5 Reasons Capture One is BETTER than Lightroom

[@jimmyhill9591]

As a Fuji shooter, Capture One is the only game in town. Capture One has a dedicated version just for Fuji cameras and the tethering speed can't be beat. Lightroom can't even come close to it. People forget that Photoshop wasn't originally created for photo editing but rather graphic design and Lightroom came much later as a band-aid. Capture One was a purpose built RAW processing and photo editing program from the very start.

[@freetibet1000]

As a pixel editor companion to Capture One I really recommend Affinity Photo. Many still believe they cannot be without Photoshop but I would be really surprised if they can find anything they cannot do in Affinity. And the price is unbeatable!

[@kifley19]

Capture one is nice but it sucks they don't update their lens or camera profiles after 1 year if you purchase the license. It might as well be a subscription if you're only going to support a $300 product for only 1 year.

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

I'm on the subscription, so I'm not familiar with this. I suppose the assumption is that when you upgrade your camera, you'll need to upgrade your license.

[@beaugotdrums7821]

@@SteveWalterPhoto lol just torrent it. Its free lmao

[@dalphalpha3487]

Capture does have a subscription … lol

[@beaugotdrums7821]

@@dalphalpha3487 uhhh, I said pirate it. Which makes it free

[@captureitphotography2352]

Sessions! Possibly my favourite feature. Makes organizing client photos SO much easier, and I can transfer from one computer to another with no issues. That alone is worthwhile.

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Ohhhhhhh, yea. Same. I do love using sessions. I almost exclusively use them. There's going to be another video on that for sure - probably combined with Tethering too.

[@captureitphotography2352]

That's the 1-2. Tether in the studio, save to a session, take the hard drive home and edit then back up on the main machine. Could never do that with LR.....

[@freetibet1000]

I like to point out that even though it is called ‘Skin Tone’ function it actually works on ALL colours! You just pick any colour-range you want to work with and the functionality is the same for harmonizing colours and tones within that range you have chosen.

[@MrDavidsdale1]

At the moment, my 5D mk3, always a struggle to connect via tethering...I give Capture One a try and will give feedback...thank you.

[@johnneiberger7311]

#6 - Use the ProStandard camera-matching color profiles and you'll get even more accurate colors and better skins tones.

[@waynedennyphoto]

Man, that annotation (?) feature would be incredibly useful for me. So many clients could just tell you right then and there what they want retouched and it'd be right in the file. Pretty cool.

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

RIGHT? It's like the smallest, simplest thing. But so useful

[@elpix6858]

Lightroom and photoshop is bundled for most photographers, so there’s probably nothing you can’t do with Lightroom and photoshop. I am looking to switch to capture one only based on one thing , tethering , but I haven’t done enough researching yet.

[@hVF8KZuQPeCc8u]

I use both Lightroom and Capture One. The reason I use C1 for my Fuji camera is that LR doesn't render Fuji files as well. Having learned both LR and C1, I would say it is half a dozen of one and half a dozen of another. Both have important features that the other one doesn't have. It seems Adobe is going more with AI. So LR now has the ability to with one click, select the subject. With C1, there is no AI feature like that, you'll need to use the magic brush perhaps with the Luma Range tools which takes more time and effort. In some ways LR with its new AI features is a step ahead of C1. But both can be used to effectively make your photos pop. I am hoping Capture One hops on board with AI.

[@jimavery3211]

After using COP for a couple of years for bird photography I'm switching back to Lightroom because of its Selection tools. I sure wish COP had more than a half baked magic brush.

[@bme_visuals]

Definitely looking forward to a tethering video from you. Currently using a canon R5 coming from Lightroom.

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Yes! This is in the works!

[@rickjbradbury]

I have been tempted to switch to C1 just for tethering but it's a lot of money just for that. I am so far ingrained in LR now with catalogues that It is not so simple to do a full switch. Has C1 caught up catalogue wise yet?

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Totally understood. It's why I switched. I just adjusting my pricing to account for an additional $15/mth if cost. It absolutely can manage catalogs - AND sessions (basically mini catalogs) which is what I use most.

[@freetibet1000]

The Session function in C1 is perfect for tethering instead of catalog.

[@chordnificent]

thanks for this champ, which version of c1 do you use ?

[@Beanboyproductions]

Awesome to see a fellow CT photographer.

[@markkempton4579]

This is very helpful for me. I have never seen C1 so I enjoyed the nice summary. Couple pieces that interest me for sure. I look forward to your tethering video!

