Recently Capture One has revealed some new features of the upcoming Capture One 21. If you missed the Sneak Peek live stream, the recording is already available at captureone.com.
Here I would like to review what developers have shown us and share some thoughts on the presented features.

First and foremost: those are not all the new features of Capture One 21. I’ve seen some disappointed comments, but that’s just a sneak peek at what we’re going to see in the 21-st version. Developers have strictly indicated that there are more new features to come in the final release.

So, the first revealed feature is the Speed Edit workflow – a new way of adjusting your images based on shortcuts.

All the essential tools now have special shortcuts:

You can adjust an image just by holding down a shortcut and scrolling a mouse wheel or trackpad.
Alternatively, you can click-n-drag mouse or use arrow keys to edit your images.

Basically, it’s a Direct Color Editor on steroids! With the difference that you can now quickly control almost all the sliders in Capture One.

Speed Edit allows you to fully focus on an image. You don’t need to look at tool sliders or reach them with your cursor to adjust an image.

Previously, this editing speed had been possible only with some additional devices like MIDI controllers or retouch panels by Tangent.
You can now edit images quickly, even on a laptop; no additional hardware is required.

Oh, and you can adjust multiple images simultaneously with Speed Edit!

I think that’s just a fantastic tool for professional photographers, seriously. Pro photographers are working under time pressure; that’s why there are so many devices available to increase editing speed.

Next, Capture One developers have shown us the new ProStandard camera profiles.
According to developers, the new profiles’ main feature is that they will retain the correct hue across contrast gradients.

However, their usage is not limited to landscapes:

Here is the list of cameras which will receive ProStandard profiles support with the release of Capture One 21:

More camera models (including Fujifilm cameras) are to come with future updates.

At the end of the stream, developers have also presented new, way more informative tooltips:

A pretty nice feature for new to Capture One users.

What about the release date?

The release date hasn’t been announced yet, but, starting from November 17, all the users who will purchase a new Capture One 20 license will get a free upgrade to Capture One 21 when it’s released.
Previously, Capture One offered free upgrades a month before the release or so. Thus, there is not much time left to benefit from the pre-ordering of Capture One 21 upgrade:

All pre-orders come with excellent bonuses:

• Capture One 20 users can pre-order an upgrade to Capture One 21 with a 20% discount and receive a bonus pack of styles.
• Capture One 12 and older versions users can now upgrade to Capture One 20 and get Capture One 21 upgrade free of charge.