Nick often refers to the Phocus image processing software. It should be noted that it's still in beta development. Here is info. from Hasselblad:

"Phocus 1.0b20 Mac [is a] public beta version of Phocus, our next generation camera host software. Highlights include Live Video!

This beta version is considered function complete except for Ixpress hardware connectivity. This feature will be included in the final version of Phocus 1.0, expected to be ready by the end of May.

Please note that a software beta version may contain bugs and that this should be taken into account if you are using it for actual production work. We therefore recommend making backup copies of your 3F files.


System Requirements

Mac OS X 10.5 or later is required. At least 2GB of memory is recommended. Phocus will run on G4 or G5 PPC CPU's, but an Intel processor is recommended. CF, CFH, H2D, H3D, H3DII, CFV and 503CWD products are fully supported. For the Ixpress series you will be able to work with existing 3F files.

Scanner 3F files are NOT supported. 3F files generated by this beta version are NOT backward compatible with FlexColor ! "

From personal experience and from the Hasselblad release notes, PHOCUS performance is very dependent on the graphics card. PHOCUS was painfully slow running on my last gen Mac Pro quad core with 6 gig RAM and the standard GC. Upgrading the GC to an ATI HD2600 made the program usuable. (The 2600 had little, if any, effect on LR or CS3)

Steve

Steve

If I ever get my hands on a decent Mac I'll update the report to include Phocus. In the meantime, FlexColor does a pretty good job.

Nick,

Thanks a lot for the report.

One question if you don't mind. Have you had the chance to test exposures longer than 3 seconds (ideally between 5 and 30)?

I consider the image degradation for exposures longer then 5 seconds to be one of the 2 major drawbacks of my Mamiya ZD (the other one being its battery life in cold weather) and I am wondering how the hasselblad does with that.

Thank you.

Regards,
Bernard

Bernard,

There is no degradation on longer exposure images, I've been working with the H3DII39 since January and I can tell you that the long exposures are just fine. Battery life is decent, in cold weather, obviously less but that is to be expected. I'm eagerly waiting for the exposure bump up to 64 seconds. Here are three samples of longer exposures:







FYI: I'm still learning Flexcolor, these images had very little post processing done.

I hope this answers your question, although it was directed to Nick (sorry Nick). Phenomenal camera system. Good luck.

Kind regards,
Derek

Slightly off topic....but is anyone using Flexcolor to LR in their workflow? If so, how much processing are you doing in Flexcolor before exporting to LR? I recently read that exporting as a Tiff file gives better results than DNG. I am just a hobbyist with the entry level 503CWD, so for me, it may not make any difference in the final result.

Steve

Right now I'm bypassing ACR, doing work in Flexcolor to TIF - however, this may be changing and I may be going from Flexcolor to DNG and then Smart Object ACR into PS as a layer (obviously is has to be a layer).

Hi Steve
Like yourself photography is not my profession and so what workflow I use does not have to be the most logical nor efficient.
I shoot with H3D 39 and import into Flexcolor. Then I alter colour temp (if necessary), levels and curves, lens corrections and sharpening (capture sharpening equivalent?). I then export as Tiff (never really tried DNG) and use LR but usually only slightly, and PS CS3 if necessary for softproofing and any dust removal, etc.
I am currently playing with Phocus and am finding it fairly intuitive and easy. Unfortunately I downloaded it around the same time as LR2 Beta and although the learning curve isn't too steep with either compared to previous incarnations, both at the same time is proving confusing enough. Using them sporadically and not daily probably doesn't help
As I said my livelihood doesn't depend on this sort of workflow and I'm sure it isn't the most efficient but it works for me.
Regards
Richard

Thanks for the reply..I have all of the above software and probably need to suck it up and decide what to use every day..right now it's Flexcolor, color temp..DNG..LR..round trip CS3, local correction, out-put sharp, soft proof..LR print.

Anyone using PHOCUS? I downloaded it about a month ago but haven't spent any time using it. It works fine with capture but the "import" function seems to be disabled. I have tried both firewire card reader and download from the CFV back..no luck. Is it me or is import not enabled?

