Capture One

Latest Posts

What’s new in Capture One 20

NOTE: This article discusses an older version of Capture One Pro. To learn more about our latest version, click here.

Capture One 20 is here. Dive into the new tools, learn how to use them and discover how the most powerful photo editing system just got better.

Capture One 20 is here and we’re excited to share it with you!

When developing the next version of our powerful photo editing software, we set out to make photo editing as smooth as possible – while still giving you total creative control. That’s why we listened closely to feedback from our community and redesigned our tools to be more precise and easier to use than ever. Plus, we added a ton of small updates that will make a big difference to your workflow.

Ready for a new kind of editing experience? Dive into the latest tools and features below.

Workspace – Scrolling tools

We’ve taken the customizable workspace one step further in Capture One 20. Now, you can smoothly scroll through all your tools for a smoother editing experience.

Each Tool Tab now contains two sections: a pinned section and a scrollable section. Simply pin your favorites to the top of the tool tab and scroll through the rest of the tools below.

Basic Color Editor

The new Basic Color Editor has been redesigned to be more compact – and yet, more powerful. You now get eight color ranges instead of six – and flexible ways to adjust them.

You can edit colors with simple sliders or click anywhere on your image and drag to adjust any color. Using the new cursor tool, Direct Color Editor, you can drag across your images in different directions to change the sliders.

If you need to change the ranges, the spectrum is available from the (…) button. Any changes made to the spectrum will reflect in the color patches and the gradients on the sliders.

The new Basic Color Editor also works on Layers, making your layer editing simpler.

Improved Noise Reduction

Do you shoot high ISO? With the industry’s best performing noise reduction, you’ll now be able to preserve details and colors like never before when shooting in low light. That means you can start your editing with the cleanest possible images.

High Dynamic Range

Our High Dynamic Range tool is much loved for its ability to recover highlights and shadows – and now we’ve taken it one step further, so you get total control of your contrast.

With the redesigned High Dynamic Range Tool, the sliders now start in the middle, doubling the functionality of Highlight and Shadow Recovery to provide more contrast, not just recovery. Plus, a Black and White slider have been added, giving you control of the darkest shadows and brightest highlights.

By enabling fine-tuning of contrast in a fast and easy way, this redesigned tool is ideal for high-speed workflows and supplements the more advanced control you can achieve with Levels and Curves.

New Crop Tool

Cropping is now more precise and easier with the visible handles in the new Crop tool, making it easier to grab and resize the crop.

New modifier keys also allow you to crop around the center [ALT] and lock the current aspect ratio [Shift]. Plus, freehand rotation can be accessed by either moving the cursor outside the corner of the crop, of by using the modifier key [CMD/CTRL]. Hitting return while using the Crop Tool will now switch to the Pan Cursor Tool and show the image in its cropped state.

More possibilities with Layers

Capture One 20 allows even more flexibility when working with Layers, so you get more control of your final image.

You can now select specific layers to copy to other images – without replacing the existing layers on the destination photo.

You can also copy and apply layers between images with different dimensions, making it easier to streamline a workflow where multiple cameras are used or Styles are applied to Layers.

Improved DNG support

Capture One Pro 20 now renders the highest-quality DNG files from your camera, smartphone and drone thanks to improved color profiling for DNG format. That means you can edit with the best possible images, no matter the device.

“Select Next When”

Do you shoot high-volume projects like weddings or events? Culling and sorting large sets of photos is now faster than ever in Capture One 20. Enable “select next when” and let Capture One automatically switch to the next image when you star or color tag an image – it saves up to 50% of your keystrokes so you can get to editing faster.

This feature also works with Sets. Simply select multiple images and disable “Edit All Selected Variants.” When you star or color tag, the selection will move through the Set and switch to the next Set of the same size once the last image is rated.

Find the new feature within ‘Select > Select Next When’.

Small updates make a big difference

Check out these interface and user improvements below – they’ll make a big difference to your editing experience.

