Capture One Pro as an alternative/upgrade to Aperture

[carlgo]

As mentioned you will be pulling in the edited versions and not the originals, if that's your intent, that's fine, but make sure you keep the Masters in Aperture available and not delete the app or the library so you can still go back to the originals.

Personally, I'd not go this route, but that's just me.

That makes sense. What actually shows up at C1 when you migrate over "automatically"? A hidden master with the edited ones visible? Or do you have to redo them all anyway? If that is the case, then is there a way to just transfer only the masters and plan on re-doing them?

I am not afraid of re-doing the masters because I think they would turn out better because C1's automatic sharpening, etc. is evidently terrific, C1 can do better with shadow and highlight recovery and perhaps those I converted to B&W could be done better in C1 the second time?

 

[simonsi]

That makes sense. What actually shows up at C1 when you migrate over "automatically"? A hidden master with the edited ones visible? Or do you have to redo them all anyway? If that is the case, then is there a way to just transfer only the masters and plan on re-doing them?

I am not afraid of re-doing the masters because I think they would turn out better because C1's automatic sharpening, etc. is evidently terrific, C1 can do better with shadow and highlight recovery and perhaps those I converted to B&W could be done better in C1 the second time?

As I posted earlier, Export originals from Aperture, that will give you a clean restart to reprocess in C1...

 

[VirtualRain]

After being away for a couple of weeks, I just spent some time with Capture One Pro today, and wow, I love this app. It's such a pleasure to work with now... especially since 8.2 really improved the performance on 4K displays for me and made brush work a lot smoother. I really don't see using NIK anymore, and I couldn't fathom having to go back to Aperture. Sometimes you don't know what you're missing.

Here's an image I worked on today that likely would have to be discarded in Aperture...


5DM34765 by Virtual.Rain, on Flickr

But thanks to the awesome highlight and shadow sliders in C1, and a bit of local adjustment, came out just fine...


Untitled by Chris-VirtualRain, on Flickr

 

[simonsi]

thanks to the awesome highlight and shadow sliders in C1, and a bit of local adjustment, came out just fine...

I find the same, especially when working from a 14-bit NEF. One of my best grab shots was wholly made because of C1's shadow recovery (excuse the compression, the tiff is very smooth), I grabbed it while just leaving on the school run and didn't have any time to tripod and bracket for HDR, the foreground was almost completely lost in the original but came out fine:

 

[Padaung]

I've finally, after following this thread from when it first started, fired up the Capture One trial on my Mac Mini.

I've just edited and exported 13 images with it.

First impressions:

The UI will take a little time to adapt to, but I found everything I needed with relative ease. I'm so used to how Aperture works any change will take time to adapt. I just need to spend some time customising the UI to how I'd like it (the fact the UI is customisable is a bonus). I will have to adjust to the different ways of working too. As someone who has always struggled (despite repeated attempts to acclimatise) with the Lightroom UI and always preferred Aperture's UI, Capture One has settled well with me (for a first impression)

Speed. It ran relatively slowly on my 2012 i5 Mac Mini with 10Gb ram. Some lag with changes, and rendering the raw file on screen. Exporting the jpegs took ages. I had Outlook, a lot of Chrome tabs, Spotify and was burning a DVD in Toast at the same time though. I will have to give it another go (and perhaps a fairer test!) with fewer other applications running at the same time. My Mac still has a spinning 5400rpm HDD, I'm sure a SSD would make a big difference in many ways (the same could be said for Aperture).

The shadow and recovery sliders: WOW, WOW, WOW!!!

As Virtual Rain has said, I think far fewer round trips to Nik will be required, which is a major bonus. I love what Nik does, but the round trapping is a tedious and inefficient workflow.

My journey has begun... So far, so good.

 

[^^BIGMac]

OK I'm gonna give C1 a try.

First though I need a card reader since prior to this I have always just had Aperture down load directly from my camera(s).

