petapixel.com/2024/01/30/capture-one-lays-off-staff-amid-a-significant-internal-restructure/
Much as I like their s/w, they subscription model and the fact that I felt shafted when my 'pepetual license' was without any updates made me look elsewhere for processing s/w.
Have you tried DXO’s PhotoLab 7?
David
DXO’s PhotoLab 7 is great software. Steep learning curve coming from PS Elements, but worth the effort!
I hope they are not in trouble, as I find this to be the best Raw processing software that I have used. I really like their dodging and burning tools, and the output I find is a bit more subtle compared to DXO, which I have in Ver 5.
I am used to paying big money for engineering software subscriptions. My FEA software costs me three figures every year. Even my Autocad clone costs nearly a thousand each year. I pay just over €100 for the C1 subscription that I stated during a sale.
We are seeing the world of camera based photography shrinking. We are going to have to get used to paying more for our software, just like our camera gear.
Compared to my Engineering software, which mostly fixes bugs, C1 actually does implement some meaningful updates each year.
It looks like the mostly had a cleanout of the sales and marketing sectors, where the performance has been somewhat disastrous.
I was in search for good software for my x100v - all these subscription and licensing troubles made me even not to try it.
I changed to C1 ‘perpetual’ licence when Adobe went to a subscription model - I’m one of those people with an irrational dislike of subscriptions, but I’ve come to realise that the need for constant upgrades makes a nonsense of perpetual licences and the subscription model can work out cheaper. I like the software but I don’t like their approach to asset management, their constant changing of terms and conditions and their mean spirited approach to upgrades. I use cameras which output DNG as their RAW format and so upgrading a camera doesn’t render older software obsolete, so I suppose I’ll continue using it for the foreseeable future. I like the NIK plugins and, in my opinion, C1 doesn’t play nicely with them - which may push me back to Photoshop.
There seems little doubt that the company is in trouble but this seems to be largely of their own making. I’m reminded of Douglas Adams’ description of the marketing department of the Sirius Cybernetics Corporation!
Nothing irrational about it at all. Subscriptions work for a small percentage of folks. I oppose subscriptions for a variety of reasons but the main one is the fact that I'm not a cow, so they can stop trying to milk me...
As a consumer, I hate subscriptions (excluding paper magazines and newspapers - I get something new on my table every day or month). I have not subscribed to any software, all have either perpetual licenses or are just free ones.
As a developer in tiny software company, I know that without subscription fee for our products we as company can't survive. It was quite hard to change licensing model (many years ago we offered only perpetual licenses), now we have kinda hybrid model - perpetual licenses do not allow version upgrades (bugfixes for licensed version are free), subscribed customers get new versions constantly. Due to the nature of our software (accounting/ERP) new versions are sometimes required for our customers, thereby most customers choose subscription model anyway.
Arvo,
Subscribing to your software sounds to me like a necessary business expense, since customers must have up to date versions at all times, and the updates are presumably essential responses to external circumstances.
One of the irritating things about being obliged to use computers to live our daily life is the constant upgrading. I refer to programs like Skype, Firefox, Windows, etc. I find their regular and frequent upgrades highly intrusive.
I am pleased to note that I have tools like knives, table cutlery and china, saucepans, hammers, pliers, screwdrivers, musical instruments, clothes and shoes, pens and pencils that are not part of this syndrome! Knowing this keeps me reasonably sane.
David
That will change once they force a chip into your brain.
time.com/6590258/nueralink-brain-implant-chip-first-human/
I wouldn't call over 30M Adobe subscribers a small percentage of folks. And of course you would rather milk them requesting updates for life.
I don’t think it’s reasonable to expect free updates for life, but whilst I wouldn’t expect versions with feature updates to be provided free, I do think it’s reasonable to expect updates for newly introduced cameras free of charge for a significant period of time - five years, perhaps?
So it will be included in the original price and one will still have to pay for it. Between all camera makers there will be new camera quite often.
Can you have perpetual license for Adobe products? If not, then 30M subscribes are in no way related to customers wishes - they have no choice.
I manage quite well with the facilities provided by Photoshop CS5, which was distributed on a CD or DVD with a 24-digit (!) installation code. No subscription.
David
They sure have a choice. To stay with Adobe or use something else.
You underestimate people laziness and unwillingness to change their workflow. Also Adobe software is de facto standard for many companies - and companies like subscription model much more than ordinary people, makes cash flow planning easier; companies are more inert too and do not change their software so often.
Anyway, I have no data about users' preferences - my personal feelings do not count so much. Well. in our tiny company I know exactly one person, always preferring subscriptions - but this is statistically not important.
That would be more fair. The average joe in the street shouldn't have to pay out like the professionals in the various industries that have an employer paid for subscription model (tax write-off)
