Phocus 2 is out

Hywel · December 15, 2009, 07:01:18 AM

* actually, a "PROCESSING" visible overlay in Phocus to let you know that there is another processing pass and that you are not looking at the final preview would help. Not as much as sharp previews at 19%/25% zoom would help, but still it would save the "has it finished? Is it sharp?" thing.

Aperture does this for example- it overlays "loading" at the top of the image while it is thinking about it, so you know once that has disappeared you are looking at what it considers to be the "full" state of the preview image.

I dunno what the answer is, but a properly sharp preview in Phocus would be nice.

Hywel.

alexkent · December 15, 2009, 07:09:00 AM

Quote from: Hywel on December 15, 2009, 07:01:18 AM
* actually, a "PROCESSING" visible overlay in Phocus to let you know that there is another processing pass and that you are not looking at the final preview would help. Not as much as sharp previews at 19%/25% zoom would help, but still it would save the "has it finished? Is it sharp?" thing.

i think this already exists; there is a spinner just above the main viewer image (top left) whilst the passes are being rendered. once the spinner has gone, no more improvement will happen.

Hywel · December 15, 2009, 07:12:15 AM

Ah yes, so there is! It is fairly subtle so I had not noticed it before. That will definitely help.

Cheers, Hywel.

jeff.grant@pobox.com · December 15, 2009, 10:32:50 AM

That little spinner doesn't show up if I have the viewer in a separate window. It would be great if it did as I am often left wondering what is going on.

Jacephoto · December 15, 2009, 02:45:51 PM

If Phocus 2.0 for windows arrives before Christmas, it would be a gd Xmas present....

150kilos · December 16, 2009, 03:55:08 AM

Hi David!

I was wondering if there was a way to disable the single click select for the viewer and go back to the double click to send an image to the viewer? Often times when I am making selects and applying a develop setting i like to have the hero color image in my viewer and then just do a modify on the image in the scratchpad that I have highlighted. That way I don't have to create a lot of user development settings which gets messy...

alexkent · December 16, 2009, 04:34:01 AM

Quote from: 150kilos on December 16, 2009, 03:55:08 AM
Often times when I am making selects and applying a develop setting i like to have the hero color image in my viewer and then just do a modify on the image in the scratchpad that I have highlighted. That way I don't have to create a lot of user development settings which gets messy...

hold the Shift or Command keys whilst clicking to select multiple thumbs, this will allow you to keep the hero shot visible in the viewer and select the other images you wish to Modify. you can also click-drag in the tumbnail area to make multiple selections, but i find this more finicky.

Alex.

150kilos · December 16, 2009, 05:07:53 AM

well yeah i know that... $:-\$

alexkent · December 16, 2009, 05:25:08 AM

Quote from: 150kilos on December 16, 2009, 05:07:53 AM
well yeah i know that... $:-\$

sorry!
I'm missing how this is different to 'double click to select' approach? what have we lost going to singleclick?
why does this change the number of development settings you end up with?

Hywel · December 17, 2009, 08:40:14 AM

Update on the sharpness of previews.

It seems to be down to having the lens distortion corrections turned on. If you do that, you get soft previews. If you have it switched off, you get sharp previews. Perhaps not as bitingly sharp as the file looks when you zoom into 100%, but sharp enough to judge focus at a glance.

I am guessing that this is because the preview-sized JPEG is being used as the basis for the distortion correction as it is displayed at low zooms, rather than rebuilding the JPEG from the full-sized image.

Anyway, that makes it MUCH easier to scan through and do a first pass sorting of the images. Since I'm shooting with 50/80/120 mm primes, the distortion is small anyway- certainly better to judge the files with the distortion corrections off, then turn the correction on just before export.

Cheers, Hywel.

stewhem · December 17, 2009, 11:23:54 PM

Hywell, you're right, "distortion on" does make the preview a little softer. Thanks for pointing that out. I have always left it on, knowing that it made the corners a little softer, but accepting that as a reasonable compromise. It's still not as sharp as I think it should be, Raw Developer, for example is bitingly sharp (unless the image is soft). Maybe now I don't need to export to dng or preview in RD to check.

I wonder whether it matters that much to many people, though? I've posted about this a few times but with hardly anyone agreeing, although I know three other people using Phocus with the same complaint.

Jacephoto · December 24, 2009, 04:15:46 AM

Quote from: Jacephoto on December 15, 2009, 02:45:51 PM
If Phocus 2.0 for windows arrives before Christmas, it would be a gd Xmas present....

Ok, christmas present is here! Phocus 2.0 for PC is here!