Capture One allows importing Catalogs of images with adjustments from Lightroom Classic. In Capture One 20 (13.1.0) the experience of importing Lightroom Catalogs has become even smoother owing to better accuracy.
Both Capture One and Lightroom software programs work in a similar way. All changes to your images are made in a non-destructive fashion as the edits are saved in a database while keeping track of where your original photos are stored. This familiarity makes it easy to import your existing Lightroom Catalog into a new Capture One Catalog so that you can continue working on your image collection right away.
- Preparation steps
- Importing a Lightroom Catalog
- Import summary
- What gets imported
- Get acquainted with Capture One
Things you should know before importing a Lightroom Catalog into Capture One
The Lightroom Importer tool in Capture One is aimed at making the migration process as easy as it could be. Nevertheless, we prompt you to pay attention to the recommendations and notes below to ensure that the import process goes smoothly.
- The migration process is non-destructive. It will not have any impact on your Lightroom Catalog, so you can continue using it as normal. Your Catalog and images will be safe since that is a read-only process.
- Optimize the Catalog in Lightroom, remove any unsupported files (see which file formats you can import), and move parts of your Catalog items (projects, books, folders, ...) to a new folder in Lightroom, and then export this folder as a new Catalog.
- Name your Lightroom Catalog using the Latin symbols only. The language-specific characters and special symbols may cause import errors.
- Create a Catalog in Capture One. As Lightroom stores data only in the catalog form, you have to create a Catalog in Capture One first by navigating to File -> New Catalog in order to import your Lightroom Catalog. It is not possible to import a Lightroom Catalog into a Session in Capture One.
N.B. Color tags are only supported in English – if you have tags in other languages, then you may find that they are not read or ignored by Capture One
Importing a Lightroom Catalog
Watch this tutorial on how to import a Lightroom Catalog into Capture One
Use a Capture One Catalog to import the previously created Lightroom Catalog (see which settings and adjustments will be imported). Capture One references images files in your Catalog, while those original images files are never moved or duplicated. This is true both during the import and when working in Capture One.
Step 1. Open an existing Capture One Catalog or create a new one. To create a new one, select File -> New Catalog.
Step 2. From the main menu, go to File -> Import Catalog.
Step 3. You will get the following window, where you will be notified about the non-destructive import process and what will be imported. Press Select Catalog… to proceed with the import of a Lightroom Catalog.
Step 4. A Finder/Explorer system window opens. Navigate to the relevant file type - Lightroom Catalog - [name].lrcat
Step 5. After choosing the Lightroom Catalog for import, you will get the following window with the pre-import summary. Press Import.
Step 6. A small Activities dialog window opens showing a progress bar of the import.
NOTE: The time for importing a Lightroom Catalog into Capture One depends on the number of images and your workstation characteristics. It might take several hours to import a Catalog with thousands of files.
Import summary and outcome
The Lightroom Importer will notify you once the import is completed.
Successful import
If a Lightroom Catalog has been migrated successfully, you will get a summary stating that all the files were imported. Press OK.
Import issues
With the Lightroom Importer, you will get a summary of the migration process with detailed information on what went wrong and what was not imported.
Step 1. Click Show unimported files… in the lower-left corner of the dialog box to see a detailed overview. Then, a file unimported-files.<Lightroom catalog name>.lrcat.txt listing the unimported files will open.
This file resides in the same folder as the Capture One Catalog. However, feel free to move this .txt file to another location for instant access if needed.
NOTE: The Import Summary window shows the number of unimported files together with their virtual copies (if there are any) created previously in the Lightroom Catalog. The .txt file only contains the paths to original files. Thus, the number of lines in the .txt file might be lower than the number of unimported files shown in the Import Summary window.
Step 2. To access the event log and get an overview of the import problems or issues, go to the menu and choose Window -> Event Log.
What gets imported
A Lightroom Catalog is imported into Capture One with certain restrictions. It means that not all adjustments and organizational structures created in Lightroom will be transferred to Capture One.
