Capture One 12

I got a fun email in my inbox this morning, alerting me to a new version of Capture One! The upgrade from Capture One 11 to Capture One 12 is significant. It’s even closer to perfect for me.

Hi, after changing PC it is impossible to activate capture one 12 despite having the license key available. The instructions above are not applicable, as there is no version 12 to download, the oldest available for download is 13.1. 3 and 13.1.2 no other versions available. Length: 60:00 minutes New Heal and Clone tools in Capture One's latest update are both easier and faster to work with, while providing the high image quality that Capture One is known for. Webinars Shooting and Editing with the Fujifilm X-T4 and Capture One. Download the User Guide for Capture One 12 in PDF. Capture One 12 User Guide.pdf See the release notes for Capture One 12 here. Capture One 12 adds even more functionality for Fujifilm photographers. Capture One has always handled Fujifilm RAW files better than Lightroom, and now it can do even more. Capture One 12 or Lightroom? Earlier this year I wrote a blog post about switching over to Capture One 11 after over a decade of using Lightroom. WHY is it impossible to find Capture One 12 download links? Why provide perpetual licenses if you make your software impossible to find after two years? Honestly, this company must be in rough weather with these practices and the recent gigantic price hikes. If I can't find the link today I'm just off to the Creative Cloud because this is.

If you’ve waffled on switching over to Capture One from Lightroom, this update may push you closer to Capture One.

And if you’re a Fujifilm shooter, you may have been excited to hear about their collaboration with Fujifilm in Capture One 11.3. Capture One 12 adds even more functionality for Fujifilm photographers. Capture One has always handled Fujifilm RAW files better than Lightroom, and now it can do even more.

Capture One 12 or Lightroom?

Earlier this year I wrote a blog post about switching over to Capture One 11 after over a decade of using Lightroom. I was impressed with its amazing color control, faster performance, adjustment layers, and pricing. There were still a few things missing:

Only Lightroom had luminosity masks and radial filters. Despite the awesome adjustment layer functionality, there were few masking options. The gradient filter in C1 offered little control. I had to use a brush for all dodging and burning in C1.
C1 was missing a GPS import function; I got around that by using Photo Mechanic.
There were no third-party plugins for C1. I used a SmugMug plugin with Lightroom to automatically update my galleries; I had to do this manually with C1.
The interface panel in C1 took some getting used to. It had a small font and they crammed a lot in to a single panel, but I got used to it.

Capture One 12 Changes

The update with Capture One 12 adresses most of these concerns. In fact, all but the geotagging feature have been included.

Here’s what’s new with Capture One 12:

Radial masking with refined controls, making dodging & burning even easier, and faster.
Luminosity masks allowing adjustments to be made based on the brightness value of each pixel.
Linear masking with better edge & gradation controls, like what’s available in Lightroom.
Larger fonts & clearer icons, making editing sessions easier on the eyes.
Extensive keyboard shortcut mapping, allowing you to customize your preferences for a faster workflow.
Third-party plugin functionality. Expect numerous plugins to be available with C1 in the coming months!
And it’s even faster than C1 11, which means it’s much faster than Lightroom.

In C1 11, if I wanted to dodge this group of people to make them brighter, drawing the eye over there, I had to use multiple brush strokes of different opacity to feather the adjustment. This took a few minutes to get right:

In C1 12, it’s as easy as dropping a radial filter, just like Lightroom:

Making a linear gradient to drop the exposure of the sky, but not the mountains, was a tedious process of drawing the initial gradient mask and then erasing out the areas of the mountains with a brush. It wasn’t precise and took forever to minimize the effects of the edge. You can complete this in seconds using the new Luma masking, and make it more precise also.

Capture One Pro and Capture One Fuji also include Fujifilm film simulation modes. I, along with many other Fujifilm photographers, had been using homemade ICC profiles to try to emulate the look of the Fujifilm film simulations. Capture One’s collaboration with Fujfilm means that the engineers who actually designed the film stocks have created more accurate profiles for use with Capture One.

I should disclose that I still have a Lightroom subscription solely for Lightroom Mobile. Capture One doesn’t have a mobile app yet. I do all of my image editing on a tablet while I’m traveling, and I do find Lightroom great for these quick edits. All of my heavy editing when I finally get home is done on Capture One.

Try Capture One for free

Capture One still offers Capture One Sony, specific to Sony cameras, for a lower price. This is the same as Capture One Fuji for Fujifilm cameras. I’ve downloaded the full version since I’ve shot with a number of camera manufacturers over the years.

I am not an affiliate with Capture One and I did not recieve any perks for writing this post. I just wanted to share the excitement! Download the fully-functional 30-day trial to see if it’s right for you.

