Beginner's questions
Just trying to explore this software (normally working in LR). Few things confuse me. For example:
1) when zooming in, I cannot find a way how to move with the picture to get to an area I want to look at. Simply it is zoomed somewhere in the middle and no usual way of moving with the photograph to get to some other area seem to work (dragging etc).
2) Highlights and shadows - I find LR way quite more powerful: even when for example highlights are put to maximum, not much change seem to happen in Capture One. In LR, the over bright areas are being reduced much more + you can also go in a negative way, that is sometimes useful. Is there a way to get this process closer to LR capabilities ?
3) I cannot find any history of adjustments here, that is a bit confusing. Sometimes you make many adjustments but want to return just a step a few back (easy in LR), not exactly to start from the beginning. Easy in LR (you can return to any stage/adjustment you want within the list of previously made adjustments), but here I cannot find anything like this except of Reset (that would be quite limiting).
Also how to quickly view the original photo when adjusting
4) When importing another image(s), the previous ones in the right column disappear and only the newly imported one remains there (a bit frustrating). How to see all the images ? This is really a bit unbelievable - I have a catalogue, import image(s). Want to import another one - and then I see only that one, cannot return to the previous one. Cannot find any way how to see them - can't believe this is possible
1) when zooming in, I cannot find a way how to move with the picture to get to an area I want to look at. Simply it is zoomed somewhere in the middle and no usual way of moving with the photograph to get to some other area seem to work (dragging etc).
2) Highlights and shadows - I find LR way quite more powerful: even when for example highlights are put to maximum, not much change seem to happen in Capture One. In LR, the over bright areas are being reduced much more + you can also go in a negative way, that is sometimes useful. Is there a way to get this process closer to LR capabilities ?
3) I cannot find any history of adjustments here, that is a bit confusing. Sometimes you make many adjustments but want to return just a step a few back (easy in LR), not exactly to start from the beginning. Easy in LR (you can return to any stage/adjustment you want within the list of previously made adjustments), but here I cannot find anything like this except of Reset (that would be quite limiting).
Also how to quickly view the original photo when adjusting
4) When importing another image(s), the previous ones in the right column disappear and only the newly imported one remains there (a bit frustrating). How to see all the images ? This is really a bit unbelievable - I have a catalogue, import image(s). Want to import another one - and then I see only that one, cannot return to the previous one. Cannot find any way how to see them - can't believe this is possible
0
-
On (1), when you are zoomed in you can right click to get a navigator in which you can drag a frame around to different parts of the image.
Ian0 -
Ian3 wrote:
On (1), when you are zoomed in you can right click to get a navigator in which you can drag a frame around to different parts of the image.
Ian
This is what I would expect , but it does not happen. Right click - I just see the list of general options. Trying to drag the image, nothing happens (just a small preview of the whole image)0 -
NNN636355269067138371 wrote:
Ian3 wrote:
On (1), when you are zoomed in you can right click to get a navigator in which you can drag a frame around to different parts of the image.
Ian
This is what I would expect , but it does not happen. Right click - I just see the list of general options. Trying to drag the image, nothing happens (just a small preview of the whole image)
Using Windows with the Preview Screen active and the image more than filling the available scree area, hold down the space bar to access the navigation window. You should see a rectangle indicating what you are currently viewing and then have the ability to move the viewing area around the full image.
I assume Mac (if that is what you are using) has something similar.
HTH.
Grant0 -
For point 2 - Highlight recovery.
I find it powerful but it does depend on your starting point (what the image offers) and some other adjustment factors.
We could bounce words around but it would make more sense to work with a sample RAW image if you can share one on a download site so that people can work with it and offer suggestions.
For point 3 - Edit history
No, nothing like that except that you can easily and quickly save a variant at a specific point in you edit work and instantly go back to that or even view it side by side with your previous or subsequent changes.
I sometimes use another application that offers both the "History" list and a similar concept to "Variants". I thought he history list would be great when it was introduced (about 9 years ago now) but quickly realised that, for me, the "variant" approach was much more powerful and many time more useful and used. Your mileage may vary.
For point 4 - Importing
I'm not often a catalogue user but the theory is that the latest imports form a collection that you can reference quickly as a group rather the getting lost in tens of thousand of other images.
You can then work on them and chose if and how to categorise them.
By default after import the newly created collection will be displayed. If that's not what you want to see choose a different collection or go to "All Images" (or some such equivalent) and open that collection instead. (Note that I am using the term "collection" loosely and generically and that the specific use of the term in Capture One may imply something more than I am trying to communicate.)
In general ....
