Lightroom to Capture One Pro?

cuthbert

cuthbert

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Hello all,

Like many who post in these forums - I consider myself a hobbyist, I'm fortunate enough to have some decent kit, but I don't have loads of cash to throw at my photography (unfortunately!).

You may have read elsewhere that Adobe is planning on increasing the cost of CC subscriptions supposedly due to currency fluctuations (see here) soon.

For what it's worth, I don't subscribe to CC.

I still run Lightroom 5.7 (keep meaning to upgrade to 6, but not really any extras i'd use), I have an old version of Photoshop (CS5) but recently gave Affinity Photo a spin and really like it and now use this as my go-to photo editor - there are a few things it actually does in a slicker more responsive way than my version of PS.

LR 5.7 works fine on Windows 10 and I'll keep with it, but with Adobe seemingly tight lipped about the pricing structure of Lightroom 7 when it is eventually released my concern is that they will move it subscription only - and for a hobbyist, is something i'd like to avoid.

Looking at the competition, Capture One Pro seems to be regarded as the main contender and has a healthy community and following (although not as big as LR)

So my question is, do any of you guys have any experience of Capture One? can you import, or derive in someway your presets (I've got a dozen or so I've created for my "look" that i've evolved over the years I'd rather not re-create)?

Will you stick with LR if Adobe make it subscription only?
 
Yes, CO IMHO was crap.

I ran the trial on a Mac for a few week and found it extremely frustrating and slower than LR (I'm running a top of the rang 5k iMac).

What I'm surprised about is that you don't want to pay Adobe for LR, but are happy to stump up a lot more cash for CO.
 
i'm more concerned about being locked into an ecosystem where the price continues to increase beyond what is acceptable to me - at least with the perpetual licensing model you have control - you can skip a version or two if it doesn't have any benefits etc, which is what i did with lightroom and it's worked well for my budget.

i accept that you can't run the same version forever - whilst i've got my 5D3 and it's supported by Lightroom 5, it's fine, but if/when I decide to get a new body, I'll need software to support it - i am generally happy with lightroom, but i also don't want to be locked into paying for it monthly either.
 
cuthbert said:
i'm more concerned about being locked into an ecosystem where the price continues to increase beyond what is acceptable to me - at least with the perpetual licensing model you have control - you can skip a version or two if it doesn't have any benefits etc, which is what i did with lightroom and it's worked well for my budget.

i accept that you can't run the same version forever - whilst i've got my 5D3 and it's supported by Lightroom 5, it's fine, but if/when I decide to get a new body, I'll need software to support it - i am generally happy with lightroom, but i also don't want to be locked into paying for it monthly either.
Click to expand...

Well I've subscribed to CC since inception. This is the first increase and it's a small one due to exchange rate. It's still a bloody bargain considering you get LR and PS.

You think you have control with a perpetual licence, but that's not strictly true. What if an OS upgrade stops it from working? Do you stick with an unsupported, unpatched OS just to keep your old version of LR running?

capture on costs €340, that's three times the price of LR perpetual licence. Of course you can subscribe at €14.50 which is also more expensive than LR and you don't get PS.

Where is your logic?
 
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Do you know for sure LR7 will be subscription only? I think they make a lot of sales to hobbists like us and I'd be surprised if they wanted to risk those sales.
 
ecoleman said:
Well if subscribed to CC since inception. This is the first increase and it's a small one due to exchange rate. It's still a bloody bargain considering you get LR and PS.

You think you have control with a perpetual licence, but that's not strictly true. What if an OS upgrade stops it from working? Do you stick with an unsupported, unpatched OS just to keep you old version of LR running?
Click to expand...

it's only a bargain if you use all those tools - like i said, i'm a hobbyist, Photoshop is overkill for me, I don't do a lot of compositing, just colour toning and minor corrections.

i accept that future OS versions can break software, it's not something which worries me as it's fairly trivial to run something old in a virtual machine in a supported configuration - for ever - it's something i regularly do as i support some software written in an ancient version of Borland Delphi which only works on Windows XP that work wouldn't pay to upgrade - I'm actually running a piece of software released in 2005 which still works fine in a VM, something if it was subscription only I wouldn't be able to do.