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Awesome! Great to hear

[@thomasann5315]

Please,am new to photography and I love to improve my knowledge on it, how can you help me out?... what's this capture 1 all about? How can I get it on my laptop... please 🙏

[@Reviews4fun1]

I’d consider myself an advanced amateur and had a lot of experience with Lightroom years ago but have been using Capture One Express for the last several years. Subscription service is unacceptable for my occasional edits. The Capture One Pro version just came on sale at B&H for 180 so I grabbed it for Layering, Healing, Cloning tools that I used to find helpful with Adobe products. Now I can edit my Sony camera and iPhone RAW files whenever I want, and not tied down to a stupid subscription.

[@stevewalter9916]

That's awesome! And great reasons to consider a non-subscription workflow

[@GregVanGorp]

I'm an enthusiastic hobbyist. Some paid work, but mostly family shots and some video work. I bought Lightroom 6 for $145 back in like 2015 or something. I used it for almost 8 years without a subscription. Now I have a Canon R6 Mark II coming in next week, I need to find something that I can work with. I really just need basic options and it's never a commercial workload. I could go months without using it. I don't need all the little updates that would make me pay forever for it. Black Friday Capture One Pro 23 for $179... No brainer. Gonna buy it now and switch over completely for probably another 7-10 years

[@lauriewahlig2819]

Great video….I agree with all your points but LR’s new masking is amazing and still better than the magic brush. I really would love if C1 would upgrade the masking to be more like LR. And I do agree with point above….the lens profile updates could be faster too.

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

When Lightroom added color and luminosity masking a while back, I found those to be really nice, but the feedback I've heard is that now with the AI/Sensi masking, it adds more clicks and becomes more cumbersome. C1's masking tools are pretty nice - but that's based on my personal needs.

[@robhallphoto]

@@SteveWalterPhoto The new Subject masking is super accurate, but yeah the additional steps are really annoying. I loved pre-update, being able to quickly use the brush to adjust a skin color mask, and now it's a convoluted process in favor of selecting the entire subject which as it turns out, is not really that common of a selection (for me).

[@manzourabdalla2279]

As always, everything is super. Waiting for new crack from your team

[@stefanbernhard2710]

After getting used to the precision of FCPX tools, then eding photos in adobe LR (yes I know they are for photos), the lack of scopes and refined color adjustments is too hard to ignore.

[@godsakes]

Tried capture one when I briefly owned a Fuji (Lightroom is plain awful with Fuji x-trans files) I think it's colour correction tools look potentially more powerful than LR but the main thing about LR for me is it's cataloging feature and it's something that capture one doesn't do as well

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

I'm adding cataloging to my list of videos to make! Anything specific that you wished C1 had? Or is there a specific feature in Lr cataloging that is crucial to your workflow?

[@godsakes]

​@@SteveWalterPhoto I supose the basics would be organising photos & rating/marking them as keepers or not and colour tagging them (to mark which subsequenty has sold/needs editing/done)

[@brianwitter3271]

I also used LR from day one of the Windows beta and switched to CO Pro 4-5 years ago. My only hang up with the catalog was keywording is a bit worse and it doesn't have flags. My solution was to separate DAM from processing. This accomplished two things. I can now switch processors or use something other than Capture One for a specific case and not throw my whole workflow to the wind. Secondly, I now have a DAM system that handles all my files not just raw, DNG and JPG. and better keywording, flagging, labeling, filtering... For organizing I've tried many things and the best system I've come up with is use a file system and naming convention based on date, time, sequence. It takes no thought so errors are less likely, can be automated in most software and gives the first step in finding things. From there keywords are way more powerful since they are not dependant on location and you can apply as many as you need and narrow things done with boolean operations. I use them for content in the image, project id, location (can be more granular than provided for in IPTC) and more. I use Imatch as my DAM and have color tags that match LR's default 5 and another set that matches the set of 7 you get with CO. I can see and filter on all 12 and more at the same time. I can see at a glance that an image was done in LR or CO and what stage it is at. I don't know the best DAM on macs. I would say if you don't need this much depth, you may be fine with CO's catalog. It does have two more labels so might replace flags without much trouble. LR has label sets, but since they are one at a time I found that more trouble than it's worth. Filtering in CO looks weak until you click the + on the tool header (rollout header) and enable/disable to suit your needs.

[@viszlaymark]

i used capture one till lrc 23. have you seen that masking? i never ever used lr before, i was hated it, but now gets interesting. capture one only good in tethering. i dont like how it handles nikon images.

