Increase number of layers

This is a result of the strategic direction CO has formulated for the product. C1P is first and foremost a app for studio, product, fashion and tethered shoots. It will work for other genres but that is simply an aside…

For its core genres, more than 16 layers is unneeded, additionally robust denoise and sharpening functions are unneeded.

I found with complex landscapes or cityscapes that more than 16 layers was occasionally needed and I had to use an external app to denoise and sharpen.

It became clear to me that I am a nice to have, but not a core customer.

I love the UI of C1P, but my needs do not align with the product. So I moved on, I still have a valid C1P perpetual license and occasionally use it for legacy issues…

Transitioning to another product is difficult, but ultimately was the right choice.

I don’t begrudge CO, they are a business with limited resources like any other business. The have decided on a strategic framework and are executing to that framework. I wish them well and great success.

I see that C1 is lagging behind its main competitors like Lightroom and Evoto.
There is this tool where users can ask for new functions, however C1 seems to have its own agenda and constraints. To me, it seems that competitors release astounding functions at a much faster pace than C1. Probably C1 has an insufficient number of programmers to have the software make a real step ahead. Think of AI to select objects: compared to PS, LR or Evoto, its results are a lot of time imprecise. Layers management has this hard-to-overcome limit of 16 items that reveals how its implementation dates back to “ancient” times. Color management hasn’t improved for years and users still have to use skin tones to vary a color in a picture (LR makes this sooo easy to do instead!). Finally, the newly released Retouch part for portraits is disappointing poor and yet marketed as exceptional…have a look to Evoto. Use it and you understand what AI can really make the life of a portrait photographer easier.
Capture One, it is better that you wake up.

I am somewhat disappointed that after more than two years and various improvements to the layer system, the number of layers has still not been increased. This is despite the fact that many users obviously want or need this feature.
Is there a technical explanation as to why this should be so difficult?

With the new AI features, it's definitely needed to have more than 16 layers.

more layers will be helpful for me too. I have already hit the maximum more than once...

I agree to the request. In complex images, this quickly limits the creative process. In addtion, there is no real reason, why to set the limit as a fixed value. It should be possible to increase this value with carefullconsideration of the own hardware performance. Of course this could be combined with a warning meassage that to many layers will reduce the response time, but please do not obstruct these artifical restrictions upon us.

I am not a professional photographer but work extensively with vintage erotica restoration. My workflow involves scanning images from old magazines, which often come with significant challenges like skin tone inconsistencies, color bleeding, and artifacts due to the nature of the source material.

While I begin restoration in Photoshop for tasks like dot print removal and cropping, all my color grading is done in Capture One. I transitioned to Capture One because of its precision, granular controls, and speed compared to Lightroom. However, the current layer limit is a significant bottleneck in my workflow.

Every layer becomes critical for precise adjustments, and I frequently hit or come close to the limit—this is for photos featuring a single subject. When working on images with multiple subjects, each with different skin tones, the layer restriction makes it even more difficult to maintain an efficient workflow.

Having to toggle between Capture One and Photoshop disrupts the streamlined process I aim for in color grading. Increasing the layer limit would drastically enhance my ability to work on images efficiently, reduce back-and-forth software switching, and ultimately save a significant amount of time.

Thank you for the consideration.

I'm watiting for this feature.

368108974477:
I agree with you. Merging layers seems to be a much bigger effort coding wise than to "simply" increase the max. layer number.

That shouldn't be too hard to do. But even if this means a major code rework in my opinion it is worth the work.

Now as we have the great AI masking tools, it is soooo easy to hit the layer limit.
I think it is just a matter of time until more and more people will recognize this as a major flaw, which it really is.

Unfortunately this limit exists since years... :-(

Let's keep the request simple. Increase the number of supported layers.

There is no "base" though, dear "FirstName LastName", unless you mean rewriting RAW files themselves.

At the very very least provide the ability to bake existing layers into the base layer to free up some to all of the 16 layer cap. At the end of the day there should be no limit on layer count but if there must be one 16 is nowhere near enough because when you don't hit the limit it's easy to forget about but when you do...it's usually a major headache.

Yes, please. I also often hit the limit.