There are a couple of sliders in C1 that have become my go-to.
When I first started using C1, I used it like Lightroom.
Big mistake.
Not only are the features different, but their capabilities and application combinations also differ. I remember being disappointed with my efforts processing a set of bright light, midday images for a new set of signs. Controlling the highlights made the whites muddy and reducing overall exposure, then lifting the shadows tends to give an artificial “HDR” look.
I missed the “Brilliance” slider.
The top four sliders, that is the four found in the assumed primary processing panel (Exposure, Contrast, Brilliance and Saturation) are powerful enough for a large number of global fixes. My Lightroom habits had been quite different.
Brilliance allows you to add brightness and separation to a flat image or drop a very contrasty one back to a workable range and in both situations, the image stays natural looking. Contrast in C1 is more dynamic, so I tend to use it a lot less. Brilliance effects the “punch” of an image in a gentler way.
The first image below is the base, the second is lightened using the Exposure slider, the last is lightened using the Brilliance slider. The last file gains shadow detail, but holds contrast and unlike the Shadows slider, it does not take on the “HDR” look.
Early on, I felt Lightroom naturally added more vibrance and “Hollywood” to a file, but the more I use it, the more I realise that C1 has this and more, but starts from a more realistic base. Brilliance is one of the tools that empowers the user to enhance, or tame as needed. I have come a long way from Canon files through Adobe, both capable of mesmerising saturation and glow, but often at the expense of accuracy.
The second slider is the De-Haze control, which gets its own panel.
Lightroom has this one also named the same, but hidden in a panel with various other controls (I forget which), but I found it to be very clumsy by comparison. It worked when the situation clearly needed it, but as a more generalised tool, it was far too punchy.
The De-haze slider can be applied to any file that lacks the clarity and crispness you need. It does its job very well, but I am also amazed how often it brings out the punchy quality in a file that just looks a little flat.
De-haze has replaced Clarity (I liked this in LR, but less so in C1) and often Sharpness, Saturation and Contrast.
Again, the first file is the base, the second is lightened using Exposure, the third is re-envigorated with some De-haze.
If you over push it, it can be a little harsh and over saturated looking, but then those files probably did not need any De-hazing. Unlike Contrast, it is not terminal when pushed too far, just pointless.
A very good use for De-haze, is when some shadow or highlight recovery is used. Both tend to flatten out mid tone separation and De-haze firms it back up again.
Both of these work well with jpegs also.
The easily re-arranged panels in C1 have allowed me to try various layouts and this is where I have settled.
At the very top is Library, minimised until needed.
Below that is the Layers panel, used only if I activate a layers based feature, so minimised until needed.
The Dynamic Range panel is next. This one is the fine control after the one below, but due to lack of room I like to have it above the primary panel, just out of sight, but there if needed.
The primary Exposure panel (Exposure, Contrast, Brilliance, Saturation) is at the active top of the pile.
Below that is White Balance. I find it best to fix this after Exposure/Brilliance have been set and with added Saturation so I can better identify the issue. Then the Sat. gets dropped back again.
Below that De-haze. De-haze is the punch replacer if any of the above have sucked the life out of an image.
So, original, Exposure lightened and Brightness reduced to control the highlights, then finally De-haze added.
From here there is a revolving door of panels depending on the job, consisting of Spot Removal, Vignetting, Colour Control, Sharpness (rarely used globally, but often applied to soft areas with the brush) and Clarity/Structure (all added with the brush).
There are others, some of which I am yet to come to grips with, but as is, this layout does the job.
No programme is perfect. C1 has a several controls that I find lack subtlety in favour of strength, but the ones above seem* to be the most natural looking and have more than enough grunt to do the job. Lightroom failed my needs by being weaker overall at its base line. The sharpness/noise dynamic in particular fell way short of C1 for an M43 user. The acid test will be re-processing my Japan files with C1, as some were processed to Lightrooms strengths, which as not the same with any other programme.
*With a Mac, Olympus and me in combination.