P25+ RAW files: exposure rendering in Capture One Pro vs. some others

[Frits]

(posted in another MF forum also)

I have been using Capture One Pro for developing the RAW files of my Phase One 25+ back and the results have been excellent.

I took some test shots today which were perfectly exposed on the back's LCD as well as in C1 Pro.
Then I took the RAW files into Adobe Lightroom 4 and also into Photoshop CS 5 (which uses the same camera RAW engine) and to my surprise there was a huge difference, particularly in exposure. Where exposure in C1 was dead-on, it was very much underexposed in Lightroom / CS5 to the point that I needed to increase the exposure tab by some 1.6 stops to get to proper exposure.
I understand that there will be some differences in rendering from one software package to another, but the BIG difference in basic exposure surprised me a lot.

Thoughts, comments?

 

[dougpeterson]

I'd consult with your dealer on such first-time-use questions. It's much faster and requires less back and forth.

But the short answer to this particular question is it's a bug. ACR/LR misread the P25+ raw file and misplace the "0" exposure position. Don't be alarmed; good quality can still be had. Though of course best quality will always be had in Capture One.

Also make sure your P25+ firmware is up to date and if you have especially old firmware (anything older than 484) make sure to consult your dealer on how to do the firmware update - you should not jump from very old firmware to the current firmware.

 

[Frits]

I'd consult with your dealer on such first-time-use questions. It's much faster and requires less back and forth.

But the short answer to this particular question is it's a bug. ACR/LR misread the P25+ raw file and misplace the "0" exposure position. Don't be alarmed; good quality can still be had. Though of course best quality will always be had in Capture One.

Also make sure your P25+ firmware is up to date and if you have especially old firmware (anything older than 484) make sure to consult your dealer on how to do the firmware update - you should not jump from very old firmware to the current firmware.

Thanks Doug for your explanation.
I have been using Capture One and intend to continue to do so - I like it a lot and obviously it is best for P1 backs. I was just curious when I opened the files in LR just for fun as I certainly will continue to work my files with Capture One Pro - so no big deal, but nice to know what is going on.
BTW, I do have the latest firmware installed.

 

[FredBGG]

ACR is very good, if the camera profiles are good. The phase One ACR profiles are crap.

I use capture one for conversion from raw, but then do most of the processing elsewhere.

For example the moire correction in Capture one is really not much more than a chroma blur.
Set it high and you will see color bleeding all over the place.

On another note the p25+ is a very nice back.

 

[Chris Giles]

Are there any profiles created, or that can be created for ACR?

I agree with you Fred, they are crap. Today I had to load everything into Capture One to export as Tiffs so I could adjust in Lightroom. I couldn't export as DNG as I'd lose all my settings.

Edit: However Lightroom RC 4.1 (just released) appears better? Can anyone confirm this just in case it's my eyes playing tricks on me?