Lightroom 5 vs Capture One 7 vs Dxo Optics Pro 8

Sebastian

Sebastian

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Sebastian
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Hi guys,

I've been using Lightroom since ver 1 and I like it. I'm currently on 5.2 - I know it's flaws and I can get my way around them.

I recently had a look at Capture One 7 and Dxo Optics Pro 8 websites - and to be honest I was quite impressed with demos and tutorials.
I'm now downloading free trials to give them a go.

In the meantime, can you please let me know what you think about both Capture One and Dxo? Can you compare it with Lightroom (performance, catalogues, user interface)?

I appreciate your help.

Seb
 
Sebastian said:
Hi guys,

I've been using Lightroom since ver 1 and I like it. I'm currently on 5.2 - I know it's flaws and I can get my way around them.

I recently had a look at Capture One 7 and Dxo Optics Pro 8 websites - and to be honest I was quite impressed with demos and tutorials.
I'm now downloading free trials to give them a go.

In the meantime, can you please let me know what you think about both Capture One and Dxo? Can you compare it with Lightroom (performance, catalogues, user interface)?

I appreciate your help.

Seb
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The manufacturer websites are designed to make their products look good.
Downloading the trial is by far the best way to evaluate those programs
You say you like LightRoom but there must be something about it you don't like to make you look at something else?
I'm a relatively recent LightRoom (from v4) user, having tried 1,2 & 3 and not liking them at all (I was previously using LightZone).
If you're looking for another alternative I'd suggest you look at LightZone, it has some really good features and is available at the best price ever (free!)
I've trialled C1 and Dxo in the past and found they didn't have any more to offer than LZ, other than lens corrections, which is one area that LZ is lacking.

Personally, I think the highlight recovery in LightRoom is one of the best of any raw developer program I have tried so far.
I also use some Topaz and Nik plug-ins with LightRoom, I'm not sure if you can do that with C1 or Dxo.
For me LR plus plug-ins is a one stop shop for raw development and processing, and I don't need anything else.

You must ask yourself if paying out £80 - £100 on a new program is really going to improve the results you are getting at the moment.
 
I use Capture One, tried LR and Aperture and couldn't get on with them, tried C1 and it just worked for me.

V7 does have cataloging features, previously you had to use Media Pro, another application. They have been working hard on making the transition from LR easier too so you should find it relatively simple to adopt.

Lens corrections, local adjustments and noise reduction are all superb in C1 IMO. The HDR panel (highlight and shadow recovery) in v7 are the best I've used.

To use plugins such as those from Nik does mean exporting the file to their application rather than it being a plugin within the software, that is something a few of us have asked Phase One to investigate for the future.

Batch processing works really well in C1, I can whistle through a commerical shoot in no time. Output recipes are really useful, when I finish editing and keywording a shoot I export as full size TIFF, full size jpeg and 1024px longest edge jpeg, all of which go into their own folders. I have other recipes set up, for HDR, stitched panoramas, flickr upload, all sorts.

There are plenty of tutorials on C1 from Peter Eastway on youtube.

Finally the tech support from Phase One is second to none, I emailed them one night at 1150pm with a query and got a reply and fix at 1158pm!
 
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