see any improvement in my edited images beyond what I could get in LR4 so I have removed C1 from my system.
 
leighton w said:
leighton w wrote:

Have any of you switched from one to the other? If so, what were your reasons?

For the record, I'm a die-hard LR user but there are a few things in Capture One that look very interesting. I consider myself quite proficient in LR now, so I don't know if I'd make the change. What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Been using CO for years. I think is easier get good skintones, and it's to manipulate with these as well. Beyond that I find the way CO applies contrast and so on more pleasing than LR (or ACR for that matter). I can't get used to the workflow of LR, but it's logical enough.

Just out of curiosity, what are the few things you mention you like in CO ?
 
christiangrunercom said:
christiangrunercom wrote:
christiangrunercom said:
leighton w wrote:

Have any of you switched from one to the other? If so, what were your reasons?

For the record, I'm a die-hard LR user but there are a few things in Capture One that look very interesting. I consider myself quite proficient in LR now, so I don't know if I'd make the change. What are your thoughts?
Click to expand...
Been using CO for years. I think is easier get good skintones, and it's to manipulate with these as well. Beyond that I find the way CO applies contrast and so on more pleasing than LR (or ACR for that matter). I can't get used to the workflow of LR, but it's logical enough.

Just out of curiosity, what are the few things you mention you like in CO ?
Click to expand...
 
I used LR from v1 to v3.5 and then switched to C1 v6, because I thought that it produced better looking images with less effort. I still think that with C1 v7 and the latest ACR, although the difference may not be as great as it once was. I have always found that it takes a great deal of tweaking in ACR to get images that pop. However, I recently switched to Photo Ninja as my raw convertor of choice. It does not have all the bells and whistles of LR and C1, but in terms of IQ, it leaves the others in the dust. Just download a trial version, spend about a week learning its intricacies, and you will see what I mean. If you like what PN does with your photos, you can still use LR for file management, local adjustments and printing, if you so choose. I use Photoshop, but that is a personal preference.




Rob
 
Robgo2 said:
Robgo2 wrote:

I used LR from v1 to v3.5 and then switched to C1 v6, because I thought that it produced better looking images with less effort. I still think that with C1 v7 and the latest ACR, although the difference may not be as great as it once was. I have always found that it takes a great deal of tweaking in ACR to get images that pop. However, I recently switched to Photo Ninja as my raw convertor of choice. It does not have all the bells and whistles of LR and C1, but in terms of IQ, it leaves the others in the dust. Just download a trial version, spend about a week learning its intricacies, and you will see what I mean. If you like what PN does with your photos, you can still use LR for file management, local adjustments and printing, if you so choose. I use Photoshop, but that is a personal preference.
Click to expand...
Actually that is similiar to my story as well. I used LR from 3.1 through 4.2. Then I downloaded the PhotoNinja trial and felt that it produced better images than LR4, although I still only use it with problem images since, for normal images, I still like to use some of the functionality missing in PN.

I don't much care for its license terms since it requires a fee for updates past one year, but I suppose that is not so different from the way Adobe handles updates. Once LR 4.X was available there were no more LR 3.X updates at all.

However I do miss a dedicated PhotoNinja forum. It would probably solve a lot of usage problems for me.
 
Last edited:
Jim B (MSP) said:
Jim B (MSP) wrote:

CO7 is much improved over CO6. But I do not like and will not use the new catalog function.
Click to expand...
I did not remember when I first responded to the OP but, after checking my emails, I realized that I had installed C1, version 7, but never got the chance to test it because it began crashing on my system when I tried to run it.

I filed a crash report with PhaseOne software but they never responded to the crashes with any helpful information so I uninstalled it. I had not had a chance to test it due to the constant startup crashes and I had not pursued it with any vigor since I had not found version 6 to be any improvement over Lightroom.

I can easily believe that something on my system caused the startup crashes but assume that, since I had installed it and then uninstalled it, I can no longer run the version 7 trial. If it is that much better than version 6 perhaps I should contact PhaseOne and ask if they will permit another trial period.
 