Capture One has a lot of feature that are incredibly useful and very flexible to use in the way that suits you best. However of you are looking for something that is instantly prescriptive about how you should work with your images you may be disappointed. What you want is more then likely possible, given the flexibility available, but you may need to take a little time to find all the aspects you feel you need for comfort and then gather them together into your working methods.
Once you have done that I think you will find C1 life enjoyable.
Your set of questions is quite typical of new users, some of whom originally seemed to indicate they were about to give up in despair (for various individually important reasons) but given a little time and experience with the software came to like more and more of what they discovered.
HTH.
Grant0 -
Thank you ... seems I have solved most of the questions I asked ...
The only drawback seems to be the lack ok adjustments history, or the list of what was done, incl. undo list ... (that is difficult to understand because it is in principle very easy). To do many adjustments and to be able to return to some point that is still good and and to continue from there, seems very essential. To be able to do just full reset or nothing seems very limited. Variants are ok - but unless you know what type of variants are they and what you have done on them, can be also a bit limited ...0 -
NNN636355269067138371 wrote:
Thank you ... seems I have solved most of the questions I asked ...
The only drawback seems to be the lack ok adjustments history, or the list of what was done, incl. undo list ... (that is difficult to understand because it is in principle very easy). To do many adjustments and to be able to return to some point that is still good and and to continue from there, seems very essential. To be able to do just full reset or nothing seems very limited. Variants are ok - but unless you know what type of variants are they and what you have done on them, can be also a bit limited ...
The settings in the variants tell you what you have done....! You can also keyword the variant separately to help identify them if you need to.
There may be reasons that the history concept is less pertinent to C1 than to other applications.
I abandoned LightRoom at V1.4 and chose another product (Not C1 back then) that offered (and offers) incredibly powerful tools with multiple tuning adjustments per tool and a tool stack that allowed individual tools to be repositioned, turned on and off, etc. Also a history list - totally comprehensive but almost impossible to know where you might want to go back to especially if "Styles" has been deployed.)
That application, in the main and apart form one or base RAW interpretation adjustments, applied each change as it was presented passing up through the stack. Thus is one changed a value at one point in the stack and then moved that change to a different position it would likely produce a different effect. Sometimes it was very subtle and you would probably not notice it's inherent difference, at other times the move could be quite dramatic.
As far as a can tell the concept of C1 is to aggregate all changes into a single adjustment value and then apply that from the "ground" up. If we are looking at adjustments with specific values that is not going to be the case of course, values are values, but any tools that are applied as percentages (or more generically "relative" adjustments) can be applied without such a specific reference to the position of the change.
In many ways the design ethos seems to be more akin to "art" than "engineering by numbers" - if you see what mean.
However all of that does place extra emphasis on the need for processing power and efficiency.
My personal experience is that the C1 approach, though it may seem to offer less in the way of hands on controls compared to my other favoured application, produces better (to my eyes) results faster and more enjoyably and has been like that since I first tried it at version 5/6.
There have been times when I might want to do something slightly more extreme than C1 readily offers and the other application certainly allows that and can produce some great results still despite its age now. But for high volume shoots and their post processing C1 is a clear first choice. Very clear.
I should mention that I am a session user and both applications I mention here can work side by side in their versions of session mode.0 -
NNN636355269067138371 wrote:
Just trying to explore this software (normally working in LR). Few things confuse me. For example:
2) Highlights and shadows - I find LR way quite more powerful: even when for example highlights are put to maximum, not much change seem to happen in Capture One. In LR, the over bright areas are being reduced much more + you can also go in a negative way, that is sometimes useful. Is there a way to get this process closer to LR capabilities ?
3) I cannot find any history of adjustments here, that is a bit confusing. Sometimes you make many adjustments but want to return just a step a few back (easy in LR), not exactly to start from the beginning. Easy in LR (you can return to any stage/adjustment you want within the list of previously made adjustments), but here I cannot find anything like this except of Reset (that would be quite limiting).
Also how to quickly view the original photo when adjusting
I'm also new from Lightroom, I can try with these ones above.
I think the LR highlight slider on its own can recover more than the C1 slider. However, if you use all the tools together, C1 does a better job overall, at least for my use. For example, try the Color Balance tool and use the slider on the right side of the Highlight wheel. Also the Levels tool recovers highlights well, and you can use both of these along with the highlights slider. It's kind of an embarrassment of riches lol.
There is a way to review the original photo, I think it's a newish feature. I can't quite remember, but I think if you <Alt> click the reset adjustments icon it shows the original photo.
