The damnedest thing just happened… and in a good way

In the beginning there was…

Many years ago I used an app called Aperture by Apple to edit and catalogue photos.

Then Apple, around 2014, decide to ditch it.

(The companies journey from pro-friendly to an adults ‘Toys r Us’ took one more kiddy step to the abyss).

Very, very annoying.

Adobe has Lightroom. I hate it. Their shoddy ethnics don’t help either.

So what options where there?

Well, out there, almost mythological, hiding like planet X, was an app most assumed was only for hi-end Medium-Format shooters with hi-end Medium-Format sized wallets; Capture One Pro. But… wait… there is a twist.

Around the time of Apple’s betrayal… they maybe saw an opportunity to spread the love, cater to us proles. They started to support our toy cameras. There is a god.

So, dear reader, I went with them. Feeling like the real deal, a true pro… finally! Was it love at first sight?

No, not exactly… but eventually…

(It’s a bloody complicated program).

Get Back to the point of the post!

Ahh yes… this is not about C1 Pro’s learning curve back then, this is about a pleasant surprise many years later, ie last week.

I have been paying for it using a subscription that worked out at around €30 a month.

Not exactly cheap but hey ho, it’s the best. However recently, I saw a price guide on their site and thought ‘hang on, am I paying too much?’

I shot off a terse email.

A prompt and courteous email from Gemma explained I wasn’t. The yearly lump sum is cheaper than paying each month. Ahh, ok, fair enough.

But then Gemma went on say that, as a user since 2018, I was entitled to an 80% discount on a perpetual licence.

Wow… wow. I wrote back thanking her profusely and mentioned, in passing, that I had actually been using it even longer than that, just with a different account.

Another message (yeap, prompt), came back saying well now, in that case, you are entitled to a 100% discount.

Wha… I mean, what the hell! How many companies do that? I also love C1 Pro because they make software and cameras; it inspires confidence.

Rather like Resolve by DaVinci.

With them you pay once for the pro version, and sometimes it’s even free with some of their hardware.

When I finally got into film-making it was a toss-up between Resolve and Apple’s Final Cut Pro.

Remembering Apple’s abandonment of Aperture I went with Resolve. They lost a customer because I did not trust them any more.

Reputation is everything guys.

So, anyway, to wrap this up, I would like to say thank you Capture One Pro, and a really big thank you to Gemma.

You made my week… and the brand new feature set is excellent!