Irritated that Capture One (basically a raw image processor bundled a better version of Lightroom) has moved to an Adobe-style subscription model. At least they still let you buy a permanent copy (and basically give you the current version for free after 5 years as a subscriber).
Having to buy an annual subscription to manage and edit my own work reminds me how vulnerable we are to the business-mode-du-jour of proprietary platforms we rely on.
If you shoot raw photos (as almost all serious photographers do), you pretty much *have* to use either Capture One or Adobe Camera Raw, and if you have a large catalog of photos, the library features of Capture One and Lightroom become increasingly essential. So in practice, there's no escape from proprietary software for serious digital photography today. Better hope whichever system you buy in to stays in business (and doesn't price you out in the future).
Yes, I know about Darktable. No, it's not a substitute for Capture One or Adobe. Good raw processors (like C1 and ACR) run circles around any of the free processors out there, and are the only game in town that can properly handle raw files from some cameras.
That said, other than the business model, I'm happy with C1. It's worth paying for. But the degree to which I'm vulnerable to lock in makes me very nervous.
@mattblaze I suppose you know about RawTherapee as well?
I will not and cannot argue with you, I do not shoot so much and not on such professional/semi-professional level as you do so I simply is not competent to compare raw processors. But on my leve I've started to use RawTherapee, and for me it works satisfyingly. It's rather my skills that are limited. I've also moved to digiKam as catalog, and partly for processing as well.