MikeFromMesa said:
MikeFromMesa wrote:
MikeFromMesa said:
Jim B (MSP) wrote:

CO7 is much improved over CO6. But I do not like and will not use the new catalog function.
Click to expand...
I did not remember when I first responded to the OP but, after checking my emails, I realized that I had installed C1, version 7, but never got the chance to test it because it began crashing on my system when I tried to run it.

I filed a crash report with PhaseOne software but they never responded to the crashes with any helpful information so I uninstalled it. I had not had a chance to test it due to the constant startup crashes and I had not pursued it with any vigor since I had not found version 6 to be any improvement over Lightroom.

I can easily believe that something on my system caused the startup crashes but assume that, since I had installed it and then uninstalled it, I can no longer run the version 7 trial. If it is that much better than version 6 perhaps I should contact PhaseOne and ask if they will permit another trial period.
Click to expand...
If you're within the original 60 day window you can reinstall it and it will work for the balance of the 60 days that remain.

I've been testing it and feel it's grossly overpriced. Although it has more features at this point, I don't see the results as being any better than Photo Ninja. YMMV.
 
miketuthill said:
miketuthill wrote:

I've been testing it and feel it's grossly overpriced.
Click to expand...
That was my original thought.
miketuthill said:
Although it has more features at this point, I don't see the results as being any better than Photo Ninja. YMMV.
Click to expand...
Actually I think that statement is quite a complement since I think that PhotoNinja is an extraordinary editor. It's functionality is limited but what it does, it does very well indeed.

While I still use LR4 (I need some of that missing functionality) I use PhotoNinja whenever I am not happy with the LR4 results.
 
MikeFromMesa said:
MikeFromMesa wrote:
MikeFromMesa said:
miketuthill wrote:

I've been testing it and feel it's grossly overpriced.
Click to expand...
That was my original thought.
MikeFromMesa said:
Although it has more features at this point, I don't see the results as being any better than Photo Ninja. YMMV.
Click to expand...
Actually I think that statement is quite a complement since I think that PhotoNinja is an extraordinary editor. It's functionality is limited but what it does, it does very well indeed.
Click to expand...
I would qualify that by saying that PN has better highlight recovery and it takes less effort with PN to get acceptable results however, in the absence of PN and at a more reasonable price, I could see myself working with CO.
 
miketuthill said:
miketuthill wrote:

and at a more reasonable price, I could see myself working with CO.
Click to expand...
Yes. Me also. But US $300 seems like a lot of money for the functionality that is provided. Especially since LR is about $150 and PN about $86 (or at least that is what it cost me).

I don't know if there even is an Express product any more but version 6 Express was missing some pretty basic stuff as I remember and the full product was just too expensive. I thought it too much when I got the half-price offer for version 6 with its (I think) $75/$150 price tag.

LR4 also seemed easier for me to use although I did like the UI layout.
 
I love what it does for single image conversion, but I work a lot in batch. I hope that PN gains that, because that would make it perfect!
 
MikeFromMesa said:
MikeFromMesa wrote:
MikeFromMesa said:
Robgo2 wrote:

I used LR from v1 to v3.5 and then switched to C1 v6, because I thought that it produced better looking images with less effort. I still think that with C1 v7 and the latest ACR, although the difference may not be as great as it once was. I have always found that it takes a great deal of tweaking in ACR to get images that pop. However, I recently switched to Photo Ninja as my raw convertor of choice. It does not have all the bells and whistles of LR and C1, but in terms of IQ, it leaves the others in the dust. Just download a trial version, spend about a week learning its intricacies, and you will see what I mean. If you like what PN does with your photos, you can still use LR for file management, local adjustments and printing, if you so choose. I use Photoshop, but that is a personal preference.
Click to expand...
Actually that is similiar to my story as well. I used LR from 3.1 through 4.2. Then I downloaded the PhotoNinja trial and felt that it produced better images than LR4, although I still only use it with problem images since, for normal images, I still like to use some of the functionality missing in PN.

I don't much care for its license terms since it requires a fee for updates past one year, but I suppose that is not so different from the way Adobe handles updates. Once LR 4.X was available there were no more LR 3.X updates at all.