Improved Adjustment Clipboard

Enjoy a simpler clipboard when copying adjustments. Enable “auto-select adjusted” to collapse any groups without adjustments and get a clear overview of what elements will be included when pasting to other variants.

Toolbar text and icons

Find tools more easily thanks to default text under the icons. You can toggle this option on and off by right-clicking the toolbar.

Masking Cursor tools

The cursor tools for masking (brush, eraser, linear and radial gradient) can now be found in the Layers tool for easy access.

Viewer background color

Instantly change the background color of the viewer by right-clicking on the background. You can also make changes via the view-menu, with new shortcuts assigned –[Shift + 1, 2, 3… 6].

Browser thumbnails

See the big picture more clearly with a 50% increase in thumbnail resolution.

White Balance Picker

Get the best possible white balance consistency with the redesigned White Balance Picker tool.

Process button

Activate your selected Process Recipes more easily – the Process button has been moved to the Process Recipes tool.

Changes to default shortcuts

We’ve boosted our library of default shortcuts to give you even more possibilities for faster work:

Proof Margin: X
Direct Color Editor: D
Hide Viewer:G
Linear Gradient: L
Zoom to 100%: . (period)
Zoom to fit:, (comma)
Toggle Focus Mask: Q
Full Screen: F (On Windows F11 works as a secondary shortcut)

Viewer background color can be toggled using [Shift + 1, 2, 3… 6]

License keys for all variants

Make start-up simple. Now you get one license key for every variant of Capture One – whether Beta, Trial or Express.

Simply use the license key available from the BETA area of My Pages on captureone.com.

Want to try out the new features? Download a free 30-day trial of Capture One 20 and see all you can do with the latest photo editing tools.

Your top 10 questions about migrating from Lightroom

NOTE: This article discusses an older version of Capture One Pro. To learn more about our latest version, click here.

1. What is the main difference between Lightroom and Capture One?

Both Lightroom and Capture One are RAW editors – photo editing software where you can process, sort and edit RAW camera files before exporting them as a JPEG for print, online or social media.

Capture One is designed with feedback from photographers and offers more adjustment and organizing possibilities for your photos – which is why it’s loved by professionals and studios worldwide.

For a detailed comparison, check out this guide.

2. How do you migrate a Catalog from Lightroom to Capture One?

We’ve made that process as easy as possible. Simply go to Files > Import Catalog and choose “Lightroom Catalog.” It’s important that you follow this step before exporting your Collection in Lightroom as a Catalog.

Watch this quick video on the migration process

3. Is it easy to switch from Lightroom to Capture One?

With free tutorials, guides and webinars, you’ll master Capture One in no time. Our Learning Hub is packed with free resources dedicated to migrating your photo editing software – just click on “Switching from Lightroom” at learn.captureone.com.

Capture One also offers a fully customizable workspace, so you can arrange tools any way you want. That means you can design your Capture One interface to look just like your Lightroom workspace.

To create a Lightroom-style workspace, go to: Window > Workspace > Migration.

4. Does Capture One have a Spot Removal tool?

Capture One’s flexible Spot Removal tool gives you several different options – use it in Dust Mode to remove dust from the sky or other plain backgrounds. Or, remove bigger and more complicated spots using Spot Mode.

Check out this guide to the Spot Removal Tool

5. What is the difference between Catalogs and Sessions?

Catalogs and Sessions let you organize your photos based on projects or themes – the choice is yours.

Sessions offer a workflow based on folders, making them ideal for quickly editing a few images, or organizing individual projects within a folder structure. Users can browse any folder on their computer without importing the images.

Like in Lightroom, Catalogs are a database-driven workflow. They’re ideal for organizing bigger projects and long-term organizing. Users can edit ‘offline files’ (smart previews).

Check out this webinar to discover whether Catalogs or Sessions suit your workflow best

6. What are Styles?

What you know as Presets in Lightroom are called Styles in Capture One – instant looks that transform image elements like brightness and contrast.

