reguli Loc: Uruguay

Since 2005, when I bought my first DSRL, I navigated through some photo editors (Canon DPP, ACDSee,..) and finally I landed with Lightroom. I-ve recently seen some videos on You Tube announcing the end of Photoshop and Lightroom in favor of Capture One. Out of curiositydownloaded the trial version of Capture One 12, but with only 30 days is not enough for me to take the dicision of buying the software(more than U$S 200).
I aprreciate if somebody can tell me what are the great advantages of Capture One over Lightroom and Photoshop.
Thank you in advance.

CHG_CANON Loc: the Windy City

There isn't an advantage, period. After a couple of years of the Adobe subscription, one might argue the total cost of ownership for CaptureOne becomes overall cheaper. But, you'd be throwing away all your investment to-date in Adobe for a new piece of software that won't appreciably change your resulting images. If you weren't WOW-ed by a trial, that should be evidence enough ... Rather than videos about other software, you might consider video training about how to use the more advanced aspects of the Adobe tools.

bsprague Loc: Lacey, WA, USA

"videos on You Tube announcing the end of Photoshop and Lightroom"

I don't think so. You might be watching the wrong YouTube channels. Adobe themselves have a YouTube channel that is full of well done tutorials.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

They each have their pros and cons. As with Nikon vs. Canon you are going to hear from people who are committed to one or the other.

For a more objective comparison, see Lightroom vs Capture One: Should You Switch?.

Quibbling over price differences is pointless. If you want to save money on software, don't use either.

jackpinoh Loc: Kettering, OH 45419

I have extensively used both Lightroom Classic and Capture One Pro. There is nothing you can do in one that you can't do in the other. Some things are easier to do in Lightroom; other things are easier to do in Capture One. Both applications work with Photoshop. Some people claim that Capture One works better for a specific camera system's raw files, or for tethering, but the issues involved are now being addressed by Adobe. Capture One is less expensive than Lightroom if you use only Sony or only Fujifilm cameras. But if you need Photoshop, you get Lightroom at no additional cost. I am glad to see Capture One challenging Adobe's Lightroom. The competition makes both applications better.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

I don't thin you need to worry about Adobe's demise any time soon. It's probably OK to worry about a minor increase to the subscription cost but that will likely be incremental -- if you're happy with it now then you should expect normal inflation.

I use both regularly. I have to use LR/PS at work and when I get home to work on my own photos I use C1. I switched to C1 years ago and remain happy with that choice.

My motivation was and remains: I really want my raw workflow to be 100% non-destructive and non-linearly re-editable. I suspect I want that more than most and absolutely it is a major factor in my choice of editing software. If I want to revisit an image in a week or 6 months or 3 years and tweak a change or create a variant of an image I don't want to be forced to redo previous work.

To achieve that goal my editing must remain parametric and remain within a single application. C1 gets me closer to that goal than LR with better and more extensive and more flexible tools. LR is excellent and when I'm asked by someone who wants to make a living with a camera what they should use I don't hesitate to say LR. LR has the better cataloging features compared with C1.

But using LR I'm more likely to reach a point in an edit where I have to click send to PS and I JUST HATE THAT! There goes my 100% non-destructive and non-linearly re-editable raw workflow. (And there goes my disk space too -- although someone will rightly chime in disk space is cheap).

You want specifics: LR's range option for masking is great. You can use it for example to create a mask targeting a specific color. I used that for years in C1 before LR users got it. And if while using LR the absence of that feature would have sent me to PS then I would have cursed and spit on the ground and Oh yeah! that's why I was using C1. C1 has superior masking capabilities now. C1's cloning and healing functions are better than LR -- not by a huge amount but better. Enough better that C1 may be able to keep my away from PS where LR wouldn't.

I'm very happy using LR and it takes me 90% of the way toward achieving that workflow goal I noted above. C1 takes me a little further and that's the deciding factor for me.

That's me. My focus on that goal is strong enough that it overrides all the other concerns. I don't care what they cost I don't care which one has the better database I don't care about UI I care about staying the bleep bleep away from a bleep pixel editor like PS and losing my non-destructive workflow.

DirtFarmer Loc: Escaped from the NYC area, back to MA

A lot of people are looking for alternatives to Adobe products because they don’t like the subscription model. I had been using LR for years when Adobe started CC and i was somewhat hesitant to start. Eventually I decided to go for it and I have no regrets, either financially or performance based.

