Tips to help with Phocus workflow

[tobiasash]

Hi,

I am a long time film Hasselblad user but only just becoming familiar with Phocus after switching to the x series. (Seems to be a common theme on this thread)

I really like the conversions I am doing in Phocus but it does seem to take more time to get it to a stage where I can export it into Photoshop and finish the files.

So in view of that, I wanted to ask the community what your best short cuts/tips are for getting the best out of the Phocus software?  Was there anything in particular that you use all the time or changed your workflow?

Any ideas are much appreciated at this stage.

PS - Is there anyway that files can be transferred to be edited in PS without having to export them first and selecting the open in editor option?  Thanks!

[Juan Pascual Garrido]

Hi Tobiasash, Phocus is not the most advanced and reliable software you'll find.

[man-overboard]

I disagree, but it depends I suppose on what one is used to. Up to the time I bought Hasselblad it was C1, since Hasselblad, I find the Phocus package works fine for me to make the changes I need and export to TIFF. Very rarely now am I unsatisfied enough to start up C1 to continue editing.

[tenmangu81]

Until now, I used Phocus only for import the .3FR into .fff and exported them as .dng. After a little trick I could open these files within Capture One, that I work with for years. I didn't see significant differences between these .dng (opened with C1) and the .fff (opened with Phocus) on my calibrated display, even when I measured the RGB values on a same spot with an eyedropper.
But, anyway, when I want to print, I need .TIFF to go to Photoshop, which has the best printing module I know. So, why transform my .dng into .TIFF within Capture One rather than get them directly from Phocus by export ? And Phocus allows to do almost all what I want, even if it is not as developed as Capture One. The advantages of Phocus are 1) you are sure the HNCS colours are preserved, 2) you know exactly what colour space you are working in, and 3) you have dynamic lens corrections. For some lenses, such as the new 55V, distortion is strong and deserves a suitable correction that neither Lightroom, nor Capture One can make accurately.
So, I am switching, little by little, to Phocus (for HB files), but I use the TIFF conversion by Phocus only for my most valuable pictures, and continue with .dng within Capture One for the others, as they take much less room on the disk than TIFF. And for security, I save ALL my .3FR on a separate disk, just in case.

[SrMi]

For some lenses, such as the new 55V, distortion is strong and deserves a suitable correction that neither Lightroom, nor Capture One can make accurately.

The most recent Adobe update recognizes 55V properly and allows excellent distortion and vignetting correction.

[baudolino_CZ]

I purchased the X2D recently. Being very familiar and satisfied with Capture One, I find Phocus inferior in usability (crashes) and ergonomics (placement of tools etc). My initial solution has been to import the 3FR files to Phocus and convert them to FFF. After that, I edit in Lightroom (which I still find inferior to Capture One, but much less frustrating than Phocus). As my first step, I apply one of the X2D Cobalt profiles, crop, apply lens corrections (these look equivalent to Phocus, in my view) and then make additional adjustments before exporting to Photoshop for skin retouch, dodge & burn and final colour grading. I am not sure if I am taking advantage of the HNCS in my workflow (what is it anyway...a profile applied in Phocus?). I really hope that Capture One will once suport Hasselblad raw files.

[tenmangu81]

For some lenses, such as the new 55V, distortion is strong and deserves a suitable correction that neither Lightroom, nor Capture One can make accurately.

The most recent Adobe update recognizes 55V properly and allows excellent distortion and vignetting correction.

Thank you. Even dynamic corrections (as a function of the distance and the aperture) ?

[SrMi]

For some lenses, such as the new 55V, distortion is strong and deserves a suitable correction that neither Lightroom, nor Capture One can make accurately.

The most recent Adobe update recognizes 55V properly and allows excellent distortion and vignetting correction.

Thank you. Even dynamic corrections (as a function of the distance and the aperture) ?

No, Adobe software does not support dynamic corrections, AFAIK.

[JCM-Photos]

80% of my files can be printed in large format ans best quality out off Phocus only. As for printing 8bit Adobe RGB is sufficient, I export from Phocus Adobe RGB jpeg files that go in the "Epson Print Layout" Software (fine art prints) or "Affinity Publisher" (zines, books)
For screens or web I export lower resolution JPEG in sRGB.

For the other 20% I export 16bit TIFF files a least in Adobe RGB space to be edited in "Affinity Photo" or and other specialized softwares (mainly "Helicon", "Topaz")

[tenmangu81]

I purchased the X2D recently. Being very familiar and satisfied with Capture One, I find Phocus inferior in usability (crashes) and ergonomics (placement of tools etc). My initial solution has been to import the 3FR files to Phocus and convert them to FFF. After that, I edit in Lightroom (which I still find inferior to Capture One, but much less frustrating than Phocus). As my first step, I apply one of the X2D Cobalt profiles, crop, apply lens corrections (these look equivalent to Phocus, in my view) and then make additional adjustments before exporting to Photoshop for skin retouch, dodge & burn and final colour grading. I am not sure if I am taking advantage of the HNCS in my workflow (what is it anyway...a profile applied in Phocus?). I really hope that Capture One will once suport Hasselblad raw files.

HNCS is an integrated colour system in which each and every sensor is factory calibrated in such a way that the rendering is as "pleasant" as possible and colours look very "natural", showing contrast, saturation, etc... at a "perfect" level. This factory calibration is different than the one you could do at home using a colour target, and for which you should make a specific calibration for every light.
You could find some information there:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXDRyZbf5sk

I am not sure Cobalt profiles are the best, accordingly, as the factory calibration mad by Hasselblad should then be overwritten.

I also hope that Capture One will come to Hasselblad very soon....

[JCM-Photos]

I don't miss Capture One at all for my Hasselblad RAW files.

I am a long time Capture One user (I started with V3) and I have the impression that results are much better with Phase One camera RAW's than with my Nikon or Leica files RAW's.