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Incorporating Phocus into my X2D photo editing workflow

ndwgolf

ndwgolf

Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2025
Messages
26
How many of you guys incorporate Phocus into your picture processing workflow. I tried Phocus back in 2018 when I had a H6D 100c but it was painfully slow then even on my top of the line MacPro. Im waiting for a new X2D and hopefully Phocus would have improved since 2018.
I'm guessing ideally import the RAW .3FR files into Phocus, work on the exposure, any keystone adjustments make any colour tweaks then hand off into Photoshop for final adjustments.............Does that all sound about right? Any workflow tips would be much appreciated .
 
ndwgolf said:
How many of you guys incorporate Phocus into your picture processing workflow. I tried Phocus back in 2018 when I had a H6D 100c but it was painfully slow then even on my top of the line MacPro. Im waiting for a new X2D and hopefully Phocus would have improved since 2018.
I'm guessing ideally import the RAW .3FR files into Phocus, work on the exposure, any keystone adjustments make any colour tweaks then hand off into Photoshop for final adjustments.............Does that all sound about right? Any workflow tips would be much appreciated .
Click to expand...
I’m an H6D-100c shooter and only use phocus. It’s slow on my 2012 iMac but it has the best screen, so still preview there. The 2019 MacBook Pro is what I take on jobs away from home. It’s fine to work with speed wise but runs incredibly hot. I just got an M3 MacBook last year and it’s marginally faster again. (Great for DaVinci resolve a game changer there)
The color space in phocus is great to work with. I also like the tools in phocus and so it’s a perfect one stop solution for everything, so much so, I have never seen a need for photoshop. And editing speeds have been fine since I got the 2019 MacBook
 
I use Phocus for all my Hasselblad . I just got a Mac Mini M4 as I’m so tired of how s l o w my old 2017 5k iMac has become.
 
Something Phil Tragen showed in the video above I agree with is that the Phocus app really recreates the colors well. Of course, that is the point of Hasselblad making the software. I am a believer in using the manufacturer’s software because they should talk with the camera better than anyone.

That said, the spot removal is horrific in Phocus, and I transitioned to Capture One from Lightroom about 3 years ago. So, my workflow is a little different.
I always start in Phocus, no matter what. I adjust as much as I can and use the layers with gradient masks to selection areas to work on as needed (my photography is landscape, mostly coastal, so it works well for that). When I am happy with the image, I export it to a 16 bit TIFF and open that up in ON1. I do not try to trick the system by removing the Hasselblad name and pull it into Capture One.

I adjust 2 things in ON1. First, I remove any spots. Especially dust threads (lines vs. spots). Now I hate dust and I work hard to clean the sensor, but it just happens, especially with the CV backs and less so the X2D. Second, I use the dynamic contrast filter in ON1 which just pulls the micro contrast out really really well and has plenty of adjustments as needed.

Then I save the image and export it for social media, or adjust more for printing.

The files are huge, and while I prefer to keep files that are not technically bad (camera shake or bad exposure), I do cull more judiciously with the X2D and delete images I don’t want.

I save all my image files on a synology with raid setup so 2 drives can fail, and that backs up at night to an offsite backup service.
All in all, I prefer less saturation over more because it prints better, but I can adjust in Phocus to fine tune those things fairly well. It took me a couple of months and several sessions shooting to start to get it, (and a few Phocus updates) but I’m happy now except spot removal!

David.
 
I have to agree on the spot removal tool, plenty of room for improvement there!
I love phocus and keep 99% of my work flow there.
 
I always use Phocus with my X2D, post process and export 16 bit Tiff files into Bridge and onto Photoshop, or Capture One 20. I use the Calibration Tool for colours and I don't find it slow with my 27" iMac and 30" NEC Multisync display, but I'm not a sports shooter and not in a hurry. I really like the Phocus tools and more often than not I'm tethering.

I'd really like the option of taking RAW files directly into Capture One, but that's not to be. The Lightroom tethering tool is very limited, but I do use it for eBay files.
 
I've always used proprietary software to convert RAW to TIFF, while LR & PS do a good job; it has been my experience that almost always the OEMs have the original recipe for top-notch RAW conversions. Phocus's Color Science is simply the best.

I then save all the RAWs and Tiffs into a date-named folder with a small description, using TIFF, JPEG, and Web keeper sub-folders.

After the initial conversion, I do PS levels, rotation, and crop adjustments. From there I tweak the individual images I like (keepers) with Luminar Neo and Topaz Photo AI. Luminar does great at tweaking the images, while Topaz excels at sharpening blur and noise reduction.

Afterward, I clean up the images, spot healing, content aware, etc. and further convert the photo into keeper TIFF, JPEG, and Web. The Web photo is given a pixel length of 2048 pixels on the long side, as I assume it's Facebook's sweet spot for image quality. File size doesn't matter, but your mileage may vary.

I own Photoshop CS6 and Lightroom Classic, so no further charges exist for their usage. Someday, I’m sure with the lack of updates supported by Adobe, there will come a time when it is rendered useless; until then, I’ll continue using my bought and paid-for software.
 
