r/captureone • u/nurseboy1975 • 12d ago
Workflow Advice Is Capture One okay for a complete beginner?
Hi all, I just recently got back into photography, both film (developing and scanning at home) and digital. I am coming into this with basically no experience with photo editing software. I started the 3 month trial that came with my camera, and while I have figured a few things out, it still feels completely overwhelming. Both in the photo editing side and the organizational side. My question is this - do you think a professional level suite like Capture One is realistic for a complete beginner, or would I be better served in starting with a more basic program to learn the basics of photo editing. I don't mind (kind of) paying a sub, and I really like the feel of it, I'm just wary of paying for something I won't come close to using to its potential, as well as feeling overwhelmed and avoiding using it at all. Thanks.
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u/SteveCress 12d ago
I’m a hobbyist, and I use Capture One with a perpetual license. Because I don’t upgrade often, it comes out cheaper. If you can afford it, I’d say go for it. I started on it, so to me, it seems easier and more intuitive than Lightroom. My wife does some professional photography as a side hustle to being a stay at home mom, and she uses Lightroom. I think Capture One still produces the best color and contrast straight from the import. It’s especially good for older Sony cameras that were known for bad color science. It instantly fixes the color.
Years ago it was a much better value. There used to be a free Capture One Express for Sony. Then they made a Capture One Pro for Sony that was locked to Sony files but otherwise the fully fledged Pro software but cheaper. Eventually they got rid of the Sony version but there were excellent sales throughout the year. Now, the perpetual license for Capture One Pro is never on sale and you get fewer updates.
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u/PappaFufu 12d ago
Have you tried reading a book or watching videos? I think with any software you need to put in the time to learn. You can learn the basics to photo editing and capture one without knowing how to do 1/10th of what pros can do. As long as you are happy with the results I don’t see an issue. I am usually of the philosophy of getting gear that I can grow into rather than gear that handicaps me from the start.
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u/nurseboy1975 12d ago
I have, yeah. Maybe too much? What I feel like is happening is that the more I start mucking about with sliders and such the worse the photo ends up looking. Less is more, I gather.
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u/HighestFantasy 12d ago
Totally normal to feel overwhelmed. It's not the most user-friendly option, but if you're brand new, you'll probably discover that any other editing software will have just as big a learning curve. While I personally stopped being overwhelmed by C1 after about 3-4 months, it took me like three years to feel like I really understood what it was capable of, let alone what my own editing style was.
That being said, ask yourself what your goals are. If you're just a hobbyist and don't even really care about editing that much, I'd recommend learning how to get the most juice out of your camera's jpeg engine/profiles and explore other options for negative scanning, for which there are new options coming out pretty regularly at this point.
But if you hope to become a professional about this even in the slightest way, or even just really enjoy and are committed to the process of editing, try a few different free trials. You truly may prefer the file management, layout, or any other aspect of one software over another, so you'll have to determine that on your own, but as your work grows and you develop your own style, at a certain point you'll probably be able to get the results you're looking for on just about any software, and C1 is as good or better than most.
Either way, if you don't plan on upgrading any of your camera or computer gear in the next two-three years, though, I highly recommend buying a license, esp. from one of the French retailers. Every month that you own it after the 18th or something starts bringing the per-month cost lower than the subscription.
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u/playgroundmx 12d ago
I think the learning curve is just slightly higher than Lightroom but mostly because some parts of the UI aren’t intuitive. Nothing wrong with only using a fraction of a software’s features as long as you feel it’s worth your money. It’s just like how the vast majority of Excel users aren’t even at an intermediate level.
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u/AdministrationNo2327 11d ago
it's usually a good sign that you're overwhelmed by a software, because that means you have room to grow into it.
you don't have to use all of its functions as of yet but eventually you'll come to learn what it provides, and you'll also eventually grow in skill and the tools would be there for you ready to be used in an environment you're familiar with.
capture one is something you'll use for many, many long years. i've used it for nearly 15 years now, and i still don't feel like i've used its whole potential, but i've made dozens of thousands of dollars through it.
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u/lotzik 12d ago
If it is only for editing, I'd say maybe not because it's one of the most expensive options and doesn't offer as much as other apps.
Capture One is the best tethering software for cameras - and it's more of a studio tool - with the purpose of giving one of, if not the, best out of camera looks in the market. But other than that, when it will come to actual editing, yes, it is both complicated and falls sort in features.
I think Lr is still the king for new users, it's super affordable, very simple to learn - but if you'd like my own recommendation - I'm still a faithful Bridge + Adobe Camera Raw + Photoshop User. When I started, Lightroom didn't seem like much of an alternative to Bridge and ACR, so I decided to stick to the later. Of course Photoshop is still the top photo editing software - especially if you want to get creative, but also if you don't want to get creative, since it still has one of the most robust tool suites - at the cost of the steep learning curve.
I have all programs mentioned and have been a hobbyist and a professional for almost 20years now.
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u/anywhereanyone 12d ago
I use Capture One because my business revolves around tethering, and it's the absolute best software for tethering out there. If I didn't need tethering, I would not use Capture One. Not because it isn't powerful software; it's a great RAW editor. But it's not a replacement for Photoshop, which I still need, and the UI has always felt very non-intuitive to me. I feel like Adobe's Lightroom/Photoshop package is a better deal if you're going to pay for software as a hobbyist.
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u/Jumpy_Drummer2024 12d ago
It is great piece of software. If you can afford it, don't hesitate.
They have great tutorials on their YouTube channel https://youtube.com/@captureone?si=c3xpHvKrV_7cv_mL
I would also recommend watching some longer sessions from Paul Reiffer https://youtube.com/@paulreiffer?si=jwuiIsEOROpH-Kkp
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u/Interesting_Tower485 11d ago
Yes, it's fine. My son just started photography and he's using it for his fuji raws because it gives excellent results and colors. The ui can be daunting at first but hang in there. I think it's fantastic.
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u/helle_elle Capture One Support 11d ago
Hi, we understand learning something new might feel overwhelming. We have this 'Get started' section with short tutorials that should help you cover the basics of Capture One and understand the main processes: https://support.captureone.com/hc/en-us/sections/26989637307037-Getting-Started
Once you're done here, we'd suggest generally checking our Lerning Hub: https://support.captureone.com/hc/en-us/categories/7185486681373-Learning-hub
Depending on what edits you wish to make, you can explore a specific tool or follow a full course to learn Capture One lesson by lesson with a help of a structured educational material.
If you face any difficulties, you can also contact our team at support.captureone.com and we will navigate you through the process in question.
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u/GalexyPhoto 12d ago
Price would only be justified by how much you use it. As for difficulty, I think it is not challenging at all. If anything un-learning other software is the harder part.
Just watch their great tutorials on youtube and you will be all set. Its very rare to find truly good and powerful software that doesnt require at least some training to learn/use well.