Phase One has released version 5.1.2 of its Capture One raw converter and image editor, improving the application's compatibility with Microsoft's Expression Media.

In late May, Phase One announced that it had acquired Expression Media, a Microsoft digital asset management application used to catalog and organise images, videos and music files. In an exclusive interview with BJP, Henrik O Håkonsson, president and CEO of Phase One, hinted at an update that would let the two applications work more closely together.

That update is now available. Users of both applications can now add a selections of images from Capture One to an Expression Media catalog, transfer rating and colour tags between the application with a simple drag-and-drop, preview images in Expression Media using Capture One's default rendering, as well as create a Capture One album with images found by searching in Expression Media.

Version 5.1.2 is just the beginning of Phase One's plans in regards to Capture One and Expression Media. In his interview with BJP, Håkonsson said that a range of new features can be expected as Phase One studies the possibility of bringing both software together. However, he added, customers shouldn't be burden with things they don't need. "We will put some components together, but we won't cluter down one software or the other. We'll take the best of both applications. But we will carefully evaluate to see if it makes sense to build an integrated product. It's a fair assumption to say that we will, but it will depend on the dialogue we're having with photographers." Read the full interview here.

In the meantime, version 5.1.2 users will also benefit from enhanced support of Leaf's digital backs and the Olympus E-PL1 entry-level Micro FourThirds camera. For more details on Capture One and a full list of improvements brought to version 5.1.2, visit www.phaseone.com/5.