Below is a list of what will be imported from Lightroom and how that will be represented in Capture One.
|
Lightroom Feature |
Will it be migrated? |
Where can it be found in Capture One? |
COLLECTIONS |
||
|
Lightroom Collection |
Yes |
A Lightroom Collection becomes an Album in Capture One. Album folders are virtual image collections. NOTE: If you were using virtual copies of image files in Lightroom, you may notice that Capture One always includes the image itself along with all virtual copies of it in an Album. This is due to the difference between the Album/Collection membership principles. In Capture One, the image file (referencing itself to the original location) is the Album member bringing in all its variants, while in Lightroom, each virtual copy can be included in a Collection by itself. Thus, in Capture One, you may see a higher number (next to the Album) than it was in the corresponding Collection brought from the Lightroom. |
|
Lightroom Smart Collection |
No |
Smart Collections are not imported. However, you can convert them to normal Collections before import. |
|
Lightroom Collection Set |
Yes |
A Lightroom Collection Set becomes a Group in Capture One. NOTE: Empty Collection Sets are not imported. |
ADJUSTMENTS |
||
|
Orientation |
Yes |
You will find the orientation settings in the Details tool tab. |
|
Rotation |
Yes |
You can adjust rotation and orientation in the Rotation & Flip tool in the Details tool tab. |
|
Crop |
Yes |
Use the Crop tool in the Details tool tab to adjust the cropped area. |
|
White Balance Preset or WB Temperature/Tint |
Yes |
You will see the White Balance adjustments imported from Lightroom in the White Balance tool in the Exposure tool tab. |
|
Saturation |
Yes |
Check the imported Saturation settings on the Saturation slider of the Exposure tool inside the Exposure tool tab. |
|
Contrast |
Yes |
Check the imported Contrast settings on the Contrast slider of the Exposure tool inside the Exposure tool tab. |
|
Exposure |
Yes |
Check the imported Exposure settings on the Exposure slider of the Exposure tool inside the Exposure tool tab. |
|
Red Eye Correction |
No |
In Capture One, there is no specific Red Eye Correction tool like in Lightroom, but you can use the combination of tools to remove the red-eye effect. |
|
Spot Removal |
No |
Similarly to Lightroom, there is a Spot Removal tool in Capture One though it has a slightly different functionality. Read our complete guide to using the Spot Removal tool Alternatively, you can create a new Layer and use a Clone or Heal tool to remove unwanted blemishes or repair certain areas. |
METADATA |
||
|
Star Rating |
Yes |
You will find it as a Star Rating under the image thumbnail in the Browser or in the lower-right corner of the image preview in the Viewer. |
|
Color Label |
Yes |
You will find it as a Color Tag under the image thumbnail in the Browser or in the lower-right corner of the image preview in the Viewer. |
|
Keywords (except hierarchical) |
Yes |
The keywords will be in the Keywords tool inside the Metadata tool tab. NOTE: Hierarchical keywords will not be imported. |
|
IPTC Core Contact: Creator Name, Job Title, Address, City, State/Province, Postal Code, Country, Telephone, Email, Website |
Yes |
The IPTC metadata set in Lightroom will be placed in the corresponding fields of the Metadata tool in the Metadata tool tab. |
|
IPTC Core Content: Headline, Caption, Category, Supplemental Categories, Keywords, IPTC Subject Code, Caption/Description Writer |
Yes |
|
|
IPTC Core Image: Intellectual Genre, IPTC Scene Code, Location, City, State/Province, Country, ISO Country Code |
Yes |
|
|
IPTC Core Status: Title, Job Identifier, Instructions, Provider (Credit Line), Source, Copyright, Rights Usage Terms |
Yes |
|
Is it easy to switch from Lightroom to Capture One?
Upon switching from Lightroom to Capture One, you will also be able to tune your workspace. Select Window -> Workspace -> Migration if you prefer the Lightroom-like interface. Note that the Capture One interface is highly customizable as it allows rearranging the elements inside the workspace to optimize your workflow.
You’ll be a master in no time with some quick tutorials, webinars, and a comprehensive user guide.
- WEBINAR: Migrating from Lightroom
- TUTORIAL: Interface Explained
- TUTORIAL: Essential Adjustments
- TUTORIAL: Exporting images
Watch more tutorials and webinars
Find essential tips for switching from Lightroom to Capture One in this blog article
Read the FAQ on switching from Lightroom
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Comments
2 comments
I have 500,000 images in my LR6 catalog.
I know C1 cannot have such a large catalog and I'd like to import by year into multiple C1 catalogs. My single LR6 catalog is setup with folders by year with subfolders by date.
I don't see how I can migrate partial catalogs (single year parent folders) from LR6 to C1 21.
I have been using C1 21 for a year on my laptop so am familiar with C1 catalogs, etc.
Can I migrate LR6 folders by year, currently in one single catalog) into multiple C1 21 catalogs by year? Thanks Nancy
Nancy: did you ever get an answer?
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