An Introduction to Capture One For Lightroom Users - Landscape Photography

[@pbziegler]

I had Capture One for Fuji 12 and abandoned it because I never could find a video on how to set up and run my workflow. Bought 20 today and found this video. Wow. This is what I needed all along. Great overview of how to set up and run a workflow from tones to color.

[@AndyMumford]

Hi Phillip, thanks so much for the comment. Glad you found the video useful. Enjoy Capture One

[@RandyPollock]

Been using C1 for a year now (after 10 yrs with LR) with my Fuji cameras...learned something new tonight which I normally do with Andy's videos. There is a good video from Phase One on using sessions for your traveling then bringing your images back to you main catalog if anyone is interested I found it helpful for a trip I just took to Gettysburg PA. Thanks, Andy for showing how to use color as your criteria for making a layer mask...that was new to me.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching Randy, glad you found it useful

[@kemerthomson]

Very useful. You make a compelling case for Capture One without turning this into product comparison. You make it very clear how, as you say in the beginning, Lightroom and Capture One are somewhat “apples and oranges.” I wish I had seen this before I did the free evaluation, which quickly overwhelmed me.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching Kemer, glad you found the video informative

[@cragfast06]

Awesome video Andy! It unlocked so many of the barriers I’d been encountering trying to get the best of both worlds from LR & C1. Thanks ever so much - it’s been transformational!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much for the comment. It's great that you found the video so useful. Glad to have been of help

[@RivkiLocker]

This is excellent. I love your channel and I’m so pleased to see you publishing content about capture one. I transitioned from lightroom about six months ago but I’m still learning. Thanks!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much for the comment, glad you found it useful

[@tamasdemjen4242]

The best introduction to C1, very well done!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much Tamas, glad you found it useful

[@colinhothersall8343]

One of the best videos on Capture One I have seen. Hope you do some more in the future. Thanks.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much, glad you found it useful

[@andrewwilson775]

Great video Andy. I made the switch to C1 a few months ago, and while I'm still getting used to it I can't see myself going back to LR for most of my day-to-day post-processing. C1 is hands down a more powerful editor and faster than LR and, as you say, it's Fuji raw conversion is way superior to LR. Thanks for all the great videos you keep producing!

[@RichardCawthra]

Relly informative and thought provoking, thanks Andy. I have toyed with C1 from time to time since I started shooting Fuji for my travel/street photography. Landscapes have mostly shot Canon/Nikon and ultimately I have always fallen back to LR/PS, mainly due to the ease of workflow from operating within one ecosystem and I have fine tuned my organisation of 10+ years of files in the LR Library. I always found the transition between C1 and Adobe created drag in my workflow, but the export recipe/LR autosync looks a clean solution. As I am increadingly shooting more of my landscape work with the Fuji system, think its time to reevaluate the pros/cons of adding C1 into my workflow.

[@alexl160]

Lightroom's crop function and shortcuts are exceptional and currently no other application could compete it! Apart form that, Capture One Pro seems better in any other aspects especially Colour Editor, Layer and customisable display layout making post-processing more efficient and user-friendly.

[@GeoffGrant2010]

Great demo. Thanks Andy'!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much for the comment

[@barryj1956]

Excellent video, you have a real knack for explaining things that makes it easy to understand. I've used Capture One since version 3.7 which I received free with a SD card purchase and still learnt some new tricks with this video.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much, really glad you found the video useful

[@alanbrunelle1546]

Brilliant on many levels. I too switched over to Capture One Pro about a year ago - and I've struggled a bit in combining it w/ LR & PS - as (you noted) there are things that I like/need to do in those programs. I went a different route in terms of just storing images in the Capture One 'Output' directory of a session and then manually importing that into LR - but your approach is so much simpler and cleaner - thanks for sharing that! Now to revamp my current set up to more reflect the better approach you created.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much for the comment Alan, really glad you found the video useful

[@章万哲]

非常有用的教程，绝对是真正的大师。

[@babdoc1]

Fantastic overview. I bought C1 last winter and used it for a bit before stopping due to the learning curve. This intro makes me want to take another look. Thank you

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much Adam, glad you found it useful...hope you get on better with Capture One when you try it again

[@ams914]

Wow this helped a lot. New to photography and C1/photo editing in general. Creating a mask from a color range kind of blew my mind, haha. Seems like a very powerful and simple tool.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching, glad you found it useful

[@stefankuhn6887]

