Capture One

by Capture One A/S

Professional-grade RAW editor with best-in-class colour tools

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infoOverview

Capture One is the editor you switch to when Lightroom's colour tools start feeling like a ceiling. The colour rendering is noticeably better — particularly skin tones and greens. The tethering is rock-solid for studio work, and layers give you masking power that Lightroom still can't match. Yes, it's more expensive. Yes, the learning curve is steeper. But if colour accuracy and tethered shooting are part of how you make money, Capture One pays for itself.

At a glance

Strengths

✓Best-in-class colour rendering — especially skin tones and greens
✓Layer-based local adjustments with powerful masking
✓Rock-solid tethered shooting for studio work
✓Perpetual license option available
✓Sessions workflow is excellent for per-project organisation

Worth knowing

•Significantly more expensive than the Lightroom Photography Plan
•Steeper learning curve — not beginner-friendly
•Smaller ecosystem of presets, plugins, and community resources
•No mobile companion app for editing on the go

Best Reviews

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Capture One 24 Review — The Professional's Choice

PetaPixel · 2025-11-10

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Capture One vs Lightroom in 2026 — Which Should You Use?

Fstoppers · 2025-09-22

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Capture One for Portrait Photographers — Deep Dive

The Phoblographer · 2025-07-15

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Tutorials & Learning

Paid

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Capture One Pro Masterclass

Capture One Learning Hub

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In the news

29 Oct 2026 · Software News
Capture One 16.9 Adds Stray Hair Removal and Redesigned Color Editor
via DPReview News +1
Capture One 16.9 ships a Stray Hair Removal tool with protection brush and sliders, plus Skin Tone and Body Skin Retouching tools, expanding portrait work inside the app. The Advanced Color Editor is rebuilt with a Target picker and color wheel, adding exact RGB and HSL target values for color shifting. iOS app updates to 4.2 alongside the desktop release.
17 Sept 2026 · Workflow News
Capture One 16.8.6 Adds Wireless Tethering for Canon R3 and R6 III
via PetaPixel +1
Capture One 16.8.6 (desktop) and 4.1 (mobile) are out now, adding 2nd Gen Wireless Tethering for the Canon EOS R3 and EOS R6 Mark III, plus day-zero RAW support for the EOS R8 Mark III.
16 Sept 2026 · Workflow News
Capture One Adds Auto-Culling During Tethered Shoots
via DPReview News
Capture One's Assisted Review culling tool now runs automatically during tethered shoots, flagging closed eyes, focus and exposure problems without manual triggers, still desktop-only and in beta. Second-gen wireless tethering, which pushes a smaller editable Raw immediately while the full file transfers in the background, now covers the Canon EOS R3 and R6 III in addition to the R5 II and R1. The update also adds immediate support for the Canon EOS R8 II.
15 Sept 2026 · Software Review
Affinity 3.3 Review: Closing Gaps, Not Replacing Capture One
via The Phoblographer +1
Affinity 3.3 gets a hands-on review from The Phoblographer, with the verdict that it's a meaningfully better release than 3.0 but still not a full Capture One replacement for serious photo editing workflows.
20 Aug 2026 · Mobile News
Capture One Mobile 4.0: Denoise, Heal & Clone Now on iOS
via DP Review News
Capture One Mobile 4.0 is out for iPhone and iPad, adding four tools that were previously desktop-only: Enhanced Denoise, Heal & Clone, Color Balance (the three-way shadow/midtone/highlight wheel), and Keywords. The crop tool also updates to follow camera orientation when shooting tethered.
19 Aug 2026 · Mobile News
Capture One Mobile 4.0 Lands with Four New Editing Features
via PetaPixel
Capture One Mobile hits version 4.0 on iPhone and iPad, bringing four editing features across from the desktop app. The source doesn't name the specific features, so click through for the full list.