Why are the previews of Capture One Pro of such low quality?

[bcf]

For now, I have made a macro using Keyboard Maestro (I'm on the Mac), which does the following when I type "Z" if the viewer window is frontmost:

- If the "To fit" view is showing, switch to 100% and uncheck Recipe Proofing in the View menu
- If the "100%" view is showing, switch to "To fit" and check "Recipe Proofing" in the View menu

(this is dependent on the default width of the picture in the viewer, 1680px in my case; and on the settings of the selected recipe, 1680px long edge with slight screen sharpening, ProPhoto profile).

[IanSeward]

Hi Bernard,

That still means it could be Mac related, for I do not have these blurry previews on my Windows machines (did not with W7, and do not with W10). The Mac uses a different graphics pipeline that is partly integrated into the OS. That may also explain why it apparently takes a long time to address the issue.

Cheers,
Bart

I came across a Youtube video where the guy was using a Mac with 5K monitor.  He said that Macs default resolution setting is not the native monitor resolution but pixel doubled. To get i image pixel per monitor pixel you needed to set the resolution to the native monitor resolution. He showed his settings but strangely the native 5K setting was greyed out and not available although you could download a tool to set the resolution to 5K.  If Macs are using pixel doubling and or people are using different resolutions could this explain the problems with blurry previews that seem to impact Macs far more than Windows?  Windows always defaults to native monitor resolution.
If people on this thread could report their actual resolution settings, not the native monitor resolution, then a pattern could possibly emerge.

[The View]

First, thanks a lot for creating a detailed support case.

Second, don't get your hopes too high. This issue has existed at least since version 9.
I created a respective support case a long time ago with screenshots, exported images, etc.
I had some dialogue with the support team and appreciate the steps that have been taken (e.g., the Proofing option), but a proper solution is still missing.
I am rather certain that this "Fit" view deficiency is not regarded as a bug by Phase One. I believe they regard the solution as a compromise between accuracy and efficiency that is "good enough". Apparently it is good enough indeed for many because I'm not seeing mass protests. I doubt that the non-complainers see a different results, I believe they just don't have the same expectation towards a "Fit" preview.

The fact that this basic requirement (useful renderings at "Fit" size) has not been addressed for version 12 and efforts have instead been spent on changes/additions that almost seem obscure in comparison, does not instil confidence that we'll see a fix anytime soon, AFAIC.

I can only encourage everyone who notices how blurry "Fit" renderings can be at times (not due to bug, not to C1 needing a restart, just the regular lack of crispness which contrasts to the rendering at magnification levels 30% or higher) to create a support case. I believe Phase One should have ample detailed support cases that include evidence already that a quick note should be sufficient perhaps with a pointer to this thread.

Here's to hoping that the issue will be fixed some day. I realise that an optimal solution (which has to take efficiency in both preview generation times and preview storage into account) is not trivial, but the current situation could be easily improved by taking the user's standard preview size into account and optimise generation for that instead of one of the standard preview sizes made available by C1.

Personally, I don't see myself upgrading before the issue has been fixed. Yes, having radial masks, etc. would be nice, but I won't spend the substantial upgrade fee to be left with the same preview issues as before.

P.S.: I'm experiencing the issue on a Windows machine. The fact that you are seeing it on a Mac corroborates the notion that this is not a bug but rather a consequence of how "Fit" previews are handled by C1.

I also did a bug report. This problem has been around for many versions.

I think it is an immanent problem of the Capture One Catalog. (I haven't had the opportunity to compare it with the previews quality of sessions)

Other RAW converters have better quality previews, particularly Canon DPP.

If you compare the preview quality of Canon DPP to that of Capture One Pro it is as if you were looking at the original in Canon DPP, and at a compressed jpg in Capture One Pro.

[Dinarius]

Windows 10 x64

I too have had this problem - a clear difference between an image in C1 preview and the same image viewed as a TIFF in CS6.

I have just switched to a new 4k monitor (BenQ SW271 - love it!) and the problem is gone.

However, with some older software (e.g. Photoshop CS6) I had to make some changes since it wasn't scaling properly - in the case of CS6, text and tool buttons around the edges were tiny, even with UI set to Large.

This is the fix I found on the web and everything is perfectly scaled and tack sharp on the 4k now.

Since I no longer have the Dell HD monitor I can't tell if this fix would make have made any difference on it. But, it might be worth a try.