Thanks for this video - it reduces the hurdle to start to use Capture One which I own since a week! I am eager to see whether I can really get more details out of my x-t2 files! 👍🏻

[@shirleybiddlecombe5831]

Thank you for a comprehensive review. Up to now the Capture One evangelists have said that it’s so much better at handing Fuji RAW files than LR without a lot of evidence, except at 400%. Sometimes it felt that they were just trying to justify switching. In your review you also mention the improved detail, but you also show some of the fundamental differences which provide real benefits to processing landscapes. I’m now thinking about trying Capture One.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching Shirley, glad you found it informative

[@aharshephotography]

Loved this video, I have recently got an XT-30 which I am loving even over my Nikon D800 and seriously thinking about switching to fuji. I saw there was a big fuss around using Capture One Pro with Fuji and I tried the Express version. I did like how fuji files are displayed there. Your video opened up my eyes to how powerful the capture one tools are, especially the Color tools and Luma layers and how you can use all the adjustments for them. It reduces the need for using photoshop to minimal. Thanks for this overview.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much for the comment, glad you found the video useful

[@Nithyist]

I bought a Fuji X couple of months back and did not like what LR was doing to my photos so I bought the C1 Fuji and I started using it. C1 is better than LR for Fuji files. Your intro to C1 is very helpful. Thank you very much.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much for watching, glad you found it useful

[@PrasadPalaniyandi]

Very well explained...Concise and Clear....

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much. Glad you found it useful

[@MrFishman1963]

Great video Andy. I have slowly been falling out of love with Lightroom recently and wanted to look at alternatives. I tried Luminar 4 with all of its really quite impressive looks and features but it is just so slow and clunky. Capture One ticks all the boxes for me, especially as a Fuji man! This video was a big factor for me, and it really helped with getting used to the different functionality of the software. Top man!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much, really glad you found the video useful

[@FrancescoCelauro7]

Last month I got my new camera, a fuji XT-20, but I was having a few problems with the sharpening in Lightroom. I switched to capture one to try it out and there's no comparison. Much more intuitive, fast and powerful. I'll never go back

[@AndyMumford]

I tend to agree, I never had a particular problem with Lightroom as long as I didn't sharpen the RAW file at all (only the exported tiff for web or print), but C1 does seem to bring out more detail and allow you to sharpen the files more without artefacts. But like I said, I was happy with Lightroom for years and didn't have any particular issue with it and I'm sure I'll continue to use it as well as C1

[@wolfsheadphotographic2521]

Incredibly useful. I think I need to take a closer look at capture 1!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching Ken...glad you enjoyed it.

[@hamdc4291]

Great video Andy and very helpful. Love those images! I'm enjoying using Capture one, although a bit of a learning curve. Hope you are doing well.

[@AndyMumford]

Hey Hamish, how are you doing? Good to hear from you. Glad you liked the video, and glad you're enjoyed Capture One. I'll drop you an email next week with the image you asked for. All the best

[@nyker999]

Excellent tutorial! Explained much, and quite clearly. Your editing tips, are also appreciated along with your explanation of C1 interface Looking to get away from Adobe. Thanks for the help. Hoping to see more C1 tutorials. Honestly, I think your tutorials are a lot better than some I’ve paid for. Thanks again

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much Doug, really glad you found the video useful

[@fabiobs98]

Great video! Just bought an Fuji XT-20 and you just helped me a lot! Thanks and regards from Brazil.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much, really glad you found it useful

[@beutelleemaier3532]

very informative video! I've been using capture one for 2 months now and I consider it a big step forward to making better pictures. while the phaseone tutorials are quite good, none of the ones I have seen talked much about workflows. I'll certainly come back to this video for that.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching. Glad you found the video informative

[@gillesgrethenphotography]

Excellent tutorial. Thank you!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much, glad you found it useful

[@bmmelo2oo7]

Excellent tutorial Andy. Another very helpful video. The sharpness that LR delivers for RAF files is disappointing really. I have already played a bit with Capture One but I haven't realized that I could work with layer masks and have this much control. Maybe I will give it a go again. Thanks.

[@robf5684]

Thanks for this video, Andy. Have dabbled with C1 before but stuck with LR. Just got a C1 discount code for tomorrow (Black Friday!) and have been wondering whether to upgrade my C1 Fuji Express to C1 Fuji Pro and give it a real go. You've shown a good few tips I haven't seen in other videos. I especially liked the Back to Lightroom bit, as I don't want to be keywording in two places and I also love my LR Publish Services for ease of export to Flickr etc.

