having used C1Pro with both Nikon and Canon I rate it very highly - it works and produces a particular filmic look that fits with my photography and how I see things. I would really like it if Phase One and Hasselblad (and all their users) stopped having hissy fits at each other and enabled each others software to recognise each others files - some hope . [...] I have to do more work in Phocus and Photoshop to do what C1Pro seems to be able to do out of the box.
Phase and C1 have always had a very open approach so I can't relate to the "hissy fits" comment. You can both import and export DNGs in Capture One and lens corrections are provided for phase one and leaf files from a variety of manufacturers (not just the Phase One brand of lenses, but Contax, classic Hasslelbad, and Hasslelbald H lenses). You can use any ICC profile as your starting point (allowing profiling from any device that creates an ICC profile or the direct use of manufacturer or 3rd party provided profiles). You can tether to Leaf, Phase One, Mamiya, Canon, and Nikon directly, or to any other supported camera (e.g. Sony, Olympus, Leica etc) using the Hot Folder functionality. You can run apple-scripts from directly within Capture One for huge flexibility and if you have VERY specific needs (and the knowledge/budget/time) you can get the Developer SDK from Phase One (mainly meant for specialty applications like aerial capture) for full access to the underlying math, routines, and processes of Capture One. Phase One and Leaf are also is very open with their raw file format and encourages anyone and everyone to support it. I won't even get into the openness of the hardware platform because we're already off topic. But the point is Phase One has a very open approach with Capture One and the Phase One and Leaf file types.
So if you wish convert your Hasselblad files into DNG and use Capture One you can! :-)
I have tried to use Aperture and Lightroom but they don't really do the job at present - maybe the new versions will render all of this argument redundant by simply doing what C1Pro and Phocus do without the internecine squabbles.
The next version of Aperture is already released and the next version of LR is in mid-beta stage. Both are improvements on their previous generations. I REALLY like Aperture 3. But if you, like me, find the conversions in C1 to have been superior than Aperture 2 and LR2 I don't think the next version will do much to change your mind. Which is not to say that they aren't awesome programs; in fact I use Aperture for all my cataloging/archiving of my final 16 bit tiffs. But I stopped using it for even basic processing of raws the day I ran tests of a few dozen raw files from various cameras I've owned, begged, borrowed, stolen, or used as part of this job through both Aperture (version 2 at the time) and C1 (version 4.1 at the time). My personal testing of Aperture 3 showed they've done a good job of improving the math, but it's not there yet, and lacks the high-end professional features I need like a true ICC-profile editor. Apple is unlikely to sell significantly more copies of Aperture in their target demographic if they increase the resolved detail versus noise in hard shadow areas and make their shadow gradations smoother and more film-like. The will however sell more copies because they've added the option to order leather-bound craft-wedding-albums directly within the program. Different target demographics mean a LOT about how you prioritize development, resources, and which direction you go when you have to compromise.
In my opinion and experience with Phase, Leaf, Leica, Canon, Nikon, and Olympus files C1 is literally years ahead of both Adobe and Apple in terms of pure processing quality and I would argue they are significantly ahead on pure workflow speed (assuming you are an expert-level user of each). And they aren't stopping - the next major version of C1* is going to blow minds. The new platform which took so long to get refined (see versions 4.0.0 to version 4.6) is providing an excellent development platform for some really passionate, experienced, and top-notch engineers and math wizards to push the limits of what you think a Raw Processor can pull from your files.
In other words, you ain't seen nothing yet.
Hmmm I better shut up - I sound like a real shill. But I'm passionate about Capture One.
*Don't worry version owners of version 5 will get their money's worth for sure (updates, expanded features, refinement). That's not to say they aren't in the early stages of working on the new killer features of the next version already ;-). And of course it's full power will be available free to any Phase One user without any registration, license, or other restriction and will be do a stellar job with files from all the major dSLR and point and shoot cameras with aggressive.
Doug Peterson
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Head of Technical Services, Capture Integration
Phase One, Leaf, Cambo, Canon, Apple, Profoto, Eizo & More
National: 877.217.9870 | Cell: 740.707.2183
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