MichelvanElmpt said:
Click to expand...

Really nice video! I recently purchased the X2d with a 28mm and am very happy with the camera and results. I also bought the XV adapter to use with all my V mount lenses. I've not been able to put it through the acid test yet as I'm still going back and forth to the manual. You sparked my interest in the Phocus app and your video helped tip the scales in favor of using it. I do practically everything through Lightroom Clasic and a little with Photoshop. The color palette out of this camera is quite impressive so I'm anxious to see what the possibilities and results are with Phocus. Thanks again for your video.
Rockett
 
I’ve had the camera now for just over one month what I do is I initially import the 3FR images into a folder via the Pocus software and then I take those FFF files and import them into Lightroom and then from Lightroom work on them in Photoshop just using Lightroom as a method of storing all the images……. Works great
 
As Matt Grainger dies, I use a cable nd transfer all images to a dated subfolder in a folder called Hasselblad (crazy! lol) once done. I can import them info a dated sub folder called Phocus ( really! ). When I e checked all are ok I format the storage in camera.
I do like how Phocus Mobile works now, especially with HNNR and I also like that when exporting a jpeg we can select one of a number of frames…great for Facebook for example. Some, like me, like that, some don’t. It’s a free choice.
 
Phocus supports other things than purely editing - tethered shooting using the auto sequencer, multishot processing, and when using the HTS 1.5 tilt shift adapter for optical correction etc.).

Phocus maywell still be the best tool for working with the H6D (50c or 100c), particularly tethered. I have only used it with X cameras (X1D, X1Di, X2D etc..)

I use the recently updated Phocus for Mac to Version 4.1.2 - but will continue to only use it sparingly.
Phocus 4.1.2 continues to be under served for my use case in its masking tools. The lack of AI based masking options is a severe weakness, leading to users having to spend far longer editing each file than when AI tools are available. A key reason why I do not use Phocus except for Tethering my X2D. AND even when I do I use it for camera control rather than editing.

While I use Lightroom Classic (LRC) every day - currently I only use it for importing files into my file structure, applying my IPTC and other keywords, I now use DxO PhotoLab 9.7.0 (PL) as my primary RAW converter and "editing" tool. I do not make images using composites nor undertake significant pixel manipulation - if I did then PS would be my ally.

If you use PS to perform your edits, then you can simply open a HB raw file and convert it using ACR and you will lose little. BUT there is a better way.

Since DXO updated PL to version 9 and included AI-masking I find the result I obtain from using it rather than LRC/ACR are significantly improved.

Previously I also used DxO Pure RAW (PR) as my Raw converter then editing linear DNG output files in LRC - this came from frustrations with Adobe's RAW conversion (via Adobe Camera RAW (ACR)) of the Z9 RAW files, but as PR improved I also found its conversion of files from the X2D significantly better, to my eye -- but since this involved multiple very large intermediary files this process was wasteful and destructive (in that each intermediary file bakes in the edits made up to the point of export). Now using PL I have no need for intermediary files in my normal work flow. Even though PR now allow export with a relatively tiny compressed DNG file.

New Features in 4.1
  • HNNR for FFF files - Hasselblad Natural Noise Reduction (HNNR) is extended to FFF files, further improving the noise reduction effect of professional format files.
  • HDR support for the Reproduction tool - The Reproduction tool adds full HDR workflow support, including Hasselblad L* wide color gamut selection, color calibration and curve adjustment in HDR mode.
  • Improved viewer quality - Optimised the viewer display quality for direct editing of 3FR format files, improving; and rendering consistency at low zoom ratios and highlight rendering performance.
General improvements
  • Improve processing and export performance
  • Updated to support macOS Tahoe.
Other updates and fixes:
  • Added automatic DRC application for HDR HEIF and HDR JPG images captured with the X2D II 100C, providing better image quality when HDR effects are turned off.
  • Corrected color readouts, particularly in HDR mode.
  • Fixed an issue where the Moiré mask generation progress slider showed negligible progress.
  • Improved highlight recovery at extreme white balance settings.
  • Fixed an issue where 6-shot exports could, under certain conditions, produce unwanted black noise artifacts.
  • Fixed a tethering issue with H4D cameras.
  • Fixed a luminance mismatch in the Viewer between Hasselblad RGB and L*RGB.
 
ndwgolf said:
How many of you guys incorporate Phocus into your picture processing workflow. I tried Phocus back in 2018 when I had a H6D 100c but it was painfully slow then even on my top of the line MacPro. Im waiting for a new X2D and hopefully Phocus would have improved since 2018.
I'm guessing ideally import the RAW .3FR files into Phocus, work on the exposure, any keystone adjustments make any colour tweaks then hand off into Photoshop for final adjustments.............Does that all sound about right? Any workflow tips would be much appreciated .
Click to expand...
I started working with the latest version on my Mac (M4) and found no glitches….east to review adjust and export as tiff to files….Shooting with XCDII 100
 
To me the HDR histograms look wrong….i’m no expert though so I’m probably wrong. Otherwise I’m seeing no issues either.
 
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