However I do miss a dedicated PhotoNinja forum. It would probably solve a lot of usage problems for me.
Click to expand...
I make my living teaching people to use LR (college professor where Adobe rules the campus) -- gotta make a buck. When it comes to my own personal photos I've used C1 for some time since it's IQ mops the floor with LR.

I paid for the C1-7 upgrade (rock solid and no crashing on my Win7 system) and found it to be an overall improvement. IQ again superior to LR4. Bottom line; with enough effort you can usually get what you need out of a raw converter but why fight a bucking bronco when you can ride a thoroughbred -- C1-7 trots it home.

About the same time that I ponied up for the C1-7 upgrade I downloaded the PhotoNinja trail. Ten days later I paid for the PhotoNinja license. IQ from PhotoNinja is astonishing -- performance is astonishing. PhotoNinja is a tour-de-force effort by Picture Code and it kicks LR's butt all over the floor. In terms of IQ PhotoNinja may be the best raw converter available hands down with C1-7 stunned and limping in second. LR was left far behind around the last turn.

Time for a reality check: I have the luxury of not doing this for a living. I have six raw converters installed on this system right now. I can be as fussy as I want. If I had to get up tomorrow morning and pay the bills from the work that came out of my camera and computer I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to select LR as the core application to manage my workflow -- there is no other contender because in the end it's not just about IQ, it's about getting paid at the end of the day.

Joe
 
leighton w said:
leighton w wrote:

Well I started this thread to get comparisons on C1 vs. LR to see what I may be missing. But it looks like I'm now going to have see what Photo Ninja is all about.

Thanks for all your thoughts guys!
Click to expand...
If you do download the trial version of PN pay particular attention (IMHO) to the linked Illumination slider in the Exposure and detail adjustment section, the Residual noise and detail in the Luminance Noise Reduction section of Noise Ninja 3.0 and Show tool/Auto Align in the Distortion and geometry sections.

The linked Illumination slider, when the link with exposure is set (double arrow) allows illumination of the image without danger of losing highlights.

The Show tool/Auto Align allows you to straighten edges that are curved due to use of an UWA lens. You can use this to create a unique lens profile for any camera/lens adjustment

NoiseNinja 3.0 is significantly better than NoiseNinja 2.0 although I have found that their default value for Residual noise and detail is set higher than necessary. I normally can lower it almost all the way to 0 when I turn on Luminance noise reduction.

Some of the stuff these guys have put into PN is very, very clever and very, very good. If, and when, they add some of the missing stuff (spot healing, batch processing and a better lens distortion profile adjustment) I will drop LR and PhotoNinja will become my main processing software. I hate to sound like a shill but I like it that much.
 
MikeFromMesa said:
MikeFromMesa wrote:
MikeFromMesa said:
leighton w wrote:

Well I started this thread to get comparisons on C1 vs. LR to see what I may be missing. But it looks like I'm now going to have see what Photo Ninja is all about.

Thanks for all your thoughts guys!
Click to expand...
If you do download the trial version of PN pay particular attention (IMHO) to the linked Illumination slider in the Exposure and detail adjustment section, the Residual noise and detail in the Luminance Noise Reduction section of Noise Ninja 3.0 and Show tool/Auto Align in the Distortion and geometry sections.

The linked Illumination slider, when the link with exposure is set (double arrow) allows illumination of the image without danger of losing highlights.

The Show tool/Auto Align allows you to straighten edges that are curved due to use of an UWA lens. You can use this to create a unique lens profile for any camera/lens adjustment

NoiseNinja 3.0 is significantly better than NoiseNinja 2.0 although I have found that their default value for Residual noise and detail is set higher than necessary. I normally can lower it almost all the way to 0 when I turn on Luminance noise reduction.

Some of the stuff these guys have put into PN is very, very clever and very, very good. If, and when, they add some of the missing stuff (spot healing, batch processing and a better lens distortion profile adjustment) I will drop LR and PhotoNinja will become my main processing software. I hate to sound like a shill but I like it that much.
Click to expand...
_+1

I would just add that in cases where unusual colour shows up due to aggressive highlight recovery there is a colour recovery Strength slider in the Color Correction section that can be reduced to back off on the colour.
 
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