Capture One has been developing a stronger footing amongst hobbyists and enthusiasts with continued release of new features in their updates. For example the latest release had the Magic Brush was absolutely magical (pun intended), check it out here. Capture One is always been popular with many professionals because its amazing capabilities and wider range of camera support.
Now its about to get even better!
The next release of Capture One version 22 will be including two new features that I’d love to have and use: HDR Merging and Panorama Stitching. This release is planned for December 2021 (mark this in your calendar), as shared in their Facebook page.
HDR Merging
HDR merge which will let you merge multiple exposures of same photo into a single HDR rich image, from right within the Capture One interface. There will be no more need for me to use any other software like Aurora HDR or Lightroom Classic CC which I currently rely on to create HDR images.
This means that my entire workflow will remain within Capture One, so I can’t wait to update to this version in December and be able to address my HDR needs within Capture One. Although there is no further details available at the moment other than that they will be releasing this in December, I wonder what kind of features this HDR merge will have considering other software available. Would they release a first version with these features and develop further features in subsequent release or will they go big bang with all the things we are used to using in other HDR software.
Time will tell.
Panorama Stitching
Panorama are again another great way to create large images or capture a scene in bigger details then simply using a wide angle lens. I have shared my technique of how I create panoramas in my previous posts here on the blog.
Being able to take multiple overlapping images and create a single panoramic image from them will again kill my need to jump into Photoshop or Lightroom. Does this mean that I can finally give up my Lightroom Subscription? Again this is quite an exciting news that will further expand the user base for Capture One.
I hope that I will be able to access some early beta releases of this version so I can test out these features before they become available to everyone and I can share my thoughts here on the blog and my YouTube channel.
However, in order to access these features you’d need to upgrade to Capture One 22 or be on their subscription plan which keeps you on the latest version all the time. I use their subscription option as this is ideal for me and I’m happy to pay a fee per month.