Recently Capture One released Capture One for Nikon, a special version of the software for Nikon camera owners.
Capture One for Nikon includes the Express version, which is available free of charge and a Pro version that comes with a reduced price tag.
As you might have guessed from the name, both versions handle only Nikon RAW files.
Let’s figure out what features you can get for free and what might be the reasons to switch to Nikon Pro.
Capture One is a professional RAW-converter which is well known for realistic and clear color “rendering” and outstanding processing tools.
Price and Availability. Both the update to Capture One 20 and Capture One for Nikon are available starting today. As mentioned above, the update is free for all current Capture One 20 owners, but. Phase One today announced a free update for their popular Capture One 20 photo editing software suite, adding a handful of new features such as new healing and clone tools, an updated Before/After. Free Capture One Trial Get a free 30-day trial with all features included.
Also, Capture One supports Nikon Picture Control color profiles. Thus, you can get the same color for your RAW files as you have shooting JPG.
Capture One teased two weeks ago a variety of new features in an upcoming free update to Capture One 20. Today, this free update has been released to all existing Capture One 20 users. Further, Capture One has released a new dedicated version of their software specifically for Nikon users, Capture One for Nikon. Capture One Express for Nikon: is completely FREE (not a trial) and it’s more limited in capabilities, compared to a full version. Capture One Pro for Nikon (full-featured): has the same capabilities and features as a full Pro version but supports only Nikon cameras (this version support only RAW images from Nikon).
Of course, you have full control over the color as well. Capture One allows you to edit any color range you wish. Plus, you can always see what part of an image you’re working with.
In Capture One, you can easily create complex masks. Just draw a rough mask, select Refine, and you get a perfectly accurate mask.
Moreover, you can copy this mask and invert it to edit only the background area.
Now you can edit it with all the tools: Exposure, Curves, and Color Balance.
Using such Pro tools as color channel Levels you can quickly fix color cast or enhance a flat image.
We’ll get back to these tools when we talk about Pro version, now let’s see what features does Express version of Capture One for Nikon has.
Capture One Express for Nikon is a completely free version of Capture One with a basic set of image editing tools.
You can download it here; it’s really 100% free, no credit card required, there is no trial period whatsoever.
So, what Capture One Express can offer to Nikon camera owners?
First thing, you can run a solid image archive with Express version. You can store and organize your files there, quickly rate images, and filter them.
Secondly, Capture One Express for Nikon offers the same realistic and clear color “rendering” of your RAW files, as Pro version does.
The Nikon Picture Control color profiles are available in the Express version as well.
Thirdly, you have access to all the essential editing tools. Say, you can easily recover shadow and highlights, Also, you can adjust flat images with Levels tool.
Express version allows you to perform basic color correction.Black and White tool is also available in Capture One Express.
Plus, you can apply styles and presets with saved adjustments.
BTW, here is a nice lifehack. Capture One Express for Nikon actually contains all the pro tools; they are just hidden from you. However, you can still apply styles that contain pro adjustments. Here I have a style with advanced color correction and channel curve adjustments.You can’t adjust any hidden settings; still, it’s pretty cool that you can have pro adjustments in free software.
Finally, Express allows you to export your edited images into JPG, TIFF, and other final formats.
Here you can say: looks awesome, but why do I need to pay for Pro version then?
Because Capture One Pro for Nikon can do way more!
First and foremost – Layers. Layers in Capture One Pro isn’t just a tool for some local adjustments; they are deeply implemented into the workflow.
Let me give you an example. Here we have a nice image with some pretty dull water. How would you enhance it in your RAW converter?
There is no way to select this area quickly by color or luminosity. Drawing a mask on water manually is going to be a painfully long process. So, this is how I do it in Capture One.
I can’t create a mask from the water here. However, I can easily create a mask from everything else, like this.
Now, all I need to do is to invert this mask and refine it.
So, we’ve got a perfect mask on water, let’s add some contrast and color correction.
Of course, you can draw masks in Capture One using a standard brush tool as well. You don’t need to be accurate with masking, simply use the Refine mask shortcut to polish your mask quickly.
Gradients are also available in Capture One. Classical linear-gradient fits landscapes excellently, especially when you need to enhance the sky.
Radial gradient works great for portrait images. Here I’ve used a radial gradient to quickly mask everything except the face to add clarity and contrast there.
What I love the most is that gradients in Capture One act as regular masks, so you can easily erase unwanted parts.You can even adjust the gradient mask for specific luminosity levels.
Speaking of portraits, Capture One Pro for Nikon offers some advanced tools here as well.
First of all, you can easily even out the skin tone by using the Color Editor Skin Tone feature.
Select a color range you would like to even out and set a source color, done.
Secondly, you can retouch your images right in Capture One. Choose the Heal tool, and select areas to retouch. Capture One auto-finds source points for retouching, and there is no limit for heals on a layer.