You, like me, may discover that your post-processing becomes more efficient and closer to your original vision. I’m heading back to some of my favorite images to use the new tools now!

Each full-version release of Capture One software from Phase One offers at least one major new feature as well as a few minor ones, and Capture One 12 is no exception. Where version 11 added somewhat improved masking tools, version 12 takes a giant step forward by introducing straightforward luminosity masking along with a new radial gradient masking tool and an improved linear gradient masking tool.

Luminosity masks are simply masks that affect certain tonal values in an image. They are incredibly versatile, convenient, and offer a precise way to target tonal values in an image. They allow a new level of selecting, adjusting, and compositing images in Capture One.

Landscape photographers have struggled for years to create luminosity masks in Adobe Photoshop as a way to adjust the dynamic range of their captures and blend images together. Capture One 12 has simplified this process and extends it for use by portrait and wedding photographers. You can not only create luminosity masks of subjects but can also easily apply the masks to multiple captures.

HOW IT’S DONE

Luminosity masking is found in the Color, Exposure, and Details tool tabs. After creating a luminosity mask, you can use virtually all of the tools in the appropriate tool tab to adjust the masked area.

As with all the tools in Capture One, luminosity masking is a visual experience designed for photographers. After opening an image and navigating to the appropriate tool tab, you apply a new filled layer mask and select the Luma Range button above the layer. A new window appears with the Luma Range controls. By dragging the upper knobs, you control the range of tonal values for the mask. The mask overlay adjusts dynamically with the changes. The lower knobs control the feather of the mask. Fine-tune the mask with Radius and sensitivity sliders. Once you’ve masked the tonal values you want, click Apply and make whatever adjustments you had in mind.

Luminosity masks are on individual layers so they travel from tool tab to tool tab. Additional luminosity masks can be added, and existing ones are non-destructive so they can be readjusted at any time.

I achieved the smoothing I wanted (top) then copied and pasted the changes, along with the luma mask, into others without worrying about differences in composition (bottom).

FOR PORTRAITS

This is the stuff that landscape photographers live for, but the coolest ability of Capture One’s luminosity masking is designed for portraits, especially those made under controlled lighting. In Capture One 12, luminosity masks can be copied and pasted into other images to target the same tonal areas as the original. Effectively, this gives a different mask to adjust the same tonal range in other images, even if the composition is different.

For example, imagine you want to mask and adjust the skin tone in a series of portraits from a session. Create a luminosity mask and adjust one of the images using the Uniformity tools found in the Skin Tone tool of the Color Editor. Then select the other images, open the layers palette, and shift-click the double-headed arrow. The luminosity mask and skin tone adjustments are immediately applied to the rest of the images. Very slick.

MORE FEATURES

While luminosity masking is the most significant new feature in Capture One 12, others are noteworthy as well.

A new radial gradient masking tool and improved linear gradient masking tool are found with a click-hold of the Brush tool. Click and drag the radial gradient (formerly a brush function), and the ellipse forms from the center. Once the tool overlay is visible, dragging the handles adjusts the shape. Both tools have additional options for control by holding down shift + cmd/ctrl or ctrl/alt keys. The new radial gradient tool is ideal for creating fast, precise vignettes, among other uses.

The mask visibility is controlled by the M key, which brings up another feature that will appeal to keyboard shortcut users—a new keyboard shortcut manager under the Edit menu. There are more than 500 possibilities. Create a new set that copies all of the default shortcuts, then modify existing shortcuts or add new ones. A complete list of shortcuts is visible by clicking the Summarize tab.

As a longtime user of Capture One, I noticed that the interface looked a little different. Sure enough, the silver type on a deep black background is replaced by white type on a warm charcoal gray background. The icons are larger and a few are redesigned, the cursors are larger, as are the fonts and the thumbnails in the batch queue. These make the interface seem cleaner and more legible, particularly on large, high-pixel-count monitors.

The interface remains extremely customizable. You can drag tool palettes from their docked position anywhere on the monitor or onto another monitor or hide them until needed. The toolbar, other than the default toolset, is also customizable.

Users moving to Capture One from other applications have the benefit of a superb set of tutorials, available from the Help menu, to get started with the program. I encourage new and existing users to make use of the extensive video tutorials on the Phase One website to get up to speed on the program and the latest features in version 12.

The pricing of Capture One Pro 12 remains $299 for new users, which includes a perpetual license to all upgrades to this version. Upgrade pricing from previous versions has increased to $149. Capture One Pro subscribers can download the new version at no cost.

Stan Sholik is a photographer and writer in Santa Clemente, California.

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