Capture One Review

If you’re very impatient with how slowly Lightroom implements the changes you ask it to make, or you’re just looking to try out new professional photo-editing software, Capture One is a highly recommended option. 

This program offers a lot of advanced tools and features for professional photo editing, but with a sober and minimalist interface that some may not find comfortable. Is this the software for you? Find out in this Capture One Review.

True-to-life color adjustments for every camera model

Professional cameras work in RAW format, that is, they save the photograph with all light, color, and focal point data as captured by the digital sensor, without processing; therefore, the same landscape taken in a RAW format will look different in each brand of camera, and many times it even looks different between the various camera models of the same brand.

Capture One retrieves hardware and setup information from each of the most recognized professional camera brands, and from each of their modern models, to create a specialized basic processing format for each so that the first developing of the RAW file is an image with colors, exposure, contrast, and saturation faithful to those perceived by the human eye in reality.

Fully customizable interface

Capture One’s interface is not the most intuitive among editing programs. Its multiple tools are grouped with tabs and drop-down options, designed to make room for what really matters — the photo you’re editing — but that set of many grouped tools, all in the same color and with tiny illustrations, can be dull and overwhelming for beginner editors.

Anyhow, this is a software designed for professional photo editing, so, understandably, they didn’t focus on making it fun, easy, or attractive, but on making it efficient and fast, and, in fact, the program is fully compliant in this aspect. All the commands are applied quickly to the photos and in impeccable quality. 

More than the colors or size of the icons, what really matters to those who choose Capture One is another aspect of its interface: that it is fully customizable.

Capture one allows you to detach and move all the windows and tool panels, including the central tray where the main photo is located. You can move every tool tab, and even any tool you want to any place, so if you want to have clarity, sharpening or the color editor under the exposure tool and not in a different tab, you just have to do as simple as right-click on the tool tab icon and select the option of adding a tool. 

Other outstanding features

Capture One compiles all the advanced photo-editing tools and even some graphic design tools, such as layer editing. Here are some other highlights:

• In-built catalog to organize your photography files called “Sessions”, which allows you to sort every photo by star rating, color tab, or metadata and create collections.
• Before and after tool.
• Basic and advanced color edition.
• Automatic lens corrections.
• Use and creation of presets called “styles”.
• Advanced export settings to export photos in different formats and different locations at the same time. With this you can, by example, produce images for web, Instagram, and print in one go.
• Fast and reliable tethered capture, to get an instant live preview of your shoot images on your computer.

Capture One Review | Capture One Free trial

In the official website of Capture One, you can download a free version of the software to use with no restrictions for 30 days, and test absolutely all of its features. It also includes free learning videos to get you started. 

If you like it, you have the option to choose between a monthly or annual subscription or buy the full lifetime license of the program.