Basically, Windows default (I have no idea if there is a Mac equivalent fix, or indeed the need for one) is to allow a piece of software to set scaling. If there is a problem, as with CS6 on my BenQ 4k, you can override this to allow the system to set it.

This is how...

Browse to...

C: > Program Files > PhaseOne > Capture One 12....

Now scroll down to the C1 icon and right-click on it...

Choose > Properties > Compatibility > Change Settings for All Users > Change high DPI settings...

Tick the box "Override high DPI scaling behaviour. Scaling performed by...

...and from the dropdown menu below change it from Application to System.

Click Apply, OK and close.

Now restart C1.

Does it make any difference?

Probably not on a HD monitor.

But, I'm just curious.

If it doesn't, you can always revert to the Application option.

This is program specific, and will only change the option for C1.

D.

[The View]

Has anyone checked out Capture One Pro 20 - has the blurry preview problem been fixed?

[bcf]

Has anyone checked out Capture One Pro 20 - has the blurry preview problem been fixed?

Unfortunately not, for my installation at least. Why does every software does the preview right, and not Caoture One?
This for me detracts from the whole experience of using Capture One, to the point that I am even considering Lightroom.

[kers]

Sorry to jump in like this and have not read all the posts, i may make a mistake.

But isn't it the basic problem that when an image is viewed at Fit  -say at 24,57 %  it does not look sharp?
In photohop i prefer 25%, 50% and 100% to view my images because at say 35,79 % don't look sharp either.

In CaptureOne fit to screen can mean 25% for one person and 35,79% for another - the first sees a sharp image the second a fuzzy one...

The problem with C1 is if you are at fit screen and it is fuzzy you cannot go smaller, and they do not display the percentage. - the only way is to change the layout ot change the size.
So maybe that is the way to go.

[bcf]

Thanks Pieter.
But in Lightroom, whatever the size of the window, the "Fit" view is sharp.
In C1, whatever the size of the window, the "Fit" view is unsharp. Any view with a higher magnification than "Fit" is usually sharp. But then it does not fit in the screen… 

[Dinarius]

I recently switched to 4k and the images in C1 20 are the same as in Photoshop CC.

However, I did have the problem with my old HD monitor.

D.

[bcf]

I use two BenQ 27" monitors, not 4K.

[kers]

I recently switched to 4k and the images in C1 20 are the same as in Photoshop CC.

However, I did have the problem with my old HD monitor.

D.

I think what you say could mean that a 4Kscreen has more pixels so it looks sharper, even if the rendering is not optimal...

[kers]

Thanks Pieter.
But in Lightroom, whatever the size of the window, the "Fit" view is sharp.
In C1, whatever the size of the window, the "Fit" view is unsharp. Any view with a higher magnification than "Fit" is usually sharp. But then it does not fit in the screen… 

OK- i must say that i am used to deal with fuzzy rendering and only look at the standard percentages if i want to believe my eyes...
I looked at the c1 fit screen and saw for the first time the fuzziness - i only trust the 100%...
Somehow photos always look better in photoshop... ( also compared to LR )  i don't know what that is. But that is the image i trust ( at 12,5- 25- 50 and 100 etc %)

[bcf]

I tried setting the image size to 25% on C1, using the "Proof margin" setting to narrow the size down to what I needed.
And I set the same image at 25% in Photoshop.
Well, I agree, it still looks better in Photoshop.

Guess if I want to go on using C1, I have to embrace the fuzziness 

[Aram Hăvărneanu]

I just don't see it. iMac with 5k screen.

[bcf]

It seems 4K, 5K fixes it.

[kers]

It seems 4K, 5K fixes it.

So than it bounces back to the  Apple + 4Kscreen    problem...
Apple seems to require a 5K screen or the new 6K to show all well...
Problem is there are not that many 5K screens to buy- It is the way Apple economy seems to work...
(offtopic: even the Imac Pro cannot handle the 6k screen at 6K- only the latest macbookpro's and iMacs can)

[The View]

So basically I would pay $ 199.00 for the upgrade (from C1 11) and the most annoying malfunction of C1 - around for years - has again not been fixed.

Compare a preview with Canon's free DPP - where everything is tack sharp - to the fuzzy, blurry C1 preview.

I still like the processing quality of C1, but that I do not get a good representation of my images is a joke for a RAW converter in 2020.


I don't think it has to do with the less than optimal catalog, because the previews in sessions are just as blurry.

Thanks for the info. As the upgrade doesn't fix this core problem, I won't do it.