Lightroom vs Capture One
Posted: Tue 24 Oct 2017, 12:09
As I have stated elsewhere,l I am considering whether to migrate away from Lightroom to another application, or applications as Lightroom encompasses both image management and processing as its primary functions. I will share on the forum anything of interest which I find.
The first of these is a piece by Martin Evening, who is a Lightroom and Photoshop guru. He has published a number of books containing a lot of technical information and are what I turn to first if I want to find out how something really works. The article is a comparison between the sharpness and colour/tone rendering capabilities of Lightroom and Capture One, which is the closest alternative to Lightroom in terms of the range of functionality on offer. As you would expect, it examines the topic in some detail but the conclusion tells you what you really need to know.
A number of commentators have mentioned that Capture One produces much better looking images and extract more detail from Raw files than Lightroom. Martin Evening demonstrates that this is mainly due to the default settings which the two apply. Lightroom uses more modest settings to allow users to get the the look they want, whereas Capture One attempts to get the image nearer to the final result from the outset. Lightroom can produce something similar and, if desired, it is possible to create presets to apply the required settings. Both company's approaches are valid and it comes down to a matter of personal preference as to which is better. Evening says either applications is a solid performer and while there are some differences between the two, he argues that they are not as great as some would have you think.
There is a caveat. Capture One might be a better choice for some as it has some features which are not present in Lightroom. It also has the advantage that it is still available with a perpetual licence, albeit the purchase cost is considerably higher than Lightroom 6.
http://4bcokm12bvu948gi7312gnab-wpengin ... %20Pro.pdf
The first of these is a piece by Martin Evening, who is a Lightroom and Photoshop guru. He has published a number of books containing a lot of technical information and are what I turn to first if I want to find out how something really works. The article is a comparison between the sharpness and colour/tone rendering capabilities of Lightroom and Capture One, which is the closest alternative to Lightroom in terms of the range of functionality on offer. As you would expect, it examines the topic in some detail but the conclusion tells you what you really need to know.
A number of commentators have mentioned that Capture One produces much better looking images and extract more detail from Raw files than Lightroom. Martin Evening demonstrates that this is mainly due to the default settings which the two apply. Lightroom uses more modest settings to allow users to get the the look they want, whereas Capture One attempts to get the image nearer to the final result from the outset. Lightroom can produce something similar and, if desired, it is possible to create presets to apply the required settings. Both company's approaches are valid and it comes down to a matter of personal preference as to which is better. Evening says either applications is a solid performer and while there are some differences between the two, he argues that they are not as great as some would have you think.
There is a caveat. Capture One might be a better choice for some as it has some features which are not present in Lightroom. It also has the advantage that it is still available with a perpetual licence, albeit the purchase cost is considerably higher than Lightroom 6.
http://4bcokm12bvu948gi7312gnab-wpengin ... %20Pro.pdf