[@kefkapalazzo1]

its probably my laptop, but capture one is way too slow for me right now. the pictures do come out better though, and I do need tethering for Sony

[@stephenelderphoto]

Steve, I thought this was an interesting video since I’ve been contemplating changing from LR to Capture One Pro for months. I’ve been using LR for so long that the idea of trying to replicate familiar tasks with a new software is daunting. I look forward to seeing more content from you.

[@nutin321]

honestly, not worth the jump. the pricing now is comparable but you get so much more with adobe. I would not recommend capture one in place of LR, perhaps a supplement if you have fuji.

[@jriis2010]

Hi. I am a new amateur photographer with the Adobe Photography plan. I was thinking about cancelling my subscripting, but will then loose both Lrc and Photoshop, but PS i dont use that much. Will i have the same options in Capture one as with the 2 other apps _

[@kwa_nguyen]

I only started using capture one mainly because of tethering and the speed of tethering but im still getting use to the interface but WOW I did not know that you could customise and make your up interface like that! SO GOOD! i cant wait to use capture one more especailly after I noticed that when the raw files first come in. They look so much better compared to Lightroom thanks for sharing your tips bro. I cant wait to learn more from you. Ive been a photogrpaher for 10 years but I am a very slow learner. and at one point wanted to give up. But hearing your story and journey has really inspired me to not give up and I want to be like you one day. Cheers from Sydney Australia , MATE!

[@SterlingSanders]

Getting the feeling you haven’t used Lightroom lately. Greater color control, layers, masking, are all in LRC.

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

I saw the feature updates, and follow Adobe Max, but I haven't used them personally. The Masking looks great - I use the same function sometimes in Ps/Camera Raw. But have they expanded color control as well? I must have missed that. I'd still say that C1's layers function is "better" because you can apply any effect to them.

[@seaoharewhy]

I think it would be better to actually use the new features that you read about before posting this video. LR is improving at a breakneck pace, and little by little, I think it’s catching up with most of what C1 can do. I also made a serious attempt to switch over years ago but never got comfortable enough with the C1 workflow. The dedicated skin tone control is the only thing I wish LR had at this point, but nothing PS can’t handle. Also, C1’s pricing model is downright obnoxious, charging full price for new versions of their software every few years.

[@wildnaeg6]

Hi brother does it run Sony A7IV Raw .

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Absolutely should

[@waynecoles6041]

I agree C1 is much more friendly to work with. The biggest plus (for me) is that you can use all the adjustments on a masked layer, whereas LR gives you a reduced set of adjustments for a masked area. My biggest issue with C1 is that they are far slower to update with new lens profiles and, as of now, doesn't include lens profiles for my most used lenses. I don't mind waiting, but one of them is over two years old and still not supported (RF 70-200 2.8), which doesn't raise my hopes for the other lens arriving (RF 14-25 f4) any time soon. Whereas they are both natively supported in LR. Currently I sometimes use LR and sometimes C1 depending on my mood. Although I like the new masking in LR I still prefer C1's layers (for the reason above) but if I need to do anything complicated I tend to pull the image into photoshop anyway for finishing touches and cleanup (I find photoshops cleanup tools far better than those built into C1).

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

All great points. I appreciate the comment. I haven't had any issues with the lens profiles, so it's not something I've even noticed. Waiting on the R5 update was a bit of a pain. I'm not sure how those arrangements work enough to comment with any reasoning. Ps will always be made for adding polish, but when it comes to raw ingest and processing C1 is my favorite.

[@kiv9431]

Images for me just look better in capture one in general. I tried lightroom because I was curious about the calibration tool. The tool is interesting, but still the images just look a lot duller no matter of profile/settings used. It just has that lightroom look that I remember before switching to capture one back in 2016, still the same. In my personal opinion of course.

[@HR-wd6cw]

Tethering and sessions are probably the two biggest reasons I would go to C1 over Lightroom. The layer thing, well, there great, but there's also a limit to how many layers you can use, and if you have a complex image that requires a lot of masking, then this may be an issue and you may find yourself going to a pixel-based editor in the end (like Photoshop or something else). This is where Lightroom does make sense because as far as I can tell (from my testing) it doesn't realy have any real limits on the number of masks (edit pins) you can use so you can do a lot with LIghtroom, and with their recent updates to the automatic AI masking, this has been a huge jump forward for LIghtroom (C1's Magic Brush works OK, but can easily get confused and paint or mask where you don't want it to; with LR Classic, and the AI masking, you can actually be pretty sloppy and it will figure out what you wanted to mask, say if you're masking out a subject).