So, who can record a good card reader (Mac compatible)?

 

[Padaung]

OK I'm gonna give C1 a try.

First though I need a card reader since prior to this I have always just had Aperture down load directly from my camera(s).

So, who can record a good card reader (Mac compatible)?

Depends on which card type your camera takes but generally I've found readers by Belkin and Lexar to be good. If they are USB they will be Mac compatible.

 

[^^BIGMac]

Depends on which card type your camera takes but generally I've found readers by Belkin and Lexar to be good. If they are USB they will be Mac compatible.

They both make a few...any recommendation on which model might be best? I'm using Canon 70D w/ SanDisk SDHC cards!

 

[MCAsan]

Lexar Dual Card Slot is hard to beat. I does UDMA 7 for fast read and writes to UDMA 7 capable cards. The wife and I used the Lexar readers for years when we shot 35mm bodies that did CF cards. Now we do only M43 cameras that only do SD so we use the SD readers in our MacBooks.

http://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Dual-Re...id=1429542232&sr=8-1&keywords=lexar+dual+slot

 

[^^BIGMac]

Lexar Dual Card Slot is hard to beat. I does UDMA 7 for fast read and writes to UDMA 7 capable cards. The wife and I used the Lexar readers for years when we shot 35mm bodies that did CF cards. Now we do only M43 cameras that only do SD so we use the SD readers in our MacBooks.

http://www.amazon.com/Lexar-Dual-Re...id=1429542232&sr=8-1&keywords=lexar+dual+slot

Thanks. That is the one I was looking at!

 

[^^BIGMac]

BTW if anybody else has a recommendation please post info. @VirtualRain?

 

[VirtualRain]

BTW if anybody else has a recommendation please post info. @VirtualRain?

I use Transcend memory cards, so I use their USB 3 card reader. But I don't think it matters too much... Any USB 3 reader should do the trick.

 

[simonsi]

OK I'm gonna give C1 a try.

First though I need a card reader since prior to this I have always just had Aperture down load directly from my camera(s).

So, who can record a good card reader (Mac compatible)?

C1 imports direct from my D300, if your camera mounts as a drive then you should be fine???

 

[HantaYo]

C1 imports direct from my D300, if your camera mounts as a drive then you should be fine???

Both Aperture and Lightroom see me Olympus EM5; C1 does not. I have not researched the issue though.

 

[VirtualRain]

Both Aperture and Lightroom see me Olympus EM5; C1 does not. I have not researched the issue though.

Some devices use Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) which presents the "device" to the computer and the file system is managed by the device. Some use the USB Mass Storage standard which presents the card as a drive to the computer, allowing the computer to access it like any other drive.

If your device has this option in a menu, change it to USB Mass Storage.

If it does not, then you will need a card reader.

 

[MCAsan]

Most cameras will connect via slow USB 2. Use a USB 3 reader instead. If a CF card, use UDMA 7 cards and reader for much faster read and write sessions.

 

[simonsi]

Some devices use Media Transfer Protocol (MTP) which presents the "device" to the computer and the file system is managed by the device. Some use the USB Mass Storage standard which presents the card as a drive to the computer, allowing the computer to access it like any other drive.

Mmmmm - but why would the App make a difference, surely the OS presents the card filesystem...or not, once in the filesystem as a mounted volume C1 should be able to access it

 

[VirtualRain]

Mmmmm - but why would the App make a difference, surely the OS presents the card filesystem...or not, once in the filesystem as a mounted volume C1 should be able to access it

Good question, but MTP originated as a Microsoft framework and is not natively supported by OS X, so support is app specific. All Canon DSLRs use some variant of MTP/PTP that only the Canon software or API will support (I believe) which is why every Canon shooter has a card reader. Not sure what Nikon does in this regard.

I'd say that these days, if your camera is recognized by any photo app, it's an exception, not the norm.

