capture one pro Fuji Shooters & Capture One Pro 11

[Rick Lewis]

I downloaded the trial version for Capture One Pro 11 and have to say I am very impressed with the RAW conversion of my Fuji RAF files.  I shoot both Nikon & Fuji and have been using Lightroom Classic CC for some time.  For my Nikon NEF's, LR is very good.  Not so much when dealing with my Fuji images.

 

I won't get into all the details, (I realize this is highly subjective) but I binned an image the other night, that I processed with LR, for what I thought might be CA. I could not remove it and re-processed the image using Capture One Pro 11 today.  The bottom line; the image is fine.  Lightroom produced a distortion (artifact) in the image along a straight line of high contrast that would definitely fail QC.  I was curious to see what Capture One would do with the image.  Using C1 Pro 11, there was no distortion and the image is ready for upload.

 

Capture One can be expensive.  I'm not sure what it costs now, but I've been an off and on user for several years and was even a Beta tester for them back around C1 Pro 8 & 9.  They wanted feedback on the RAF demosaicing.  The are offering me a deal at a special price to come back to them .  

 

I'm mentioning this because I have spent literally hours these past few days re-processing images for comparison purposes and can honestly say, there is a big difference in the quality of output of RAW RAF files.  

 

There are two improvements over Lightroom that I can't ignore.  One improvement is that there are no sharpening artifacts at all, unlike LR. ( No wormy effect in out of focus foliage that some call the painterly effect.)   The second major improvement are far fewer overall artifacts and distortions in high contrast areas and out of focus areas.

 

This can get kind of personal I guess.  I mean very subjective, and many people are quite happy with LR.  But, I thought I would post this as a current user and Fuji shooter to give my personal experience.  I have to say I was not all that satisfied with C1 Pro 8 or 9 (Beta on 9 only, never upgraded), but this version is far better.  It took me about two hours of watching tutorials supplied by Phase One and experimenting with settings before I felt comfortable with a workflow.  It is not as complicated as it looks.

 

Hope this is helpful to some.

 

Rick

[MizBrown]

Downloaded it for Sony and have a 30 day trial before deciding to get the Pro Sony version or go back to the free Sony Express version.  Some of the Pro version things aren't applicable as my particular camera doesn't do remote tethered viewing; some I haven't worked with.  I've found that both Capture One and DXO PhotoLab do things that don't seem as good with Lightroom.   DXO PhotoLab interfaces smoothly with LR, so I'm more likely to send problem files to that rather than Capture One, but have thought about going to Capture One if Adobe does away with Lightroom Classic and insists that we store photos on Adobe's servers for an additional fee.

 

Knew that LR had problems with Fuji, so for Fuji users, this sounds even more promising.  You might see if Fuji can get the same deal for a cheaper Fuji only version that Sony got for its cameras.

 

 

[Rick Lewis]

1 hour ago, MizBrown said:

Downloaded it for Sony and have a 30 day trial before deciding to get the Pro Sony version or go back to the free Sony Express version.  Some of the Pro version things aren't applicable as my particular camera doesn't do remote tethered viewing; some I haven't worked with.  I've found that both Capture One and DXO PhotoLab do things that don't seem as good with Lightroom.   DXO PhotoLab interfaces smoothly with LR, so I'm more likely to send problem files to that rather than Capture One, but have thought about going to Capture One if Adobe does away with Lightroom Classic and insists that we store photos on Adobe's servers for an additional fee.

 

Knew that LR had problems with Fuji, so for Fuji users, this sounds even more promising.  You might see if Fuji can get the same deal for a cheaper Fuji only version that Sony got for its cameras.

 

 

 

I wish they would work with Fuji but I don't see that happening.  Fuji is now in direct competition with Phase One, the creators of Capture One, with the roll out of Fuji's GFX, medium format digital camera.  Since Sony apparently has no intention on producing a medium format camera, I suspect Phase One saw a nice opportunity with Sony's sales increasing.

 

I have thought long and hard about Sony but don't want to go the A7r route as the lenses are too big and the A6xxx series lenses are not as good as the Fuji line up. (My opinion only).

 

Rick

[MizBrown]

Just now, Rick Lewis said:

 

I wish they would work with Fuji but I don't see that happening.  Fuji is now in direct competition with Phase One, the creators of Capture One, with the roll out of Fuji's GFX, medium format digital camera.  Since Sony apparently has no intention on producing a medium format camera, I suspect Phase One saw a nice opportunity with Sony's sales increasing.

 

I have thought long and hard about Sony but don't want to go the A7r route as the lenses are too big and the A6xxx series lenses are not as good as the Fuji line up. (My opinion only).

 

Rick

 

 

The Sony/Zeiss 24 mm APSC lens is very good (it lives on my a6000 most of the time); the others will pass QC, but are not spectacular.  Haven't tried the Touits or the Sigmas.   I'm not a fan girl, but I can get Sony cameras here (a6000 and a5000 ones at some Radio Shacks, and perhaps could get a full frame Sony in Managua but haven't gone looking lately.   Entry level Canons and Nikons are easy to find with kit lenses, but full frames not so much.   Have never seen a Fuji or Micro 4/3rds.   I like the idea of being able to get some kind of body locally if something happens to my a6000 and I bought a second a7 since they're currently on sale new for what I paid for a used one earlier in the year (both imported).  My first two full frame primes (35mm and 55mm) are fairly light.  I also have a Zeiss Batis 18mm (bought used and imported), and also have a old Nikkor 105mm f/2.5 on an adapter.  My last camera in the US was a D300 which I sometimes miss but which was quite a lot heavier than my a7 cameras, not to speak of being quite a bit heavier than the a6000.

 

I think of the a7 cameras as wide angle to portrait cameras  (plan to get the 85mm f/1.8 eventually) and the a6000 for looking like a amateur when I'm taking photos on the street.    I've been out with an a7 and the Zeiss Batis 18mm shooting a building construction site.  The foreman came over to see my gear and said his Canon with a zoom was better.  Didn't argue.   

If I were in the US, I'd have possibly made different choices, but finding a Sony interchangeable lens camera, the a3000, in Jinotega, NI, was my own personal game changer from the GF1.   Got the a6000 when I was back in the US for a visit, and bought the 24mm lens at a now closed Sony Store in Managua.   Getting gear here generally means importing it or going to the US to buy it and bring it back as one's one allowed duty-free personal camera.   Nicaragua has some excellent photographers, but getting fully equipped here is a challenge.  

[Martin P Wilson]

I would reiterate Rick's comments, I am currently checking out v11. I have used Capture 1 Pro v 10 (used most versions since v1? in around 2003). Was briefly unhappy with v5 or 6 messing up metadata (loaded with PhotoMechanic) so used LR for a while with my Canons. Since then it has been my raw converter of choice, especially since going all-in with Fuji.

 

There is a choice of standalone or subscription, unlike LR. Not dependent on the cloud either. I upgrade every couple of years or so for around €100.

[ReeRay]

V11 is great. I'd only recently paid my V10 upgrade so I was offered V11 for free. Good PR. 

 

The improvements and additions are significant, especially fine tuning masking and now layers at all levels. I use C1 for all  my RAW conversions and have no complaints or indeed any desire to switch elsewhere. 

[Martin P Wilson]

I have not used PS for years, I can do everything I need in C1 Pro.

 

However I have thought about averaging stacked images to get rid of noise in extreme low light/ high ISO and I think I would need PS/LR to  do it. It is where my next efforts with C1Pro v11 will be exploring.