I went through a year of trying various software for 3 months at a time... RawTherapee, C1, Luminar, and Lightroom.
I wanted to like Lightroom because I need Photoshop regardless of what Raw editor I picked, and you get Photoshop as part of the Lightroom "photographer" subscription.
Lightroom (the new version, not the old desktop version) was too basic for me, though. It feels like Adobe is trying to make "simple to use" software by sacrificing features that are important to people who want to make detailed edits. Its like they are trying to make a product that will work on a phone at some point. I didn't have enough control. On top of that, as I signed up for a 7-day free trial, didn't cancel on day 7, and the subscription automatically converted into a 1-year subscription on day 8. I couldn't get out of it no matter how hard I argued, and wound up having to pay a fee to break my contract. I also hate when companies do things like this. I think its pretty low.
C1 was my favorite of the bunch and I wound up purchasing a perpetual licences a few months ago (I like the perpetual license. I dislike when companies force you into a subscription). C1 captured dynamic range colors better than Lightroom, and has many more tools. Its quick, easy to use, and powerful.
I get 1TB of cloud storage with my OneDrive subscription, so that is where I store my raws.
I use Capture One and dropped the Adobe subscription a long time ago. I also have Affinity Photo for Photoshop type needs. I can't see me ever going back to Lightroom as I really love C1.
I happily used Lightroom 4 and Photoshop CS5. I used to buy every other version. When they "forced" the subscription model I bought CS6 and Lightroom 6. I have made do with that.
Knowing that I will eventually have to do an upgrade to something I tried C1, On1, and Luminaire. While all provided raw conversion only On1 had (at that time) a catalog feature. So I bought it. But after 6 months of using it went back to Lightroom. On1 just was not as good of raw file conversion as Lightroom. The default is really bad and even tweaking was a struggle. Lightroom just does it better.
If you have a good catalog software C1 might work great. The catalog in On1 was ok and I think I could have lived with it but the raw conversion drove me away.
I know Sony users can get C1 for free. While that does work it still lacks the catalog feature. I would try it in the free version and see if it works for you. Many speak highly of the raw conversion capabilities of C1.
I use both, but I have been using C1 for the majority of my work the last year or so. I generally prefer the conversions I get from C1, though in some cases, Lightroom does a better job. I do wish C1 was as robust in the DAM department, which is my only real disappointment with C1, but I still jump into LR sometimes for their Panorama and HDR merging, which creates a DNG. LR also handles Moire much better, so on the odd image that is especially heavy in moire, LR is the way to go.
There is more to LR than image manipulation. I do like LR edits when minor adjustments are needed, and the fact that it has integration with PS. I have yet to look at C1, curious if it has a similar and robust import/export and organization facilities. I do my folder manipulations from one drive to another in LR, as my primary landing zone work disk fills up. If LR Classic stops meeting my needs I'll take a closer look.
I too have recently cancelled my LR subscription because I don't use PS and have retained previously purchased copies of LR up to LR6.14, the last update before I joined the sub model. I have to say that despite retaining the last LR6 catalog, reversion to LR6 was by no means seamless, not least because I had to import all my photos back in which resulted initially in duplicate files. Furthermore, the keywording was haphazard and I would recommend anyone doing this makes a note of the main keyword folders (for holidays, etc) beforehand. So, a tiresome and unnecessarily long-winded process.
I have run C1 Pro (now with version 20) for Sony simultaneously for studio work because I find that the Sessions workflow is ideal for this. Also the raw conversion in C1 is, in my opinion, superior for skin tones than ACR in LR. However, up to now I have had to continue with LR for my non Sony cameras, most notably Leica although I have now exited that system. Furthermore, LR is undoubtedly superior to C1 when it comes to cataloguing because the C1 keyword system is ponderous and much more fiddly. This reflects the origins of C1 as a studio tethering programme where the use of Sessions makes much more sense.
I don't think there is a lot to choose between the two as far as colour rendition is concerned but the ability to use layers makes C1 a much more flexible raw developer in my opinion.
I shall probably continue to use the two in tandem so long as I don't stray again from the Sony fold. If I do, I shall have to upgrade to the full C1 Pro because it is no longer possible to get ACR apart from subscribing.
I use LR Classic CC with good results on low-to-moderate ISO images, seldom needing more than 2 or 3 images composite/pano. I find LR easy to use with good controls on exposure and color.
If I felt the need for masking, layers, and sophisticated HDR, I'd probably use something more powerful. But that isn't an issue for me.
I find it interesting that most people that have moved away from Lightroom haven’t used it since version 6, indicating a dissatisfaction with cloud subscriptions rather than Lightroom itself.
I’ve given C1 more than a fair shake and for Sony files, don’t really see a compelling reason to move on from the latest Classic CC version of LR. I LOVE having LR on my phone and tablet as well, especially since they’ve streamlined importing directly from the Sony cams.
C1 comes at a steep workflow speed cost to switch, so if my end edits are roughly the same, I’m not willing to pay that price.
C1 also runs FAR slower on my editing PC than LR, despite most anecdotal experiences of others being the opposite.
There is more to LR than image manipulation. I do like LR edits when minor adjustments are needed, and the fact that it has integration with PS. I have yet to look at C1, curious if it has a similar and robust import/export and organization facilities. I do my folder manipulations from one drive to another in LR, as my primary landing zone work disk fills up. If LR Classic stops meeting my needs I'll take a closer look.
The organizational facilities in C1 are a little lighter than LR, they've evolved a lot over the last few versions, before v8 it was essentially non-existent and as of v12 it's mostly in terms of smart collections where it's a tad less powerful. Keywording is IMHO better in C1 thanks to being able to make your own libraries and manage them on a per-library basis and C1 better supports accessing multiple catalogs at once (you can have more than one open at a time).
If you maintain a folder-based workflow it does very well. It also offers a session-based workflow if you don't really care about cataloging and do everything by folder. Importing and exporting are FAR more powerful in C1 than LR (not even close to comparable in terms of exporting which is where there's C1, PS with scripts and then everything else trailing far behind)
C1 is also wildly ahead when it comes to batch editing & batch exporting, that's what it evolved to do and even really old versions are better than LR ever got.
I plan to switch to C1 this year. Like me, I suspect many people who have used Lightroom for years will have a lot of inertia when it come to making any switch for many reasons. Old habits, plugins, presets, etc. die hard.
IMO Lightroom is no longer king of the hill when it come to raw processing and speed, but as a package that includes plenty of DAM and output capabilities, plus a huge user base for presets and plugins, it is still unmatched.
I used to think the Lightroom vs. anything else argument was simply about subscription vs perpetual license, but it seems a lot of folks simply don’t like Adobe’s business practices in general and its often-bloated software in particular. Personally it’s a bit of both for me, plus the desire to encourage as much competition for Adobe as possible.
Regarding C1's "perpetual" licensing vs the Adobe subscription...keep in mind that if you buy, say, C1 20, and you want to move to a new camera in 2021...you'll have to upgrade your C1 license. Phase One's habit of locking camera support behind the newest versions is just as gross to me as anything Adobe does, so I tend to find that argument a bit moot, and the people that push C1 the hardest never mention it.
Expect to pay at least $150/year on C1 if you buy new bodies and lenses frequently. With Adobe, I'm paying $90/year after my Flickr discount and always have the latest update without worrying about it. Of course, I tend to buy new release cameras every year, so it works for my use case. If you're the guy shooting an A7II in 2020, not really the same argument.