I do get, and I do understand exactly what you are saying, for pros or for those who use all the features, it's a no brainer. it's no so clear cut for me.

@Tunbridge It certainly isn't confirmed LR7 will be subscription only at all, I was merely speculating that it could be.

My other experience in cloud models is that if any of you work in IT, you have seen companies like Microsoft change their pricing strategies for Azure pretty significantly in the last couple of years - these types of pricing shocks haven't reached the consumer end yet, but it does make me suspicious and cynical that once there is enough buy in and the products are embedded in workflows, the thumbscrews will get tightened.
 
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I tried C1 as a potential replacement for LR, which I've been using since it was Rawshooter Pro. The interface (C1) is cr&p to say the least. I'm sticking, happily and subscribing, to LR even though I scarcely use PS. It's still worth it. And if they do tighten the screws, well then is the time to consider alternatives. You still will have your image files nomatter.
 
Capture one is good but it's a different product and as such worth spending some time with the tutorials getting to know how it works to get the best out of it, but the same can definitely be said of Lightroom. It's not intuative switching between either if you're used to the other.

Marting Evening did a good review of both. It's available here:
http://4bcokm12bvu948gi7312gnab.wpe...uploads/2016/Lightroom vs Capture One Pro.pdf

Capture one has a faster import - Lightroom has got clunky, but a good fast machine gets around that. Version 6 (Standalone) was a good upgrade, introducing more camera support, more lenses and more editing features. Dehaze is there but you have to add in some code to access it.

CC for Lightroom and Photoshop is cheap, if you think Lightroom was £150 or £180? (£80 upgrade) and Photoshop was £600?
 
I think you kind of have to accept that this game is not a cheap hobby. I'm in a similar boat and I now consider the longevity of gear. It was the reason I switched from Canon Mark, their bodies just seemed ridiculously priced for an upgrade every 5 years. Software is necessary and they've typically got us sucked into it. I personally don't find a tenner a month too bad. If you were shooting film you would easily spend that on processing costs. I spend £120 on sky every month and don't watch much TV, that narks me more, but every now and then I find the time to watch a game of football. There's always something that needs upgrading, I currently would like a macbook pro but can't justify the cost of one right now. Best go check on those numbers I put on earlier..
 
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I personally worked successfully with Capture One Pro
since 5 years. For me and my press productions, there
is nothing else. I must add that I don't work with catalo-
gue but in sessions mode… tethered or not.
 
Livin The Dream said:
I think you kind of have to accept that this game is not a cheap hobby. I'm in a similar boat and I now consider the longevity of gear. It was the reason I switched from Canon Mark, their bodies just seemed ridiculously priced for an upgrade every 5 years. Software is necessary and they've typically got us sucked into it. I personally don't find a tenner a month too bad. If you were shooting film you would easily spend that on processing costs. I spend £120 on sky every month and don't watch much TV, that narks me more, but every now and then I find the time to watch a game of football. There's always something that needs upgrading, I currently would like a macbook pro but can't justify the cost of one right now. Best go check on those numbers I put on earlier..
Click to expand...
If you want that Mac you could afford it if you killed your £120/m Sky subscription!

Like the OP I'm running an old version of LR (4.4) that I bought outright. It does everything I need as a hobbyist.
It cost me about £80 and has lasted for 4-5 years maybe more. Had I been paying for CC for that whole time, that'd be nearly £500.
I won't pay monthly for anything that I don't need to, I even dropped the £6 Netflix bill.
I agree that you should pay for the tools you need but when those tools get more expensive, you have to look at the cost and value you are getting.
As someone who doesn't make a living from photography it doesn't make sense to me (IMO) to lock myself into a monthly payment plan where they can jack up the price when they want.

If I was a pro photographer it would be a different matter but even then you have to weigh up the options.
 
Have a look at DXO Optics pro too - similar pricing to stand-alone LR and with many similar features.

I've tried LR, CO (Sony version) and DXO-OP. They can all give terribly similar results, though each tends to push an image in it's own direction and some do certain things better than others. I still regularly use LR as my main image development software and DXO-OP when I want an alternative for variety.
 
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