 

[simonsi]

Good question, but MTP originated as a Microsoft framework and is not natively supported by OS X, so support is app specific. All Canon DSLRs use some variant of MTP/PTP that only the Canon software or API will support (I believe) which is why every Canon shooter has a card reader. Not sure what Nikon does in this regard.

I'd say that these days, if your camera is recognized by any photo app, it's an exception, not the norm.

Ah! Just also found that my D300s isn't recognised by C1 (and you can't set USB mode), D300 (set to Mass Storage), is...not an issue for the "s" as SD card capable...and mostly use a FW reader for D300 CFs...

 

[page3]

Like many I've been looking for a replacement to Aperture, and am surprised at how few alternative there are out there.

I've spent some time with Lightroom but just cannot get on with it. I dislike its 90's look, its workflow and especially its 'non-appleness' - how it sprinkles loads of unwanted applications where it likes and forces me to use an alternative App Store to manage the program. Its inability to import my current Aperture library with at least simple alterations was a show stopper.

I initially discounted Capture One because of its price, which is high for a hobbiest like myself. I only really want iPhoto+ which Aperture provided in spades.

A few days later and I think Capture One might just be the software for me. It's import from Aperture works far better than Lightrooms. Things like crops are brought across - saving me cropping 14,000 photos again manually. The interface looks fine and the editing facilities are clearly excellent.

I need to stop comparing everything to Aperture and start enjoying them on their own merits.

I just wish I could get over the price though!

 

[simonsi]

I need to stop comparing everything to Aperture and start enjoying them on their own merits.

I just wish I could get over the price though!

Aperture has been downgraded to "Photostream manager" for me.

Price. Yep, just keep telling yourself that better to pay a price and have the developer support the product than have a near-free app that can be binned at short notice for no real reason other than corporate strategy.

 

[MCAsan]

I just wish I could get over the price though!

Serious photographers spend thousands (dollars or pounds) on camera bodies, lenses, tripods and ballheads, flash units, and bags.

Relative to those investments, LR or C1P are small costs.

 

[JDDavis]

Like many I've been looking for a replacement to Aperture, and am surprised at how few alternative there are out there.

I've spent some time with Lightroom but just cannot get on with it. I dislike its 90's look, its workflow and especially its 'non-appleness' - how it sprinkles loads of unwanted applications where it likes and forces me to use an alternative App Store to manage the program. Its inability to import my current Aperture library with at least simple alterations was a show stopper.

I initially discounted Capture One because of its price, which is high for a hobbiest like myself. I only really want iPhoto+ which Aperture provided in spades.

A few days later and I think Capture One might just be the software for me. It's import from Aperture works far better than Lightrooms. Things like crops are brought across - saving me cropping 14,000 photos again manually. The interface looks fine and the editing facilities are clearly excellent.

I need to stop comparing everything to Aperture and start enjoying them on their own merits.

I just wish I could get over the price though!

Capture One also has a subscription option. Of course you have to have the internal debate on a one time cost and upgrades or paying for ever. If all you really want is iPhoto+ then Photos may get there one day...may. In that light I'd call C1 Pro...Aperture+. It's in a completely different league than iPhoto.

 

[Padaung]

Serious photographers spend thousands (dollars or pounds) on camera bodies, lenses, tripods and ballheads, flash units, and bags.

Relative to those investments, LR or C1P are small costs.

Agreed, and let's not forget the expensive Mac and monitor (and possibly extra hard drives and Wacom tablet) used to run the software and investment in time and very probably money (magazines, course, etc.) to learn about photography.

 

[page3]

Serious photographers spend thousands (dollars or pounds) on camera bodies, lenses, tripods and ballheads, flash units, and bags.

Relative to those investments, LR or C1P are small costs.

Yes, but for me as an enthusiastic hobbiest it is expensive and a good £80 more than its rival (Lightroom).

Anyway, Lightroom 6 looks just a ugly as 5. I don't want that sort of ugly in my life, if I did I'd have a generic PC and not a Mac.

Capture One here I come...