Capture One Pro for Nikon has way more tools for color correction.
For quick color adjustments, I like Direct Color Editor. This tool activates with shortcut D and allows you to adjust color just by moving the cursor. Vertical movements adjust saturation; horizontal movements affect hue, Alt+horizontal movements adjust the lightness of a color.
For deep color correction, the Pro version offers Advanced Color Editor. Here you can select any color range you want and adjust its saturation, hue, and lightness.
Keep in mind that color correction works in layers as well, so basically, you can adjust any color on any area of your image.
Another excellent tool for color correction is color channel Levels. Sometimes you might notice a color cast on your image. In this case, you just need to adjust each color channel individually. Capture One Pro can do this automatically, simply set up channel mode in the general preferences and click auto-adjust.
Finally, Capture One Pro for Nikon offers a customizable interface. If Capture One interface looks way too uncustomary for you, feel free to set up your own workspace.
Capture One allows you to change everything: try to place tools on the right side of the screen, or place the browser below. If you would like to have Color Editor near HDR tool, simply drag-n-drop it or add additional Color Editor there.
Some of your tools can be pinned in the tool tab, and some of them can be located in the Scrollable area. Basically, you can recreate even Lightroom workspace there, but I recommend you to arrange tools the way you like, not the way you got used to.
Now, to the pricing.
Capture One Nikon Review
Capture One Pro for Nikon as a 30-day free trial, and you can always switch back to the free Express version.
The regular Capture One Pro perpetual license costs $299; the Pro for Nikon is $129. Again, the only difference between them is that Pro for Nikon works with Nikon RAWs only.
Also, if you’re okay with subscriptions, Pro for Nikon has subscription plans available starting from $9.99 per month or $99 for an annual payment.
With a subscription, you always have access to the latest version of Capture One, and that’s really convenient. However, in the long term, a perpetual license is more cost-effective even if you’re going to buy all the paid upgrades.
Capture One Launches a New Free Update to Capture One 20 Alongside a Nikon Specific Releases
Capture One teased two weeks ago a variety of new features in an upcoming free update to Capture One 20. Today, this free update has been released to all existing Capture One 20 users. Further, Capture One has released a new dedicated version of their software specifically for Nikon users, Capture One for Nikon.
The development of Capture One 20 remains driven by an evolving roadmap rooted in user feedback from both the Capture One community and the creative community overall. The latest update brings brand new heal and clone tools that reduce the need for external retouching applications while increasing efficiency, and a new Before & After Tool that gives new ways to check your editing progress and to compare your edits.
There are currently a number of Capture One variants such as Capture One Fujifilm and Capture One (for Sony), and now the company is proud to deliver Capture One for Nikon. Similar to the other branded versions, Capture One for Nikon brings the full feature-set of Capture One Pro at a reduced cost to Nikon users.
As with all the other versions of Capture One, each supported camera’s RAW profile is “uniquely developed” based on extensive lab testing in Copenhagen, in order to “deliver a truly tailored profile, which ultimately provides the best post-processing experience.”
The revised healing and clone brushes now create dedicated healing and clone layers, respectively, and utilize more intelligent source point technology. You can also now utilize as many source points per layer as you desire with no discernible impact on performance.
Capture One Nikon Free Trial
With respect to the before/after view, users can now click a button in the toolbar to select from new before/after view modes. This is a much simpler and more streamlined process than in prior versions of Capture One and can be used across multiple images at varying zoom levels.
With user experience in mind, Capture One has also developed a new activation flow with new dialogues, sample images, and interface guidance that make it faster and easier than ever to become a Capture One user. In addition, the company has advanced its Lightroom Catalog importer, and together it not only makes it easier to start using Capture One, but easier to migrate without missing a step.
“We want to enable creatives to achieve their best images as effortlessly as possible, and that is why we drew heavily on feedback from our community to develop Capture One 20,” says Jan Hyldebrandt-Larsen, VP Software Business at Capture One. “It is our commitment to support them by providing a seamless photo editing experience defined by developing the features they ask for and need, as well as the ones they didn’t know they wanted. Capture One 20 is an exciting moment for us as we happily put even more focus and resources behind that goal.”
Nikon Capture One Pro
The new update for Capture One 20 is now available and is a free update for all Capture One 20 customers.
For new customers Capture One is committed to providing customers a choice when it comes to how they acquire their software, so Capture One Pro 20 is available for purchase, or via subscription. The perpetual license for Capture One Pro 20 is available for $299, with upgrade pricing from previous versions starting at $159. Capture One for Nikon, Capture One (for Sony) and Capture One Pro Fujifilm are available for $129.
For those who prefer subscription models, Capture One Pro 20 is available for plans as low as $20 per month, and Capture One for Nikon, Capture One (for Sony) and Capture One Fujifilm subscription plans start at $9.99 a month.