Each Style Pack includes several different Styles inspired by a specific theme or aesthetic, like vintage film looks or seasonal colors. Many of our Style Packs are developed in collaboration with leading photographers, so it’s easy to recreate their professional aesthetic in a single click.

All Capture One versions come with three built-in Style Packs, completely free.

See our short guide on using Styles

7. What are Process Recipes in Capture One?

Process Recipes in Capture One allow you to export images in different sizes and formats all at once. Unlike Lightroom, this allows you to export images for social media, print and web at the same time – making the export process much faster.

Check out this quick guide to Process Recipes

8. Why are Capture One’s color tools special?

The Color Balance Tool is a powerful, easy-to-use tool which allows you to create the precise color grading you want. Using the Master Wheel, you can edit colors across all aspects of your image, or focus your color editing on Shadows, Midtones and Highlights.

Check out this tutorial on the Color Balance Tool

9. How do I edit skin tones in Capture One?

For more advanced color editing, the Color Editor allows you to separate your colors with the Color Picker Tool or focus specifically on skin colors – you can then adjust the Smoothness, Amount and Uniformity of your selected skin tone to achieve the perfect look.

Check out this guide on achieving perfect skin tones

10. Which Capture One is right for me?

Capture One is available in different software versions, depending your camera:

Capture One Pro is the complete photo editing software solution. It works with files from all major camera brands.

Capture One Express is for Fujifilm users. It’s a free photo editing software with basic editing tools and auto adjustments to get you started.

capture one raw photo editor webinar editing with Reverie styles Lukas Piatek

Editing with Reverie Styles with Lukas Piatek

‘Reverie Styles’ is the first Capture One Style Pack from LOOKSLIKEFILM, meticulously curated and refined by LOOKSLIKEFILM founder, Lukas Piatek.

The Styles’ color palette is very adaptable, and pairs just as beautifully with moody cinematic edits as with clean, film-like looks.

Lukas, will join David in a informative and interactive webinar to show you how to get the best out of Reverie Styles on your photos.

✓How Reverie Styles work with Capture One
✓Practical help to get the best results with your photos
✓Inspiration from Lukas

Length: 60:00 minutes

Download a 30-day trial of Capture One Pro.

Styles – one click magic

NOTE: This article discusses an older version of Capture One Pro. To learn more about our latest version, click here.

On Instagram, you apply filters to give your images a certain look – in other image editing software they’re known as presets. In Capture One, we call them Styles – instant looks that transform image elements like brightness and contrast in different ways. Simply select an image, apply a Style that suits your vision, hit export and voila.

Here’s a quick run-down of how Styles work:

What are Style Packs?

Styles are available in Style Packs. Each pack includes several different Styles inspired by a theme or specific aesthetic. For example, the Spring Style Pack is loaded with Styles inspired by spring colors.

Both Capture One Express and Capture One Pro come with three built-in Style Packs – completely free. That means you can begin applying Styles to your photos straight away.

For even more looks, browse the Capture One store for Style Packs developed by leading photographers, who each bring their unique aesthetic to Capture One. From looks inspired by vintage film cameras, sun-kissed landscapes or black-and-white photography, there’s a Style Pack to suit everyone and every image.

How to install Styles

Now it’s time to get working with Styles. Installing individual Styles or Style Packs to your Capture One photo editing software is simple, here’s how:

After purchasing and downloading Styles from the Capture One store, go to Adjustments > Styles > Import Styles and select the Style Pack from your downloads folder or other destination.

Or, open Capture One and drag-drop the downloaded Styles or Style Pack into the application window.

Applying Styles to your photos

Applying a Style to your photo is just as easy. Simply go to the Adjustments menu, select Styles and choose from Built-in Styles (your free built-in Style Packs) or User Styles (your purchased Styles.)

NOTE: This screenshot is from an older version of Capture One, some tools might look different in the newest version.

Below are some examples of images before and after applying Styles. The photos on the left-hand side are imported directly from the camera without any tweaks, while the second image has a Style applied. Look at the difference – in just one click, my photos come alive and are ready to share.

You can find the name of the specific Style I used under each image.