Phocus Survey

[Chris Crumley]

With Phocus v2, I've replaced Flexcolor.

I LIKE the Lightroom-like User Interface and am using it tethered H2/39CFH-to-MacBookPro (new) on OSX 10.6.2. I'm using it daily and having no glitches that make it/me look bad with client in the studio. After years and 140,000 images in my Lightroom library, I find Phocus very easy to operate. Synchronizing a neutral isn't as intuitive as Lightroom (select the neutralized image and others to be like it and press "Sync Settings" and check the settings to be synced), but it's doable.

It took me a while to get my preset set for renaming, but it's done now and works very well. My problem getting there was the naming conventions used in the software. They weren't anything any software I've used would recognize. I had to go by the example that displayed as I changed the preset. My numbers are in the format YYMMDD-SEQ#A.ext where YYMMDD is shoot date, a hyphen, SEQ# is from the camera sequence number or a defined starting number, "A" is the first iteration of the image with B-Z available to other versions made in post production and .ext is the extension (.fff).

In the Adjustments tab, I'm not using Scene Calibration and Adjustments Browser, but that's just me not having learned them yet.

I'm now also attempting to get Phocus 2.0.1 to do captures with 39CFH on Sinar P2 with Kapture Group adapter. The Copal O shutter is connected to 39CFH in Flash Sync mode and Phocus in Live View. I can get an image to the back and on a CF card, but can't get it through Phocus and onto MBPro hard drive. Hasselblad Atlanta is working on resolving this (and maybe the Danes).

I also use Phocus on a MacPro tower when tethered files (.fff) are ready to go to Lightroom. Phocus makes quick work of making .dng files for Lightroom Import. I'm looking forward to the day when Lightroom Imports .fff files directly like .3FR, however, the one conversion step is quite fast and easy, so the issue isn't major.