Capture One discontinues Express, locks existing users out of their photo library

Over the past few years, Capture One has been increasingly urging customers to take out a subscription, which currently costs US$24 per month or US$179 per year, because the US$299 purchase version no longer contains any updates for a few weeks after the purchase date, apart from minor bug fixes, and a license has to be purchased again to support a newer camera.

Now, the Danish camera and software provider has announced that Capture One Express will be discontinued on January 30, 2024. After this date, the software can no longer be used by existing users, even though the application runs locally and does not rely on cloud services. This effectively locks Capture One users out of their photo library. The company has not given a reason for the end of Capture One Express.

Capture One Express was free to use, but could only handle RAW files from Sony, Fujifilm or Nikon. Those wanting to have continued access to their photos after the end of January will either have to export them beforehand or switch to Capture One Pro. In order to convert as many Capture One Express users as possible into paying subscribers, Capture One is offering a 40% discount on the first year of the subscription or on the purchase of the Pro version, which is only worthwhile to a limited extent for reasons already mentioned. To receive the discount, however, users have to subscribe to the e-mail newsletter.