Issue with file rendering with Leica
Hello
I am testing out Capture One coming from Lightroom. I find it very powerful and I like most of the features very much, it is so much faster as well, however I have an issue: coming from Leica SL files (DNG), I don't seem to be able to reproduce the same natural rendering as in Lightroom - meaning looking very film-like, with some grain, but no digital aspect at all. I have tried removing the noise reduction completely, playing with sharpening parameters, but the images still either have a "digital" feeling or they are not sharp enough, the same images I can open with Lightroom and get spot on without any manual intervention. Has any of you had the same problem? Is there a way to solve this? Other than this, I find Capture One superior to Lightroom, but if I don't find a way to have a natural look to my images it is a showstopper for me. Thanks!
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Which version of Capture One are you using, I mean not only 12 or 20, but if 20, which update? Could you check the settings in the Base Characteristics tool and share it with us?
You could offer a DNG file plus a JPEG from Lightroom to forum members who like to volunteer to make that look for you in Capture One. (Just a mad idea I have so every now and then)
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Hello, I have the trial version I donwloaded 10 days ago - Capture One 20 Pro, Build 13.0.4.10 (24c8522). Hope this helps!
I would be glad to share a picture for trials :-) How can I do that? The Leica SL DNG files are approx. 44 Mb
Thanks a lot! Valeria
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I have tried this way: https://we.tl/t-ILR03Ahl3R Hope you can download the files. You have the DNG, the Jpeg from Lightroom as is, and a screenshot of the difference I see on the screen on the grain between Lightoom (natural/film like) and Capture One (digital) with the noise reduction/ sharpness parameters. Let me know if you can solve this... Thanks a lot!
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thank you, Valeria. I downloaded your files and made a conversion with CO20 that I uploaded it to WeTransfer. Enjoy!
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Hi Paul, thanks! How did you manage? Which parameters did you play on and which levels? Looks really nice!!!!! Thanks, Kind regards Valeria
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I cannot comment on Paul's adjustments but I tried it too.
My screenshots show the default settings which are automatically applied when I open this DNG file, I did not change any tool by myself.
I notice your settings have the noise reduction to zero, that's why you see color noise and luminance noise.
Here's my advice: Check if your default settings (click reset button) are the same. This is usually a good starting point and be careful with the adjustments you do with the tools. It takes a while to get familiar with Capture One, as with any other image editor / raw converter.
Have fun.
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Hello, thanks, I have tried to increse the noise reduction levels but it still looks "ditigal" - it does not have the "grain-like" texture as Lightroom does....
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You can also try to drecrease clarity/structure, you can do almost all adjustments selectively on a layer using the brush (film grain you can't).
Play with film grain too.
In general, from my earlier comparisons with LR, I think the demosaic algorithm of C1, which interprets the raw file, is a bit more on the coarse side. However, this is visible only in high zoom levels e.g. 100% on my 94 dpi monitor, on print it is roughly 300dpi, so about 33% zoom level. So, if I don't pixel peep but see the image as a whole, I like the demosaicing of C1 better, at least for most of my images. There are always images which are an exception, in any raw converter, and of course depending on personal taste.
Five years back when I neither knew LR nor C1 I made intensive tests and decided for C1 because most, not all, of the images looked better, my personal taste. Btw, I do not like digital looking either. But maybe C1 is not for you.
And maybe Paul has a trick... :-)
regards
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Okay, my adjustments for the DNG file to JPEG conversion I posted yesterday were:
- Base Characteristics > Curve > Linear Response
- Exposure slider +0,7
- Curve > RGB > very mild contrast curve (I used my preset for that)
- Curve > Luma > Shadow point input 11 output 0; highlight point input 242 output 255
- Noise Reduction > Luminance & Details 0 (zero)
As you can see I used the linear response film curve to produce the most accurate color rendition. To compensate for the loss of brightness and contrast I made an adjustment for Exposure and contrast curve in the RGB channel. Next, I used to Curve Luma channel to mimic the Levels tool to set the shadow and highlight point because the Levels tool does not have a Luma channel.
Last, I tried to induce as much noise as I could by lowering the noise reduction levels. On visible inspection, I did not see much difference.
Note that I did not use the Film Grain tool, but that sure is an option.
Note that I could probably achieve almost similar results with a more regular workflow, by which I mean not using the linear response curve and additional adjustments. However, this is how I adjust most of my images and both the routine and the style I made for my camera, this is no additional work for me. And the results are most satisfying.
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Interesting approach. I think Grant also uses adjustments based on the linear curve, I haven't seriously tried it yet.
Reducing the NR Details value often helps in reducing digital artifacts, I sometimes counterbalance this by using film grain and even if I gain only false details by doing so, it can create satisfying results. I wished this tool could be applied selectively in layers though, for that purpose.
regards
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Hello, indeed the linear response makes a huge difference! I have tried it on several other pictures and it does bring it to a much closer look to what is in Lightroom. However, this is a lot of additional work for me coming from Lightroom - where the general "look" of the picture is OK as is - it is just that I find that Lightroom is much more limited in adjsutments and is also much slower than CO. Oh well, I will stick to Lightroom for now, but again thanks a lot to you for helping me and making me learn new things!
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Once you learn how to use your own presets in C1 this should not be additional work. Instead of waiting for LR responses (you metioned it is slower) you could invest the time to learn C1.
just my 2cents.
regards
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Hello is the Leica SL supported by capture one ? raw and jpeg files ? Tethered or untethered, doesn't matter to me. but can i use leica SL files using C1 ? I cannot find the answer on the site.
thanks
Jerry
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All jpgs are supported subject to some size limitations.
Details of limitations can be found in the release notes.
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So only jpeg is supported and not RAW files for the Leica SL ? I apologize, your answer is unclear to me. I do not know what the graph (link) means. thanks for you clearing things up
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