[@AndyMumford]

Hi Rob, thanks for the comment, glad you found the video useful. I'm a big fan of C1 and would definitely recommend it if you shoot Fuji.

[@oldgrumpyjim5003]

Smashing!! Like you I've been using C1 for about a year now initially for fuji files then I paid for the upgrade to full pro version. I mainly use C1 for tethering which is still far quicker than LR even with the recent LR upgrades. I still use my old D800e when I need a higher resolution so I now use both LR and C1. In C1 I use sessions as I find it marries better when I then go into LR for exporting as I have presets. Its a bit messy but it works for me but I know I should probably stay in C1. When I have large numbers of images C1 is a bit clunky but that may be on my side of things and something I should look into but all in all its working OK and nef files from Nikon also look better in C1. Landscapes are definitely better in C1 for edit. Great vlog as always!!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching Jim, glad you enjoyed the video

[@macmcmillen6282]

Capture One is a great program. Takes awhile to learn it fully, but it's worth the time investment.

[@AndyMumford]

yeah, it's pretty intimidating at first, but once you get a basic familiarity it starts to feel pretty intuitive

[@rasc-images]

Thanks Andy. I use Fuji as well and still struggle to build up an efficient workflow with LR and C1. The autoimport tip might help me as well

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for the comment, glad you found the video useful

[@JorgeRiveroMadge1982]

I'm hating LR more and more and I will give C1 a try, especially because I'm switching to Fuji in a couple of months. Love the advanced color editor and how you can disable filters individually. Like you, I've always hated how LR deactivates them all. Great vid as always!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks Jorge, glad you found it useful

[@keithpinn152]

Thanks Andy for this in-depth review of C1 from a landscaper photographer's perspective. This is helping me make my decision on whether or not to use C1 exclusively or use it in conjunction with LR. I wish that C1 had a mobile version so I can take images over to my iPad Pro and view them off-line. Also focus stacks and making panoramas would be helpful in C1. Regards, Keith

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for the comment Keith. I agree with you about C1 missing those features, and a mobile version would be excellent.

[@steveneate]

This very helpful for me. I have a Fuji camera and I'm not always satisfied with the details in photos edited in Lightroom. I'd be interested to hear what you're still using Lightroom for after seeing all the capabilities of CaptureOne.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for the comment, glad you found the video useful. I actually mostly use Lightroom to be honest. C1 certainly gives better results more quickly, but LR is just so easy to use in terms of the catalogue, and I also use Creative Cloud as a back up when travelling. Plus, I use the Photo Merge and Pano tools a lot. Capture One will certainly give you better details and better colours right out of the camera, but I guess I'm a bit lazy

[@comeonthegreens]

Really helpful, thanks!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much

[@WillJBailey]

Hi Andy. Seems like you've moved back to Lightroom since making this?

[@AndyMumford]

I have. Lightroom has improved a lot in the last year or so

[@hugovangool]

I wish i found this content earlier, it so helpful. What i ask myself do you also doing some extra sharpening at your workflow in Capture one?

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for the comment, glad you enjoyed the video. I don't do any extra sharpening in C1, I do all my sharpening on the output file in Photoshop

[@grantnewton5705]

Excellent video once again ! So what do use Lightroom for now, and what do you see it’s advantages .... obviously there are enough to maintain a workflow which covers both products?

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching Grant, glad you enjoyed the video. I still use Lightroom for blending (panos and bracketed images), and I also find it faster for reviewing images.

[@pchiorean]

For culling I find FastRawViewer really helps a lot.

[@AdamJRichardson]

Have you tried using the Luma tab instead of RGB in curves? Often that works better as it doesn't skew colors the way that the RGB one can. The one thing I majorly miss from LR is that spot-fixing (hair, dust spots etc) in C1 is really clunky unless you're just doing one or two. At that point it's worth going out to an external app (I use Affinity) - and as you say that's a necessity for focus stacking or panoramas also...

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for watching Adam. I've not thought of using the Luma tab in Curves in C1....it's something I did a lot in PS (switch the Layer mode to Luminance to stop the saturation shift)...thanks for the tip.

