Replace LR with Capture One

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My question is can I replace LR with Capture One? What do I loose, what do I gain? I also do not look forward to the "re-edit" of the thousands of images within the LR Catalog.
Any guidance you can offer is greatly appreciated. Thank you, Charles

I used Adobe since ver 3 and dumped all things Adobe a couple of years ago. Wanting to shoot tethered in some cases, LR is pretty good at it, Capture One is better. But Capture One is hugely expensive and I am not a professional photographer with photography income. I have become familiar with many alternative (Windows) software solutions and have reached the following conclusions:

On1 Photo RAW is my choice for editing RAW images, shooting tethered, catalog-capable, and general editing. You may be using LR for your catalog so remember you have to consider that in your decision. On1 Photo RAW has the best/easiest masking features of any out there! On1 Photo Raw has great price/value.

I like Luminar as my now-let's-get-really-creative editor and my workflow is often On1 Photo Raw > jump into Luminar > return to On1 Photo RAW.

I have tried Affinity Photo (lacking a little in RAW and masking) and has no catalog, no tethering.

I found DxO Photo Lab 4 Pro (near best for RAW editing) not as easy/fluid to use as On1 Photo Raw, excellent denoiser, no tethering.

Good luck with your search.
 
Thank you, I am on a PC and I have experienced some issues with LR 6. But with the old computers I can copy and cobble together and it is working, the only thing that does not work is the mapping, but that does not affect my workflow. That is one of the reasons that I am looking for an alternative.
 
I'm another vote for C1P. I was at LR 6 stand alone and was falling behind in features that looked useful, but I was not going to the subscription model. I looked around and settled on C1P. I'm very happy with it. I also went to iMatch, the digital asset manager to catalog my ~50k images which I also like. Try the 30 day trial and see if you like it.
 
My question is can I replace LR with Capture One? What do I loose, what do I gain? I also do not look forward to the "re-edit" of the thousands of images within the LR Catalog.

Any guidance you can offer is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Charles


There are some free versions of C1 for different cameras - Fuji and Sony when I last looked. They might work with your camera too so you can then play with it to see if it suits you wihout having to pay. IIRC they do a subscription or perpetual license.
 
Since 2019 I’m using Photo Raw, it is easy to use, you can apply masks and layers during editing directly on the Raw file and save Tiff / Jpeg just at the end of the process. In a single tool you have the main functions of both LR and Photoshop and you do not pay a monthly fee (you purchase the SW which will be supported / updated free of charge for one year. The following year you may decide to purchase the new version or keep the one you have.
 
I did this switch a few years ago, and haven't looked back. With any Raw editor, once you're finished editing an image to your satisfaction, you should export a Master TIFF file. The edits in your software or XMP sidecars can easily get lost. Exporting Master files (derivatives) either as TIFF or (also) JPEG files should always be done. These become your final images, from which you will also (hopefully) make prints. Moving to a new editor should therefore, be a forward activity, meaning, that unless you feel you want to re-edit some older RAW files (for fun, to improve them, etc.), you still have the previous edits in a Master file. Even if you cancel your LR Classic subscription, you can still view your LR catalog and choose which images to re-edit. So, before canceling your subscription and moving to a new software editor, or even if you are not doing that, if you haven't been creating your Master files, it's a good practice to do so now and make it a regular practice. Most people don't understand this part of the workflow, unfortunately.

I'm very happy with Capture One, and all its features, particularly using layers. And I get results I love much faster and consistently than I did in LR.
 
Thank You. Presently i have only created the master files when an outside editor requires it. I would edit the Raw and print or export.

That brings up a thought, should I leave the original raw alone and edit a copy?
 
Thank You. Presently i have only created the master files when an outside editor requires it. I would edit the Raw and print or export.

That brings up a thought, should I leave the original raw alone and edit a copy?
You can't really alter a raw file, I don't think. You can have a sidecar generated by programs like Lightroom, or convert to another file type and save as a tiff or other file type
 
My usage model requires a DAM.... I used ACDSee for over a decade. I have also owned and tried 8 different RAW processors and 3 DAMs over the past 12 months.

I am in the same camp as CMConklin about RAW processors. As far as RAW developing, CP1 wins that 80% of the time.
As such, C1P has replaced ACDSee for the last few years.

C1P as a Session Manager is great. I use this all the time
C1P as a DAM, I found a bit finicky when it came to keywords

The ACDSee DAM was also with not it's faults. What it did was serviceable, but struggled with 150k images over the network.

