Often people wonder if software really makes a difference. They may as well use Adobe CC or CaptureOne to process their images. Partly it's herd mentality. People just follow what 'others are doing'.
Sometimes software really is different. The original Final Cut Pro changed the post-production industry thanks to how much more usable, how much easier it was to learn and how much more affordable it was than Avid's Symphony. Adobe Premiere was around then but then as now, Premiere as a poorly integrated cross-platform video editor was relatively unreliable. All kinds of driver conflicts and crashes.
In photo editing right now, there is one piece of software which has a clear edge in noise reduction and hence in processing high ISO images.
Dxo Nik Collection Capture One
Capture One Vs Dxo Photo Lab 2
DxO PhotoLab performs miracles with noise reduction. Lightroom is a distant second. No one else comes close. No Canon shooter should be without DxO PhotoLab. Adds two usable stops to any of their cameras. A 5D Mark III image looks clean at ISO 12800 instead of topping out at ISO 3200.
I've been asked to show an example and I'll pull one from a recent football match where I was trying out my 'new' Canon EF 300mm f2.8L IS I. It turned out my copy was delivered with a circular polarizer and not a placeholder filter, hence I was shooting about 1.5 stops darker than the lens normally would be. ISO was cranked out at 12800 on my Canon 5DS R and the image was still a bit dark. This is about technically the worst image I shot all season, but due to the content – compact Mario Marko stiff arming a much bigger defender – I wanted to use it. I made my best effort with each software program.
Here's how it looks out of PhaseOne's CaptureOne (C1) which is considered the professional benchmark for photo processing these days.
$20 off on DxO Filmpack. Download a free trial version here. $30 off on DxO Viewpoint. Download a free trial version here. You save 25% on Capture One Pro perpetual license and subscription when using the coupon code “PRO25” at checkout. Capture One is a free software program for digital cameras. It is designed to be easy for photographers to use and has many advanced features not found in other professional grade digital picture editing programs. Instantly correct the optical flaws and distortions present in almost every photo. Using DxO’s vast database of lens and camera profiles, Perspective Efex corrects keystoning, optical distortion, and volume deformation, all with one click.
The above is a horrible image, barely publishable, somewhat embarrassing.
Here's what the same image looks like after DxO PhotoLab with Prime Noise Reduction.
Software does make a difference.
Here's a link to the full RAW file if you'd like to try your own post-production software on this image.
CaptureOne is not without its merits. For low and normal ISO images, the colour manipulation tools are much more powerful and useful than what DxO offers. DxO has colour correction tools while C1 offers the ability to do advanced colour manipulation.
Capture One Vs Dxo Photolab 4
Alec has been helping businesses succeed online since 2000. Alec is an SEM expert with a background in advertising, as a former Head of Television for Grey Moscow and Senior Television Producer for Bates, Saatchi and Saatchi Russia.