According to a May report from PetaPixel, Axcel, the Nordic private equity firm that acquired Phase One and Capture One in 2019, is reportedly moving forward with an auction to sell Capture One, the software arm of the business.
This follows a report from Kapwatch a year earlier, which outlined Axcel’s intentions to divest from the business.
The origins of Phase One and Capture One
Phase One was founded in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1994 by pixel-processing pioneers who wanted to drag commercial photography into the digital age. They didn't build normal cameras; they built ultra-high-end, medium-format digital scanning backs for studio cameras. These backs cost tens of thousands of dollars and were used by high-end fashion and advertising photographers who required higher resolution and dynamic range.
Because digital photography was so new, there was no standard software to convert (what was in those days) massive, raw data files coming out of Phase One’s digital backs into usable images.
To solve this, Phase One launched a proprietary software companion in 1998 called Lightphase Capture. It was built strictly as a tethering and conversion utility for their own hardware – which was a 6MP Phase One Lightphase camera back (consumer cameras were 0.3-1.5MP at the time). If you bought a Phase One digital back, this was the tool you used to view the images on your computer in real time.
In 2002, Lightphase was rebranded to Capture One – which has become the default software for Digitechs for tethering on commercial shoots.
As for Phase One cameras, their business model has remained focused on highly specialised equipment, with very high price tags. Compare their $105,000 Phase One XT IQ4 150MP Camera System with XT - Rodenstock Lens VS a $11,000 FUJIFILM GFX100S II 100MP camera w/ GF 45-100mm f/4 R LM OIS WR lens. Both have Sony sensors, but one is 10% of the price.
Image: Capture One.
Capture One VS Lightroom
Lightroom Classic remains the popular choice for managing large, local desktop archives due to its comprehensive metadata control. To complement this, Adobe developed the browser-based Lightroom web ecosystem, allowing photographers to view, cull, and edit images – as well as save online 'albums' and view images – from any device. According to Adobe, Lightroom (web) has been a huge hit for a new generation of photographers and content creators, while Lightroom Classic appeals to established photographers.
While the Lightroom software seems to cater for most workflow issues of the modern photographer, apart from recent price increases (the 'Photography package' virtually doubled in price recently) many professionals still prefer to use Capture One due to its history of tethering reliability. There is nothing more painful on a high-pressure shoot than losing a connection, then trying to explain to a client why they can't see the images, even though you are set up correctly.
The latest competition for these software giants is in the field of artificial intelligence. Lightroom Classic offers AI masking to isolate subjects, skies, backgrounds, and facial features, while also integrating automated culling tools. Capture One has narrowed this gap with Smart Adjustments and Assisted Review to flag missed focus. Additionally, Capture One's Enhanced Denoise AI now competes directly with Adobe's AI Denoise to clean up high-ISO images within its layered workspace.
Price wise a full Capture One Pro subscription (with iOS app for iPhone and iPad) currently costs US$296 (AU$418+) per year, while locally Adobe Lightroom is AU$227 for both Lightroom Web, Lightroom Classic and 1TB of cloud storage.
Pricing on the Capture One website is confusing as it's not clear if you are paying USD or AUD, as the web URL is '/eng/'. Further research for other countries subscription prices are dissimilar to the US price (which may be different due to local taxes). This $USD/AUD confusion is not a selling point to new customers. The Adobe website clarifies this by using '/au/' in the URL and denoting that price is $AU per month.
Alternatively to subscription pricing, you can purchase Capture One outright for $US349 (Pro version), though you won't receive the latest updates.
A new 6% price increase noted at the beginning of June 2026 will take effect after 6 July 2026.
You can find out more about Capture One on their website.