When the email for this Beta release of Capture One arrived, I wasn’t expecting all that much from it. Seeing the release notes, however, I was pleasantly surprised. The app has some very interesting additions to masking and retouching tools, which make post-processing tasks easier and faster. It is such a relief to see a photo editing software giving usable updates for photographers without cramming AI into every tool and shoving it down our throats.
Gear Used
We tested the beta version of Capture One (v 16.7.0 Beta 3) on my Apple M1 Mac Mini, using images from my Nikon J5, Z6, Z6 II, Z8, and Zf cameras. For the sake of this article, we’ve tested out only the new features listed below. Capture One provided us with the link to download the beta
Combine Masks
Here’s a handy feature – Capture One 16.7.0 Beta 3 now supports combining of masks into a single layer. Yup, any kind of mask you choose – Subject, Background, People, or even hand-drawn via brush, can be combined with an existing mask, all in a single layer. Below is an example of an image where I wanted to brighten the subject as well as the mountain on the right side of the frame.
The subject is quite under exposed, as is the foreground and the mountain to his back. For whatever reason, let’s say I wanted to apply the same level of adjustments to both these separate areas of the image. I can now do this under the Layers & Mask tool in Capture One.
Subject Mask 1 was auto-selected by Capture One 16.7.0. As a test, I chose the AI brush to select only the right-side mountain face. As you can see in the screenshot above, both mask types were merged into a single mask layer.
Once I verified that the masking was what I wanted, I began applying adjustments.
You can blend masks together like pieces of a puzzle – add them, subtract them, or intersect them to build one seamless group. No matter how many masks you’ve crafted, they all remain as a single, clean layer. And if you’re working with dynamic tools like Gradients or Luma Ranges, they keep their dynamism even after being merged, giving you full control to tweak and refine every edge.
Of course, this isn’t just about adding. You can subtract masks or intersect them, all within the same edit layer. It’s one of those quietly powerful features that lets you build complex, beautifully controlled masks without adding too many layers to your image.
Retouch Additions
You can much more easily retouch your subject’s eyes, teeth, and neck now. Capture One 16.7.0 Beta 3 includes support for all of these in separate tools. The image below shows the differences when eye retouching, along with skin retouching, has been applied.
Clothes Masking
If you’ve always wanted an easier way to retouch your subject’s clothing, this version of Capture One introduces it. The tool will try to mask clothing worn by all people in the image. The release notes of this Beta also state that clothes “that are not worn by people might not be masked correctly,” so your NSFW photo shoot masks might turn out a little more unusual.
Contact Sheets
A fantastic new feature is the ability to create contact sheets with a dedicated tool. You can tweak every detail of your Contact Sheet to your liking. Adjust the layout, margins, background color, grid size, and spacing. You can even choose whether or not to show image names for a cleaner look.
Other Features
- HSL Readouts – readouts are now visible as HSL coordinates
- PSB (Photoshop Big) file support has been added, designed for PSD files larger than 2GB
- Addition of more lens profiles for Canon
- Improvements to tethering for Fujifilm cameras
Although this release contains just a handful of new features, they are impactful for those who really require them. More importantly, it’s nice to see that Capture One isn’t spinning every addition as an AI tool and isn’t wasting our time and money by unnecessarily going down that route, unlike some other editing software companies.
