What is Included in this Guide

This guide just focuses on programs that are meant to process Raw images this excludes software like Photoshop and Affinity Photo and just focuses on the tools that will help you bring out the colors and details and use the dynamic range of you cameras raw file. While the User Interfaces do have some differences it the under lining

Lightroom

Lightroom(LR) is from Adobe and is considered the standard, but is often paired with Photoshop due to the limitation of the program that has been reduced over time. The most recent update is the Color Grading tool that was seen as a welcome addition because of the adhoc solution used prior with split toning.

Pros	Cons
Large Support and Extensive Community	Monthly Subscription Only
Mobile App Support	Updates aren’t always meaningful
Autotagging of generic keywords	Hogs Computer Resources

Cost (Basic Plan)

Minimum System Requirements

Desktop:

PC	Mac
Windows 10 (64-bit), 2-GHz processor, 4GB of RAM (8 GB recommended), 2GB hard disk space	MacOS v.10.13, 4GB of RAM (8GB recommended), 2GB of available hard-disk space.

Mobile:

Android	iOS
Android 5.x (Lollipop), 1.5GHz Quad Core CPU, 1 GB RAM, (4 GB or more recommended), 8GB hard disk space	Any iPhone or iPad that runs iOS 12.3 or later. This includes: iPhone 5S (2013) and later, iPad Mini 2 (2013) and later, iPad Air 1 (2013) and later, and iPod Touch 6th Generation (2015).

Capture One/Capture One Express

Capture One(C1) and Capture One Express is seen as the professional alternative to Lightroom and has focused on being a more complete stand alone product. This include a more expansive masking, color grading workflow, and includes studio focused features like tethering. Though at the cost of a seamless workflow between programs(Video, Publishing, and Design) that only Adobe can offer.

Pros	Cons
Strong Community and Company Support	Limited plug-ins
Non-Subscription model	Lacks feature like HDR and Panoramic
Leader in Color grading and Correcting	Lacks Adobe ecosystem

What is Capture One Express

Capture One Express is a free version of Capture One for Nikon, Sony, or Fujifilm systems, with each having their own version to download. The major limitations of it are the lack of layer meaning it’s only global adjustments and only a basic color editor.

Cost (Basic Plan)

Minimum System Requirements

Desktop Only:

PC	Mac
Intel or AMD CPU with 2 cores, 8 GB of RAM and 10 GB of free hard disk space. Windows 8.1 (64-bit)	Intel® Core™ i3 (1st generation), 8 GB of RAM and 10 GB of free hard disk space. macOS 10.13

Darktable

Darktable is a free open source solution for editing and raw processing and has seen a growing community with some guides ranging in quality. The biggest draw back to Darktable is the learning curve because while it is as powerful as C1 and LR it doesn’t have as intuitive or refined interface.

Pros	Cons
Free	Steep Learning Curve
Wide range of tools and features	Community is still behind paid version with their in house videos

Luminar AI

Luminar AI is the most social media focus of the 4 because of it auto masking letting you do things like sky replacements and sun rays with out the need for Photoshop or Affinity Photo. The issue come from the lack of community support though most YouTube channels to focus on photography have reviewed it, and that it does not run well as a stand alone program due to the issue with resource management reddit talk about the issue.

Pros	Cons
Auto mask feature	Runs Slowly
Simple UI	Has issues with updates in older versions

Cost (Basic Plan)

Minimum System Requirements

Desktop Only:

PC	Mac
Intel® Core™ i5 or better, AMD Ryzen™ 5, 8 GB of RAM (16GB+ recommended) and 10 GB of free hard disk space. Windows 10 (64-bit), and Open GL 3.3 or later compatible graphics card	Intel® Core™ i5 , 8 GB of RAM (16GB+ recommended) and 10 GB of free hard disk space. macOS 10.13