In the end, I choose PhotoSupreme for the DAM. Full featured (dare I say industrial) database and many (as it turns out, important) features combined with with good support.

CP1 + PhotoSupreme work together well... but, a comparatively expensive combination. The LR path is definitely less expensive and very good as the number of people that use the tool does suggest.. But when it comes to RAW developing, the fringes of optimization, and relatively large libraries, the CP1 + PhotoSupreme combination is a reasonable pair for consideration.
 
Thank you oh so much! This is very helpful and it gives me another option on applications. Part of the issue is there are many options outside of Adobe. And I am looking to replace Adobe in my photography.
 
I've used C1 since Apple announced they were stopping support for Aperture. At the time I looked at everything I could find that had a library and processing function and was available on free trial. C1 was the hands down winner. For various reasons about a year ago I switched to the Adobe subscription package but went back to C1 after 6 frustrating months.

As far as the financial case goes, processing software is cheap compared to lenses and bodies and having something that does what you want to the standard that you want is what matters. When "dissecting" the pros and cons remember to factor in how the program handles updates to its own S/W and updates to your computer OS. I switched from the paid version of C1 to the monthly subscription for that reason (and becasue I qualified for one of their half-priced, camera make options - Sony, Fuji and Nikon).

One option that a speed read of this thread suggests has been missed is:

1: Your camera will have free S/W for downloading, RAW conversion and basic editing
2: You can build your own library using folders in your computer to store and sort your images

3: Buy Affinity Photo. It is a genuine "Photoshop killer" app, retails at approx £50/$50, and has free updates within the primary version (it is currrently on 1.9.3 and every 1.x update is free. There are indications that if/when they move to 2.x that will be a paid jump but if it too is in the 50£/$ range it's a bargain). One of the most creative photographers in my camera club uses AP on an iPad and produces stunning stuff.
 
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Presently, I am a LR user, I have used it from Ver1 through 6. I have not gone to the subscription version. I greatly dislike the monthly subscription models as I become dependent on the company. Since I purchased and own the versions, they continue to work no matter the location or internet access.

My question is can I replace LR with Capture One? What do I loose, what do I gain? I also do not look forward to the "re-edit" of the thousands of images within the LR Catalog.

Any guidance you can offer is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Charles
I’ve never used LR but I do use Luminar. That is a one time purchase and it is suppose to do everything that LR does. Check it out. Here is the link. https://skylum.com/luminar-ai-b?utm...yIx7amexelbbo8-i6UXPueckFVvMXT7QaAjOxEALw_wcB
 
Don't forget the learning curve for any new program. I suspect it takes 100 hours to be proficient with a new program. My guess is you are only using 50% of the capability of Lightroom.

If you are using Nikon cameras, take a look at NX Studio. It's free and does a very good job with Raw conversion of Nikon files. It also has Control Points - a really useful tool for local editing.
 
Don't forget the learning curve for any new program. I suspect it takes 100 hours to be proficient with a new program. My guess is you are only using 50% of the capability of Lightroom.

If you are using Nikon cameras, take a look at NX Studio. It's free and does a very good job with Raw conversion of Nikon files. It also has Control Points - a really useful tool for local editing.
Just add Affinity Photo and you're good to go! The support in the early days was a bit clunky but very much improved now. Just search for Affinity Photo and you'll get the official support site, the Youtube channel and a couple of really good (but not entirely free) other sources.
 
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Thank you very much. I have used LR 1 through 6. Six was the last version before going to the current "subscription" version. While I was never frustrated with them, the application is getting old. C1 seems to be the better application. C1 having both the owned and the subscription versions gives me the options that I am most interested in.
 
Yes, Replace it! In Capture One you have your choice of using a Catalog or Sessions. I use Sessions. What's a Session? It's simply a folder created by C1, that contains four subfolders: Capture, Output, Selects, and Trash. You get to name your Session folder. I generally name them with the place the images were taken and the date taken. Your RAW images are placed in the Capture folder and the processed images are placed in Output. Forget the other two folders for now. To back up, a Session simply copy the Session folder to wherever you want. A Session folder can be opened by any computer running C1. You can arrange your Session folders in whatever logical file arrangement you chose. For example, Yellowstone>Summer 2021>Session folders. Create the folder Yellowstone and a subfolder Summer 2021 using C1 or Windows Explorer. Then copy the appropriate Session folders into Summer 2021. Compared to a Catalog, a Session is rarely if ever corrupted. Capture One Catalogs can also import images from Sessions. If you decide to use C1 start with Sessions and learn how to process and export images. Then if you want to add a Catalog you can focus on the appropriate database management.
 