Steve

For me, Phocus is a major improvement with respect to evaluating images and comparing images. Same basic results as Flexcolor in terms of tools and quality of output rendering to TIFFs, but the high res previews and the ability to compare two images side-by-side in Phocus make a huge difference in my workflow for identifying the files that are good enough to justify processing and moving into Photoshop. Lightroom has many more tools and capabilities, but at the end of the day it is a denser program with a steeper learning curve and the "base" conversions are inferior to Phocus.
In order to import, you need to have Flexcolor 4.85 on your computer, but it cannot be opne at the same time as Phocus. Also, if the file has already been converted into a .fff file in Flexcolor, you cannot re-import it into Phocus. You just point to and click on the folder where the .fff files are stored and they will load into the Viewer window in Phocus.

I have 4.8.5 installed and just opened it and then quit. Loaded PHOCUS and the import function is still not active. Maybe they are not loaded in proper directories??
I am on the steep part of the learning curve..and help would be appreciated..the PHOCUS user interface looks much more friendly compared to Flexcolor.

Steve

Are you trying to load a set of new captures off a CF card from a card reader? In the File Browser on the left side of the scree, the card reader should show up. When you double click on it, the captures should show up in the Viewer thumbnails.

I overall like Phocus although there are a couple of things -- more based on the way the control options are organized and not that big of a deal. However, the one thing for me that really is rate limiting is the inability to view bigger thumbnails from the .3FR files. For some shooting -- macro for example, I tend to take multiple shots using different apertures and then like to view the focus point and DOF between the various images. I can quickly delete the ones I do not like. However, if I have to convert them all before viewing them, and then go back and delete the .FFF and .3FR images it takes too much time and a lot of hard drive space. If there was one thing I wish was possible (perhaps I am missing something)--- it would be the ability to see larger images from the input .3FR files.

I have tried both the card using firewire reader and directly from the back. Hassbldisk show up on the left..double click and the "title" shows up above the "film strip" area, and says 0 images.

The same card and reader downloads to 4.8.5 without difficulty. I quit 4.8.5 before starting PHOCUS. I have also re-loaded both programs to the apps folder in my start up disk.

Steve

AFAIK, there is only a tiny jpeg preview in the 3FR RAW files, enough to display on the LCD screen. Hence to see a bigger preview entails processing the whole file.

Bernard, as someone else has said, the long exposures are just fine. Up to 32 secs is much like the Canons, clean and noiseless. No doubt 64secs will be equally good. Long exposures are simply not a concern.

When you click the hassbldisk on the left in phocus, you need to first select the left arrow down and then select the file name with a number where are the image files are stored.

Yes i understand but this to me is a major PITA.

Sorry to keep hijacking this thread but...

Mark thanks for the help..the previews now show up in the "film strip" but import is still not active after selecting the "batch". ??

Steve

Derek,

Thanks for the feedback.

Regards,
Bernard

Double click on one of the 3FR files in the thumbnail browser, go to menu-edit "select all" and all of the 3FR files in the thumbnail browser should be highlighted. The "Import" command should now be active and you can click on it to import the files to the Capture Folder that is active.

Making progress..thanks for everyones help..I am clawing my way up the learning curve..

Steve

Wouldn't it be nice if Hasselblad developed a series of video tutorials for Phocus, much like the ones Apple has for Aperture 2.0?
I have heard that they are actually in process. If only Hasselblad had Apple's resources. Too bad that each of the MFDB makers feels compelled to develop its own raw converter, but I understand from a business standpoint why they don't want to surrender complete control over the quality of the output from their backs to third parties like Adobe and Apple for whom the customers of the MFDB manufacturers are a tiny revenue source.

I would be happy with better written documentation. I also don't understand the economics of small volume manufactures trying to each have the equiv of LR or ACR and the constant updates..seems like a plugin that did the early part of the pipe-line and then output DNG to the full featured program. The software costs must cut into the profits for the small producers. Plus some standardization would be nice. I was shooting JPEG and printing at Wal-Mart a year ago and trying to get up to even slow speed on CS3, ACR, LR, Flexcolor, PHOCUS..without a prior background, has been interesting.

There is a pretty good Phocus manual included with the latest download on Hasselblad.

Also new Live Video i awesome! You can control the focus remotely and not even have to touch the camera. :-)

Jo S.x