[@chrisbarnard5512]

Hi Andy, i’m using Capture one express for Fujifilm and about to upgrade to the pro version for the extra tools/capabilities. When i import an image i think i’m right in saying it displays with the Jpeg settings at time of shooting? Given that there doesn’t seem to be a way to have film simulations “off” i have a custom configuration using Eterna and all parameters set to minimum to get as close to a RAW file on screen as possible. It’s how i shot with Canon prior to moving to Fujifilm and, for me at least, gave the best end result after editing. My question i think is what is the simplest way of doing the same thing now with my X-T30? Can you (in Capture One) set something so you start working on a plain RAW file with no film simulation/colour/sharpening etc already applied? I have natural live view off when using my custom settings to get as close in the viewfinder to what i’ll see in Capture One as possible. Have i overly complicated things?! Getting more and more confused with it, i hope this makes sense!

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks for the comment Chris. I don't know about C1Express, but C1 Pro doesn't do that (at least not my version, and I can't remember turning anything off). I shot two RAW files with different film simulations, and Imported to C1 Pro. The JPEGS are different of course, but the RAW files are exactly the same. I think there must be a way of changing the default in Express to remove any adjustments to the RAW file.

[@chrisbarnard5512]

@@AndyMumford Thanks for the response Andy, i’ll fiddle around with it and see what happens! Am i right saying the live histogram on X-T30 is a reflection of the Jpeg and not the RAW? Can it be set to display for the RAW file? Or am i best continuing the way i am in having a custom film simulation set to resemble as close to the RAW as possible? It seems a bit awkward shooting RAW yet seeing a histogram for something else!

[@scipie7802]

Thank you very much for this very informative video. If your time allows I'd be very interested in your process of bracketing Fuji images. I find that I have a lot of trouble to make them look natural.

[@AndyMumford]

Thanks so much. For bracketing I do the Photomerge in Lightroom, and then import that DNG into C1. With the HDR Photomerge in Lightroom, it's important to uncheck the box that says Auto Adjust, because that will move all the slider to pull back highlights and shadows and you get a very unnatural image. With Auto Adjust unchecked you the merged image should look exactly like the base exposure (assuming you have one at 0, one at +1 exposure and one at -1 exposure). The extra detail and dynamic range data is then all available in the file, even though it just looks like one of the base exposures.

[@ShayFarrelly]

Excellent, answers a few questions I had about workflow with LR & C1. Essentially it appears you keep separate catalogs looking at the same raws and decide to process an image in C1 or LR. You don't appear to cross process. What I mean by that: you can for example process in LR and then call Photoshop or Nik, or DXO or Luminar to do further processing and then hand back an edited version to LR. But if you were to do that with LR & C1, you would be using the RAW engine of LR first and pass to C1 and lose the advantage of C1 processing of Fujifilm RAW files. My question is can you catalog in LR and pass "original Fujilfilm RAW" to C1 to use its RAW engine in a C1 session and still benefit from its superior RAW processing engine and pass back tiff to LR. Saves keeping two catalogues! Sorry for long comment!

[@AndyMumford]

Yes you can. You import the RAW image into your LR library. The in Capture One, you import that RAW file to the Catalogue (the actual image files stays in the original folder and isn't duplicated, it just has LR and C1 pointing at the same file). You edit the image in C1 and then process it into a TIFF into the Auto Import Folder, which Lightroom auto imports. You can then drag/drop inside LR to put that TIFF file next to the original RAW file. This means that on your computer HD you have the RAW file and TIFF file as "physical files". The RAW file can be seen in the LR Library and C1 Catalogue (it's not duplicated, the libraries and catalogues don't actually contain the images, only the "path" to the images, if that makes sense, so the size of the Library and Catalogue is small because they don't contain the actual image files. They just point at the place to where the file is stored on your HD). Hope that helps

[@nickyfoulkes8476]

Hi Andy, so you import into C1 if you then want a pano or HDR do you edit in C1 then take a TIFF file of each image into LR to stitch.

[@AndyMumford]

I don't edit the images until after I've stitched them. I open them in C1 (to get the C1 RAW conversion) then send them to LR as a TIFF with no editing. I then stitch them in LR before sending the file back to C1 to be editing

[@christopherthompson4464]

Andy, thanks for this. Apart from panos and HDR merge, what do you typically still use Photoshop for?

[@AndyMumford]

Hey Chris. Photoshop for me is for "finishing" images usually. Things like HDR and panos I do in LR. Every image I do is output through PS for sharpening because the TK Panel just gives the best web sharpening I've ever seen. I'll also use PS for things like colour overlays, where I use a gradient to enhance directional light and texture, or for a touch of Orten effect. Neither C1 nor LR can do that. I also prefer the Content Aware filter in PS for any significant spot or object removal.