[@peterivarsson9267]

There are pros and cons with botht tools. In C1 i like annotations, color and proofing. Not sure about cataloging and culling, miss neural masks, no ps bundle, no comparable mobile app. LR catalogues become messy, love lr ai masks, and the software bundle, more for the buck. Great video 🎉

[@corbinpearce7686]

I've been trying C1 in the past one and am surprised by how much I enjoy it. Also, there is a pretty decent mobile app if you subscribe to the "full" version. Lightroom *may* have an edge depending on what features you use, but C1 pretty much has all the same editing tools for mobile.

[@DennisF252]

Totally agree regarding Aperture, such a sad day when Apple totally screwed us all. I currently use legacy Aperture and On1 which has so many options but unfortunately over the years have ditched top associates for poor replacements and pushed gimmicks rather than improving core aspects (Curves) etc.

[@tectorama]

Capture 1 is very good, but I find Lightroom is quicker for batch processing a large number of photos.

[@jos_t_band3912]

Now Lightroom has layers for brush local adjustments. So you don’t have to remember where the dots are.

[@andrewelder2739]

Intriguing! Does Capture One have anything like the new AI mask features introduced into Lightroom last year?

[@nutin321]

no, not even close. adobe is way ahead in masking.

[@JasonEkonomakos]

I have been listening to people rave about Capture One so I switched over for a year Honestly I am in the minority when I say I don't really like Capture One. It feels more clunky to me and I feel like the organizing tools are actually worse than Lightroom. Sessions are very cool but other than that the folder structures in Lightroom are easier to keep track of. As for layering, I think it's outdated. There's really no point to it imo and yes it makes it more granular, but also makes it more arduous and annoying to keep track of. Lightroom automatic masking tools are so much more powerful and act similar to layers. If I need to go into layering then I use Photoshop which is ten times better at that than Capture One. One thing I'll say is the exporting is definitely better in Capture One, with all the options you can create in an automatic way.

[@mejhon6592]

I think you work for adobe premier.

[@JasonEkonomakos]

@@mejhon6592 yes because i gave a fair assessment with positive and negatives I must be a shill. Just don't respond to the criticism though, that would require too much of your brainpower

[@joshmcdzz6925]

Does CaptureOne have a Photoshop replacement or I have to purchase the expensive C1($32/month) and still pay Adobe $10 for both LR && PS? As a commercial photographer, PS is more valuable than editors built for only raw files..C1 is nice but too expensive for its worth. Rawtherapee gives C1 a run for its money(accurate color reproduction, next to best noise and sharpening features etc ) LR isn't adobe's main tool but PS.. I have yet to see a good replacement for that(Gimp && Affinity photo are still behind PS )

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

It does not have a replacement. So for retouching, compositing and really anything beyond color adjustments, masking and organizing, you'll still need something like Ps or Affinity. C1 is $15/mth if you pay yearly. For me that's worth it, because this is how I make a living and it's a better setup for my workflow. I factor that into all of my pricing - similar to any other overhead expenses. I also have Ps for when I need to do all the other work. BUT, it's not for everyone. I appreciate you watching and your feedback!

[@joshmcdzz6925]

@@SteveWalterPhoto c1's tethering has no rival. As a product photographyer, I really miss the speed I see others get when tethering...been trying a couple of other software like the Nikon nx tether, darktable's, digicam and LR...the last 3 are not a joy to work with, Nikon's is feature crippled but amazingly fast and simple

[@freetibet1000]

I’m curious to hear what it is you lack in Affinity Photo that you find indispensable in Photoshop?

[@bastien7238]

Hi, I'm a SONY A7RIV user and I'm searching for a better way to handle greenish skin tones and soulless raw files that Sony produces. Maybe capture one is a solution of choice. Thanks for the video

[@PriyankoSings]

Amazing 😍

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Heart Eyes back at ya!

[@isoawe1888]

Not sure how many of these have changed in past year, so, for me, the only thing I totally agree with ( and, the only reason that Capture One is in my computer) is tethering. Shooting Nikon Z9’s on a Mac Silicone… well, just throw Adobe in the trash.

[@_0O0O0O0_]

You can do color range selection in LRC. The skin tone blending looked awful from your example. You might say that it was just the example but you had the option to make it better before you uploaded but you didn't. That says a lot for me. The way that layers are setup in C1 is ridiculously unintuitive. Their support sucks. Their authorization is archaic. But absolutely. Tethering is fantastic. And that's why I use it. I like they way they handle highlights and shadows too but those things aren't worth switching for editing. I really wish it was more intuitive.