I thought about other systems but as you noted, 30 days isn’t enough to fully evaluate a new system unless you have a lot of time to spend on it.

Adobe is the industry leader and the subscription cost is a bargain in my opinion. Others are trying to catch up, and they may eventually succeed but they’re not there yet in my opinion (and from comments I’ve seen on this and other forums).

speters Loc: Grangeville/Idaho

I doubt very much you will see the end of PS and/or LR in the near (of far) future!

mwsilvers Loc: Central New Jersey

if you can't make a decision whether to buy the software after 30 days of using it, it's unlikely you'll feel comfortable making it even with a longer trial period. Thirty days is a long time if you spend some time using it every day. Even if you spend only a half hour a day on it, it's still 15 hours of actual hands-on throughout the trial. How much time would be enough?.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

My suggestion is to not think of it as an either/or situation. Get all three. You will find images or situations where any one of the three will outshine the others. I use all three. PS is a given, there is really no good substitute for it, but some will argue with that - I'm guessing mostly people who don't use it because it has a long learning curve and a dauntingly large command set.

LR vs C1 vs On1 for raw conversion only. All three are great, C1 can produce slightly more finished-looking proofs that LR, and if it doesn't blow up, On1 can be a lot like C1 - I think in terms of time in front of the computer, by far and away, C1 is going to get you to your desired results faster than the other two. If you use good cables, tethering is also better with C1. My only objection to C1 is that it does not play at all with common plugins - either for special effects or for image enhancement or finishing. On1 has a great collection of modules that are layer based, and they use the layering tools that Photoshop uses, making familiar. It also have built-in presets, and very tight integration with LR/PS, and of course their own raw converter.

If you are getting software you might has well toss in DXO PHotoLab+Nik2 - there are things like noise reduction on high ISO or severely underexposed images that simply cannot be done with other software - but only if your specific camera and lens are supported in their rather extensive database. The NIk collection is also extremely popular as a plugin for LR/PS, and it's nice to see they finally integrated it into their excellent raw converter. I use DXO as well. I think can be pretty objective - given that I use the four leading commercial raw converters. There is no clear winner - they are all very good. None of them are capable of producing truly finished images, but C1 comes the closest.

MW

Which is better depends on your preferences:
-C1 uses layers (but NOT) for compositing images. LR has no layers.
-If you use external editors for HDR or pano where you export multiple images and get one back LR works better. C1 is more complicated.
-Single image out and back again - both work about the same.
-I think color adjustments in C1 is a little better but others may disagree.
-I find that C1 sharpening is less likely to produce halos.
LR has built in HDR and pano, C1 does not.
ETC ETC

If you have been using LR for several years transitioning to C1 takes patience. You can have expectations on how tools work only to find that to get similar results you have to go about it in a different way. Both may work equally well but you can get frustrated at times until you figure it out.

reguli Loc: Uruguay

Thank you to every one of you for your comments. My first impression after 30 days trial is that C1 is very good for portraits but no so much for landscape as I have ecperienced with LR. I know it works with layers directly from raw files and the luminosity layers are very easy to use. But PS does the same and I believe better. Therefore with the experience gathered in these 30 days and your comments I will continue with LR/PS.

Carusoswi

It is much easier to make local edits in C1 than in LR. As mentioned previously in this thread, if you need to move to PS from LR to make selective adjustments, then you are no longer working from the RAW file.

Another option that seems never to get mention is the free, open source RAW file editor, darkroom. IMO, no other RAW file editor gives you the same combination of power and flexibility. The approach is a bit different, but, again, IMO, it is no more difficult to master than any of the other applications mentioned here . . . and it is absolutely FREE!

FWIW, I subscribe to Adobe, have purchased C1 version 12 (and I like it very much), also have Lightzone (another free, open source option), and darktable.

For me, darktable is tops with its parametric and/or drawn masks which can be used to apply almost all of its modules selectively (a very powerful feature).

Whatever you decide to use, learn it thoroughly and have fun.

Caruso

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

If you don’t want to go the subscription route, Luminar and ON 1 19 are both excellent programs you might consider.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

I get the photographers package, lightroom and photoshop for $10.00 a month. Love it.