[@tallaganda83]

I much prefer capture one to Lightroom, but unfortunately I still need both as I like exposure blending and the retouching abilities of Photoshop. The main thing I love about capture one are the colour editing and the masking is very great.

[@AndyMumford]

Yeah, it's great software but like you I still need the blending tools for panos and exposure blending

[@Valerossi0]

I wonder how luminar will handle Fuji raw. Someone knows?

[@arnoldosu1]

Hey Andy. Thank you for this informative video. I have just been getting a workflow going with Lightroom Classic and being that I use fuji raw files, I was wondering if you still feel this way? I mean: Does Capture One still offer the best Fuji RAW conversion? I know a lot can happen in a year... and well a lot has happened in a year :/. Hope you and your family are staying safe. Thanks, Chris.

[@AndyMumford]

I use both Lightroom and Capture One..it really depends on how I feel, but Capture One still gives the best RAW conversion.

[@arnoldosu1]

@@AndyMumford Thank you for the reply. I guess I will have to try Capture One out then.

[@patrickwahl5333]

Anyone know why there are cheaper Fujifilm and Sony versions available, but not for any other manufacturers? At that lower price I'd be all in, but the $300 price tag is a big high for me. I'm a Canon user.

[@djsuth7727]

Simply because both Sony & Fujifilm have negotiated a special deal with Phase One for their customers.

[@patrickwahl5333]

@@djsuth7727 Well come on Canon, step up.

[@hamdc4291]

I wouldn't be too upset Patrick. I've used Lightroom for years but recently switched to also using C1 for its superior rendering of my Fuji files, and it does make a tangible improvement as a starting point. However Lightroom does a good job of the Canon and Nikon raw files I believe (I used to use Nikon), so for a non fuji user, you might not notice much of a difference in your final edit.

[@regannealephotography]

The difference in Fuji files between Lightroom and Capture One these days is crazy. They look so much better in Capture One. I wondered if you knew a way of being able to manage files in Lightroom but edit them in Capture One/Photoshop and save back to Lightroom? I much prefer Lightroom’s file management than Capture One

[@AndyMumford]

I thought I mentioned it in this video. Basically, you create the folders in Lightroom when you import them, and LR will create the folders on you HD. You can then point Capture One at the same folders and import the same RAW files without duplicating them. You can then work on the RAW files in Capture One, and use the Process tab to export the processed RAW as a TIFF to a folder on your HD. Call that folder Auto Import. Then, back in Lightroom you set up the Preferences to Auto Import any file that appears in that folder, so whenever you open LR it will automatically import any TIFFS you've exported from C1. You can then, inside LR, just drag and drop the TIFF file into the same folder where you keep the original RAW and put it into a stack. This means there are no duplicate files, only the original RAW and the final TIFF.

[@regannealephotography]

@@AndyMumford I thought that the import into Lightroom converts the image via Camera Raw and it won’t be the original RAF RAW file for Capture One to utilise which looks the best?

[@AndyMumford]

@@regannealephotography No, because the RAW conversion is only done in Lightroom, the original file isn't touched. You can open it in Lightroom and edit it and do all kinds of things to it, but all that information isn't attached to the actual RAW file (it actually takes places on a separate file which I believe is called a sidecar file) The RAW file isn't touched. When you open it in Capture One then none of what you've done in LR (the sidecar file) is imported with it and you're essentially opening the RAW file in the same way as you would be if you'd never imported it to LR at all. All you're doing in Lightroom is creating the folder where you keep it so you can organise it later.

[@regannealephotography]

@@AndyMumford Ahhh now I understand. Excellent, this process makes it a lot easier to import into Lightroom, open Capture One, navigate to where I imported the photos in Lightroom and then send an edited version back to Lightroom. Great stuff Andy. Really appreciate the help

[@regannealephotography]

@@AndyMumford how to put together HDR or panorama images? Just in Lightroom still and then edit the final HDR/pano image in Capture One?

[@bh9262]

Capture one merges bracketed shots very simply. Just select the shots you want to merge and right click on one of them and select merge HDR.

[@AndyMumford]

That’s something that came with the latest update I believe. It wasn’t a feature when I made this video a couple of years ago.

[@helmet212]

16:48 Fans going crazy on mac

[@mje1625]

I'll tell ya which I think is better: CAPTURE ONE! Why? Buy it once and it's yours. No ridiculous subscription. No asinine monthly charges. Kiss my ass Adobe!