[@troyshay5429]

The color science is better for Sony in Capture One.

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Not a Sony shooter, but I'll take your word for it.

[@freetibet1000]

My subjective experience is that C1 is doing a better job with my Nikon files as well.

[@mccrayali]

Do u know Phil ottochian

[@natakijean-baptiste1746]

CAN THIS SOFTWEAR EDIT VIDEOS ?

[@stevewalter9916]

No. And honestly, I'm glad it doesn't. Personally I'm a Final Cut User and I like that because it's designed to do that only and really well.

[@freetibet1000]

I honestly wish there where modern cameras on the market WITHOUT video functionality. I just don’t believe in the Swiss-Army-knife philosophy. Better with specific tools for each specific job, I believe.

[@smetlitzky]

Great video but background music is sooooo bad and distracting - much better without or needs something more relaxed and lower volume.

[@Burritosarebetterthantacos]

Capture one is 24/month which is decently expensive.

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

I pay $15. It's not too bad, but this is what I do for a living and because it makes my workflow faster and more reliable, I can justify and account for that cost in my pricing. Cheers

[@d1m18]

Lightroom is the best for managing and cataloging. CaptureOne I do not think is very efficient for this

[@garys639]

If only I could tether my Olympus gear...sigh

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Is Olympus not tether-able? Is that a thing?

[@garys639]

@@SteveWalterPhoto not to Capture One

[@chrisjames1924]

6th reason: because of their new iPad app!

[@eliotopian]

F in chat for Aperture...

[@stevewalter9916]

Ohhhh Aperture, how I miss thee

[@sergiyavorski9977]

For Fuji? Maybe. But for everything else, it's not. I tried it and hated it. Lightroom is much more superior.

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Roger that. Not for everyone, no doubt and for many other workflows, but for mine - tethering reliability alone is worth it.

[@PaulSaxbyPhotography]

@@SteveWalterPhoto Totally agree, I need a system that connects and stays connected throughout an entire shoot, not drop out every few frames like Lightroom does. When it comes to tethering nothing comes close to Capture One.

[@nelsonclub7722]

It may do 5 things better - but LR does a million things better - (possibly 2 - 5 million)

[@PriyankoSings]

C1 has straight Better colors than Lightroom..

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Facts

[@DAVE_WHITE]

I like DXO the best

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Right on! Glad you dig it. I've never used it. I did try their iPhone camera attachment years ago and that was cool.

[@TheAllianceEnt]

Who is this guy, and what is he doing here?

[@yeti-i2f]

But more expensive....

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Yes, but $5 more a month is worth it. And they offer different payment options. Not just one way.

[@yeti-i2f]

@@SteveWalterPhoto C1 29,99 euros/month and LR + PS 11,99 euros/month. If I buy C1 I don't have PS :(

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

@@yeti-i2f Everyone has a different budget. Totally understood. in the US I'm paying $15 for C1 and $11 for Ps and Lr. $312/year is something I factoring into my pricing no problem.

[@sklba632]

Give it a few years and Adobe will add similar features.

[@robhallphoto]

meanwhile Capture One will sit back and do absolutely nothing? Lol.

[@sklba632]

​@@robhallphoto I don't know. All I really know about them is their aggressive marketing towards people who use digital camera equipment. I'm just not gonna be shocked by Adobe taking an idea they already have in one software and implementing it in another when a competitor calls it a feature.

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

I'm actually expecting Capture One to push harder. One thing I'm really looking forward to is seeing what they do on the iPad

[@sklba632]

@@SteveWalterPhoto I'm old and not hip. Can you expand why there is seemingly a push towards ipad use in photography? You're not the first person to bring this up around me and I'm trying to better understand why this happening?

[@esldogrescues]

@@sklba632 The latest iPad Pro has an M1 chip, and up 2tb storage. With the right software, it could be as powerful at editing as a mid-range laptop, and could be more convenient for location work. And whenever they release the upcoming "universal control" feature, one might be able to come home and simply swipe their recent Session to copy it over to their big computer at home. I've used iPads a bit with Lightroom, when I have a lot of cropping to do, and I get tired of sitting at a desk, or I have to go somewhere and sit (e.g., waiting room in a hospital), I can keep working on the iPad.

[@322Iceke]

5 or 6 years? LOL .....

[@SteveWalterPhoto]

Yea. I had a little crossover of using both for about 6+months