bjolester
Well-known
I currently use Apple Aperture 3.2.5 on a Mac running OS X 10.6.8. In a few weeks I am getting a new Mac, and will probably install OS X Sierra.
It seems Aperture is "dead" with the latest OS X, and I am contemplating replacing Aperture with Capture One Pro 9. My usual workflow after scanning 35mm film with my Minolta DSE 5400 or medium format with an Epson V750 is to import into Aperture for spotting, WB, tonal adjustments with levels and sharpening. Do any of you have experience with scanned film and Capture One Pro 9? How good is sharpening in Capture One Pro?
I am grateful for any advice on this matter!
It seems Aperture is "dead" with the latest OS X, and I am contemplating replacing Aperture with Capture One Pro 9. My usual workflow after scanning 35mm film with my Minolta DSE 5400 or medium format with an Epson V750 is to import into Aperture for spotting, WB, tonal adjustments with levels and sharpening. Do any of you have experience with scanned film and Capture One Pro 9? How good is sharpening in Capture One Pro?
I am grateful for any advice on this matter!
SaveKodak
Well-known
For dealing with film scans I recommend PS. If you want to move a little faster than that LR. The LR/PS deal via Creative Cloud really cannot be beat IMO.
lonemantis
Well-known
I was an avid Aperture user for many years before Apple left us all by the wayside. After that I switched to Capture One - the interface is very easy for a former Aperture user to pick up quickly, but also much more powerful and versatile. Photoshop is one thing, but Lightroom never worked for me.
Important tip for Capture One users working with film scans: Always save your files as RGB Tiffs or Jpegs. I tried to be clever and save my B&W scans as monochrom Tiffs to reduce file size, but Capture One will not recognize them.
Important tip for Capture One users working with film scans: Always save your files as RGB Tiffs or Jpegs. I tried to be clever and save my B&W scans as monochrom Tiffs to reduce file size, but Capture One will not recognize them.
View Range
Well-known
Apple trivia - there is no OS X Sierra; it is now macOS Sierra. Have fun with your new Mac.
:: Mark
Well-known
I am using Capture One for both digital and scanned film and have made a couple of blog posts on black-and-white workflow and sharpening respectively.
There are a couple of gotchas. Firstly, C1 will only allow editing of TIFF files if they are in RGB format (not greyscale, as is normally output from a scanner). To work-around this I use a Photoshop (CS6) script to convert the scanner files before importing to C1. Secondly, the cloning/healing tools in C1 are not particularly powerful. If you get a lot of dust (especially small fibres) in the scans, you will need something else to edit them. Again, I use Photoshop for this.
Recently I switched to using a DSLR and macro lens for scanning - mainly because I get vastly less dust this way than with the Epson flatbed. C1 has excellent colour control and it is fairly easy to take the raw negative scans, invert them and then adjust the colour mapping to get a good result. While it may take a while to figure out the correct colours, once you have them for a given film type/processing and colour balance it is easy to save them as a profile for future images.
I also wrote a review of the slightly older CO version 8 - the current version is very similar and most of the pros and cons still apply. Coming from Lightroom, I found the UI a bit of a culture-shock and it took a while to adjust to the different ways of doing things, and I suspect the same would be true when coming from Aperture. The documentation is a very thin, and does not help much when dealing with fundamental questions such as the difference between catalogues and sessions, for example (short answer, if you are coming from LR or Aperture you want a catalog...).
The CO UI is very customisable, so it may take a while to figure out a setup that works well. One neat feature is the workspace concept, which allows me to switch between UI configurations for a laptop on the road (small screen) and a laptop connected to an second external display.
I have stuck with CO mainly because I like the results it gives, and also because I really do not like the Adobe subscription model. That said, there is a lot more support for Adobe - and LR also runs more smoothly than CO9 on my laptop, particularly if you use a lot of local adjustments.
I think both CO and LR have 30 day free trials, which should be long enough to figure out which you prefer...
bjolester
Well-known
Thanks everyone for excellent advice! You have brought many important aspects with Capture One Pro to my attention.
I am not a fan of the Adobe subscription model, so that will most probably rule out LR (and PS) for me, even though I know that both Photoshop and Lightroom are superb tools.
Mark: I have read parts of your review of C1 Pro 8, I will no doubt study it thoroughly in due time. But, I noticed your objection with the spot and cloning capabilities of C1 Pro, and that is one thing that I need to figure out how to deal with. Aperture has very capable spotting tools that are perfect for spotting dust from film scans. I need to find other software to deal with this. I cannot bring myself to purchase Photoshop on addition to C1 Pro, just for spotting and cleaning film scans.
I am not a fan of the Adobe subscription model, so that will most probably rule out LR (and PS) for me, even though I know that both Photoshop and Lightroom are superb tools.
Mark: I have read parts of your review of C1 Pro 8, I will no doubt study it thoroughly in due time. But, I noticed your objection with the spot and cloning capabilities of C1 Pro, and that is one thing that I need to figure out how to deal with. Aperture has very capable spotting tools that are perfect for spotting dust from film scans. I need to find other software to deal with this. I cannot bring myself to purchase Photoshop on addition to C1 Pro, just for spotting and cleaning film scans.
bjolester
Well-known
Thank you for correcting me, obviously it is macOS Sierra
I am investing into a second hand 2010 Mac Pro tower, not brand new, but new to me, and probably lots of fun!Ronald M
Veteran
I would not buy a non Intel based Mac , pro or not. Please investigate .
Old computers will not run some current programs. Check PS CC and Capture. The old pre Intel computers cannot be upgraded.
Old computers will not run some current programs. Check PS CC and Capture. The old pre Intel computers cannot be upgraded.
bjolester
Well-known
A 2010 Mac Pro tower has Intel processors, and it can also run the very latest OS (macOS Sierra). Some people prefer the 2010-2012 Mac Pro tower to the current Mac Pro (black cylinder) because of almost infinite upgradebility. One can even put new processors into the "old" Mac Pro.
fjolnir
Member
There is Capture One - Cultural Heritage which has negative/positive transparency modes. But it's not exactly cheap at $6000 (especially not considering it's just an unlock for the film features already present in the Capture One binary).
With standard Capture One, you just invert the tone curve and then operate all color adjustment controls in reverse.
Scanning 35mm via DSLr using the tethered live view is really convenient. And I barely ever have to open Photoshop for adjustments.
With standard Capture One, you just invert the tone curve and then operate all color adjustment controls in reverse.
Scanning 35mm via DSLr using the tethered live view is really convenient. And I barely ever have to open Photoshop for adjustments.