Thank you very much. I have used LR 1 through 6. Six was the last version before going to the current "subscription" version. While I was never frustrated with them, the application is getting old. C1 seems to be the better application. C1 having both the owned and the subscription versions gives me the options that I am most interested in.
Apologies for the VERY late reply Charles - I thought the thread had run its course! You'll probably have discovered all this by now but the economincs of C1 depend on your camera make, with competitive pricing if it's a Nikon, Sony or Fuji, but a bit more costly if it's a Canon.
 
I used Adobe since ver 3 and dumped all things Adobe a couple of years ago. Wanting to shoot tethered in some cases, LR is pretty good at it, Capture One is better. But Capture One is hugely expensive and I am not a professional photographer with photography income. I have become familiar with many alternative (Windows) software solutions and have reached the following conclusions:

On1 Photo RAW is my choice for editing RAW images, shooting tethered, catalog-capable, and general editing. You may be using LR for your catalog so remember you have to consider that in your decision. On1 Photo RAW has the best/easiest masking features of any out there! On1 Photo Raw has great price/value.

I like Luminar as my now-let's-get-really-creative editor and my workflow is often On1 Photo Raw > jump into Luminar > return to On1 Photo RAW.

I have tried Affinity Photo (lacking a little in RAW and masking) and has no catalog, no tethering.

I found DxO Photo Lab 4 Pro (near best for RAW editing) not as easy/fluid to use as On1 Photo Raw, excellent denoiser, no tethering.

Good luck with your search.
I am coming rather late to this forum, but the question is still valid, so my input may help.
I do NOT like the rental basis of Adobe. If you stop renting, you lose the edits in LR. That concerned me.
Capture One has a migration tool that enables you to keep all the important edits when transferring to C1. I used it. It takes ages to run, but you only do it once.
I also found that the catalogue system in C1 was slow to load. To compensate, I transferred my LR catalogue in stages and created a new C1 catalogue at each stage. I now have several catalogues I can switch between at will. This is a good opportunity to review your images and do a cull! The latest version of C1 handles catalogues more quickly.
C1 has both rental and a buy-it-once options. I chose the latter, which includes all the updates for the year. Every 2 years I upgrade to the latest version. Discounts are offered, so the expense comes out at less than the rental model that Adobe uses.
In practice, the learning curve is steep, but well worth it. It is so much more powerful than LR. As it uses layers (up to 16) it is much more versatile than LR and has largely eliminated the need for PS for single images.
When I have to use a PS alternative, I use Affinity Photo (combining images, sky replacement and the like). As I recall, this cost about £27 as they run half price offers every so often. Affinity is powerful with the added bonus that very good tutorials are available.
Printing? I print directly out of C1. Not a problem.
I have never regretted the switch out of Adobe.
I hope my experiences are helpful.
 
I am coming rather late to this forum, but the question is still valid, so my input may help.
I do NOT like the rental basis of Adobe. If you stop renting, you lose the edits in LR. That concerned me.
Capture One has a migration tool that enables you to keep all the important edits when transferring to C1. I used it. It takes ages to run, but you only do it once.
I also found that the catalogue system in C1 was slow to load. To compensate, I transferred my LR catalogue in stages and created a new C1 catalogue at each stage. I now have several catalogues I can switch between at will. This is a good opportunity to review your images and do a cull! The latest version of C1 handles catalogues more quickly.
C1 has both rental and a buy-it-once options. I chose the latter, which includes all the updates for the year. Every 2 years I upgrade to the latest version. Discounts are offered, so the expense comes out at less than the rental model that Adobe uses.
In practice, the learning curve is steep, but well worth it. It is so much more powerful than LR. As it uses layers (up to 16) it is much more versatile than LR and has largely eliminated the need for PS for single images.
When I have to use a PS alternative, I use Affinity Photo (combining images, sky replacement and the like). As I recall, this cost about £27 as they run half price offers every so often. Affinity is powerful with the added bonus that very good tutorials are available.
Printing? I print directly out of C1. Not a problem.
I have never regretted the switch out of Adobe.
I hope my experiences are helpful.

You do not lose your edits in lightroom if you discontinue it. You even get to keep using the Lightroom library module and can export as usual. You can no longer use the develop module is the only thing that really changes.
 
Agree with most of what you say here Tony, with the exception that I have recently moved to using Affinity for all my printing, using File > New pathway which let's you choose either to open Print or Web options with a host of pre-sets in each and a menu bar to customise. (and does a super job on B&W).
 
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