I have slowly been moving most of my post processing to Capture One. Lightroom is a good program, but Capture One has more bells and whistles without having to edit images from Lightroom to Photoshop and back. Photoshop is too complex for me, perhaps because I am too lazy to learn it. I tried to edit some medium format images in Lightroom the other day. They had a stark red cast to them and I tried to adjust the colors using the RGB histogram. I had no luck. I tried the same in Capture One and using the RGB histogram a simple slide of the lower red point to red channel’s edge immediately made true to life colors. I have enjoyed the VSCO film simulations in Lightroom, but am achieving the looks I like with less work and less preset choices in Capture One. I especially like Capture One’s Cinematic presets.

This image was one click processed using Cinematic 12. The image was a good exposure with good color straight out of the Fuji X100v, but the preset gave me the colors that match my preferred palette and I like the muted sharpness of the “cinematic” style.

This shot of the same subject is another one click process in the Sunbound series of Capture One presets. This particular preset is called Angkor Wat (Dark). It has a bit more saturation and more detail and more red emphasis. I tend to favor colors in the blue and green ranges, but this one is pleasing.

I cannot master the process of using layers in Photoshop, again from its complexity and the vast number of options within each mode of the program. Capture One has a layering system also, unlike Lightroom, and it is simple to use for those rare times when I use layers.

I strongly suggest giving Capture One a try. It is a powerful feature packed program with understandable tools and good product support in the form of learning videos. Like the Adobe products, it now has a monthly subscription system that means your program is always up to date. There is only a small library of presets available on the Capture One website, but the available ones are all very good. Over time, the available preset library will surely increase in size.