In LR you can indeed go back to before you made some adjustments, but I never used it. I made a virtual copy, and now a variant in C1, and that works well. Also, in each tool you can <Alt> click the reset of that tool to turn just that tool off, as in LR.
A couple of other things:
1) I find the preview in C1, just as with LR, to be not 100% accurate as to how the exported file will look. So I export at some stage, and preview in Photo Mechanic. If I then want to make an adjustment and export again, C1 very frustratingly doesn't give the option override the existing file, which LR does. Instead it creates a new file. So I have to delete it in Photo Mechanic and then export it again.
2) Presets and Styles work better in C1. You can make presets for each tool, and then combine them if you like into styles. It's much more flexible.
3) Sharpening and Noise Reduction. I think LR is better with noise reduction. C1 Sharpening is about the same, although I miss the Mask slider. On the other hand, with my Fuji files at least, the RAW rendering is so much superior to LR that not much sharpening is required. Also, the Structure slider in the Clarity tool is often a better way to sharpen.
4) I mentioned Levels before, but it's a great tool. You can use it for shadows and highlights, contrast, and mid-tone adjustments, all in one place. I also mentioned the Color Balance tool, and the ability to adjust contrast / brightness there separately for shadows, highlights, and mid-tones is great.
5) in the Curves tool, you have a Luma option which allows you to adjust contrast / brightness without affecting color too much. It's very useful.
6) I like the Color Editor Tool a lot. You can select a color, like blue in the sky, adjust the broadness of the color you are selecting, and then adjust saturation, brightness and smoothness. You can do this with I think 8 separate color ranges. You can also turn the color selection into a mask and then make adjustments.
7) The masking / local adjustments are brilliant, far better than LR's adjustment and other brushes.
Hope this helps!0 -
SFA wrote:
The settings in the variants tell you what you have done....! .
Where ?0 -
NNN636355269067138371 wrote:
SFA wrote:
The settings in the variants tell you what you have done....! .
Where ?
In whichever tools you choose to have open in the tool tab and other tools by opening and looking at the settings.
If you want to see which tools you have used the clipboard copy can provide a list.
Don't forget you can customise the user interface to whatever you need (different customisations for different tasks if you prefer) if that helps with your work flow.
Grant0 -
SFA wrote:
Using Windows with the Preview Screen active and the image more than filling the available scree area, hold down the space bar to access the navigation window. You should see a rectangle indicating what you are currently viewing and then have the ability to move the viewing area around the full image.
I assume Mac (if that is what you are using) has something similar.
HTH.
Grant
Ah, different on Windows and Mac then? Right click does it on Mac, and spacebar does nothing.
Ian0 -
Just a quick question - if "import photos" , C1 just refers to them in their original location/folder or copies them to its own folder ? 0 -
NNN636355269067138371 wrote:
Just a quick question - if "import photos" , C1 just refers to them in their original location/folder or copies them to its own folder ?
You can choose.
That applies to both Catalogues and Sessions although there are slight differences in terms of the effects and the operation to make the import.
Also importing to a session is not absolutely necessary but it is worth taking some time to understand the differences that implies to ways of working.
HTH.
Grant0 -
Still cannot figure out how to give a name to the exported photo - always exported as Empty name. But where in the export dialog to give a name I really don't see 0 -
NNN636355269067138371 wrote:
Still cannot figure out how to give a name to the exported photo - always exported as Empty name. But where in the export dialog to give a name I really don't see
Under the Naming section, in Format. You can mix plaintext and tokens in there as well0 -
NNN636355269067138371 wrote:
Just trying to explore this software (normally working in LR). Few things confuse me. For example:
1) when zooming in, I cannot find a way how to move with the picture to get to an area I want to look at. Simply it is zoomed somewhere in the middle and no usual way of moving with the photograph to get to some other area seem to work (dragging etc).
Use the little hand tool (it's the second one in the set of tools in the middle top of screen), if you double click this on picture it zooms in to 1:1 at the point to have positioned the little hand. You can then drag the little hand to view other parts of the image.0 -
One more question about relocating photos.
I have a catalogue, make a lot of adjustments and then decide to move the original photos to an external hard drive. How to easily let Capture One know that the photos are now there to keep all the work already done and to avoid reports about photos not available ?0 -
NNN636355269067138371 wrote:
One more question about relocating photos.
I have a catalogue, make a lot of adjustments and then decide to move the original photos to an external hard drive. How to easily let Capture One know that the photos are now there to keep all the work already done and to avoid reports about photos not available ?
Can you move them from within Capture One so that it can keep track of what you are doing?
Grant0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
17 comments