master raw P
hase One’s original soft- ware for their early backs evolved into Capture One nine years ago, introducing sup- port from the high-end imaging company for third-party DSLRs and raw conversions. Capture’s image processing treats colour and luminance separately, a way of handling noise and large files that may have roots in mak- ing the most of low-powered computer systems but remains a model of efficiency. For years, Capture One was the only me- dium-format software solution that extended support to DSLRs, making it a popular workflow app for those users with both – and it retains advantages due to this processing. Version 6 was announced in
December, updated to 6.1 and featuring the Capture Pilot iOS application clearly developed from Leaf Capture Remote; as with Leaf’s offering this is not a tethered capture controller, but a client/director previewing tool that displays images (at full resolution, with a thumbnail browser) and allows preview of histogram as well as ratings (ratings are unique to Capture Pilot). Further showing Phase One’s integration with Leaf, the server is compatible with the Leaf software; the server should in theory allow a simple laptop host application too. It does allow long-distance interac- tion, sharing over wide-area networks, so you can shoot with a creative director in another country.
Capture One 6 has a few headline features - under the hood full 64-bit support im- proves performance and memory allocation under Snow Leop- ard and Windows x64, whilst OpenCL support offloads image processing onto the appropriate GPUs (graphics cards) where available. For the user, local ad- justments, keystone correction, enhanced metadata handling offer additional adjustments and editing capability; Capture Pilot
MASTER PHOTOGRAPHY 26
photography Capture One Pro v 6.1
and full-screen views enhance the user interface. Black and White conversions are simpli- fied with a channel mixer. Most obvious in the changes to the UI is a loupe, for quick verification of details.
The most recent announce- ment is the integration of ProFoto studio flash control into Capture One – providing a single application for the op- erator. This is via a plugin, and could pave the way for further integration; there’s no reason why Elinchrom’s Skyport control system should be excluded as Phase One continues to main- tain an “open” stance towards compatibility and integration. File handling is also im- proved, with smart albums, advance file naming (allowing shoots to be named, sequenced and organised; a useful feature if your album structure gets dis- organised or you prefer to work differently). ICC V4 support joins revisions to existing functions such as the improved colour editor.
In use Capture One V6 continues Phase One’s “comple- tion” of the application. As a user of Lightroom/Bridge for my own organisation, I’ve made less use of Capture One’s albums for Digital Asset Management – more as a shoot tracking facil- ity, allowing an individual shoot to be organised. With the new smart albums and support for more and more DSLR formats (Sigma’s Foveon format being one exception) it’s tempting to use Capture One alone. As a raw processor, it handles large files far better than Lightroom and I generally stick to processing my Phase One files in Capture One even if they’re shown in Lightroom catalogues as part of an ar- chived shoot. With adjustments applied to each new shot, if you wish, it’s easy to compensate for lighting or angles then present a close to finished image to a client on the fly. For users who
New loupe function in Capture One v6.1
Below: iPad screen shots showing Capture Pilot rating function, and Capture Pilot browser
do want to work with several applications, Capture One 6 sup- ports XMP metadata, including ratings.
Lens Corrections still rely on the LCC profiles, created using the white perspex sheet
to measure vignetting, though stored profiles exist for popu- lar lenses. This feature is more important for users with backs on view cameras, where some extreme fall-off can be found when using essential move-
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