Suggested Workflow

[kerryX2D]

Hi everyone,

Apologies if this has been covered before, but as a new X2D user I'm eager to get going !!

I'm also new to Phocus, and do appreciate it is probably best to ingest files to it first for some work before exporting to Lightroom where I manage my library.

My questions are 1.  Can someone recommend a good online resource for learning Phocus ?

2.  Can you suggest a simplified workflow of what adjustments I definitely should be using Phocus for and what I can still do in LR which I am more familiar with ?

TIA

[NickT]

Kerry here's my workflow for what it's worth.
Most of my work is tethered into Phocus but importing gives the same starting point. I do any major tonal changes in Phocus as you are working with 16 bits, also some light sharpening and that's about it. I then export 8 bit AdobeRGB to Photoshop for retouching and output sharpening. Those files are delivered to clients.

All my delivered files are then synced into Lightroom so I can catalogue then and also easily export multiple sizes for some clients.

For Tutorials look up Karl Taylor on YouTube.

HTH

Nick-T

[kerryX2D]

Thanks Nick , good to hear that.  I'm reluctant to get too bogged down in learning Phocus at an in-depth level but would still like to get the best out of the files !

[JCM-Photos]

My 3FR raw files are imported in Phocus as fff raw files, optimized in Hasselblad RGB or L* color space, with Engine 1 for portraits, engine 3 for all other, no sharpening, optimized fff files are saved and exported as 16 bit TIFF, 3FR files are discarded.

16 bit TIFF's are opened in Affinity Photo (could also be Photoshop) for further treatments. When extensive treatment has been done they are saved in an "afphoto" (at this point the Phocus TIFF file can be discarded).
Next step is in affinity, converting the afphoto file in Adobe RGB, make the necessary accentuation (without saving these changes) and export for final use:
16 bit Adobe RGB TIFF for printing in "Epson Print Layout"
8 bit sRGB JPEG for screen viewing or internet
Books or zines are made in Affinity Publisher that is directly compatible with "afphoto" Affinity files.

[tenmangu81]

Hi everyone,

Apologies if this has been covered before, but as a new X2D user I'm eager to get going !!

I'm also new to Phocus, and do appreciate it is probably best to ingest files to it first for some work before exporting to Lightroom where I manage my library.

My questions are 1.  Can someone recommend a good online resource for learning Phocus ?

2.  Can you suggest a simplified workflow of what adjustments I definitely should be using Phocus for and what I can still do in LR which I am more familiar with ?

TIA

Phocus and LR are of the same "kind" of software, i.e. for opening RAW files. So, once you have opened and processed your .fff RAW files (first step), it's better to complete the work (suppression of "bad" pixels or objects, etc..) with Photoshop or Affinity Photo (second step).

Phocus is better than any other software if you want to work tethered. And you are sure, then, that colours are kept and lens corrections are the best. You can also open .3FR or .fff in Lightroom (this is what I am doing), the results are very, very similar to those obtained with Phocus as far as colours are concerned, but lens corrections are not as good.
I prefer Lightroom mostly because I need a catalogue with processed images (and, in addition, it is a more powerful software, IMHO). Of course you can use a cataloguing software (there are plenty) but the thumbnails or previews are then the non-processed RAW files.
I finish the work within Photoshop when needed.

[SaraBMay]

My 3FR raw files are imported in Phocus as fff raw files, optimized in Hasselblad RGB or L* color space, with Engine 1 for portraits, engine 3 for all other, no sharpening, optimized fff files are saved and exported as 16 bit TIFF, 3FR files are discarded.

Question: How are you able to choose the L* color space? My only option at export is "source" which gives me Hasselblad RGB, but L*RGB is not an option offered in the export workflow.

[Nicci]

My 3FR raw files are imported in Phocus as fff raw files, optimized in Hasselblad RGB or L* color space, with Engine 1 for portraits, engine 3 for all other, no sharpening, optimized fff files are saved and exported as 16 bit TIFF, 3FR files are discarded.

Question: How are you able to choose the L* color space? My only option at export is "source" which gives me Hasselblad RGB, but L*RGB is not an option offered in the export workflow.

In Phocus, on the right hand side, you'll find the Reproduction Panel, here you can choose your working space. The working space you choose here, is the one Phocus will use when you select ,,as source" in the export dialog.

Bare in mind that Hasselblad recommends using Hasselblad RGB for general photography and L*RGB only for occasions where you need the most precise color reproduction, like accurately archiving paintings, etc.
Personally I stick to ProPhotoRGB when exporting from Phocos to Lightroom. Even when trying ultra hard I can't see a difference between an exported 16bit tiff using L*RGB or ProPhoto. ProPhoto is so widely used these days that it gives me the least amount of trouble especially when using a lot of third party applications (Topaz, DxO and the like).

[JCM-Photos]

If follow-up software is compatible with Prophoto RGB (able to manage different color spaces) it is also compatible with all other color spaces as they are all caracterized with the same kind of data architecture in a normalized color space profile.

I never noticed any problem with Hasselblad color spaces in software like Topaz, Helicon focus, Affinity ...

[Nicci]

If follow-up software is compatible with Prophoto RGB (able to manage different color spaces) it is also compatible with all other color spaces as they are all caracterized with the same kind of data architecture in a normalized color space profile.

I never noticed any problem with Hasselblad color spaces in software like Topaz, Helicon focus, Affinity ...

You are probaly right. Yet I did ran into some issues using third party applications when using L*RGB (exported as 16it Tiff from Phocus with "as source"). This only happend however when using the following workflow:
Phocus to LR (16bit tiff "as source" L*RGB) - LR to Photoshop (with LR alterations) - in Photoshop using third party applications as filters.
I do not remember which application exactly caused the trouble unfortunatly. If I made no changes to the images within LR, this problem did not occur.
Using ProPhoto RGB maintend the beautiful Hassi colors from within Phocus without any downsides (at least to my critical eye) and the mentioned problems vanished. I assumed having as few changes in color space as possible would make my life easier and since LR is fixed on ProPhoto I went with ProPhoto.
These days I usually skip Phocus completely and import directly to LR (since most of my work is BW anyway). If I really need the colors from Phocus, I'll take the imported 3FR from LR to Phocus and back to LR as 16bit tiffs.

[NickT]

I think one of the things to think about is where your images are going. If you are doing in-house fine art or for your own web site then do what ever you want. If however you are delivering files to a client that is a whole other issue.

[Whitten]

Sorry to tag on an additional question.
I have always used Capture One. Starting with Lightroom today.
I processed my X1D2 images using Phocus (desktop) on the road and sent the client JPEGS.
Now I want to start again and use local adjustments, spot removal etc...
I have imported all my images into the Lightroom Catalogue. The FFR look sharp, all my FFF are out of focus. Did I have to click on something special to have the FFR and FFF match in Lightroom?
Finally.... is there anyway to only see the FFR, or only see the FFF in Lightroom, other than having to go through every image and sending it to a collection etc?

[tenmangu81]

There is no reason to import and keep both .3FR and .fff files into Lightroom, as they are identical. Personally, I don't find any difference in sharpness, but some in exposure, but some other users find they are strictly identical.
In a specific folder, or even in all your photographs, you can select .3FR or .fff files using the relevant filter in Lightroom. What I am doing is saving all .3FR in a separate external disk, just in case, and opening only .fff in Lightroom (they are a little bit lighter) after I have imported them into Phocus.

[NickT]

Folks an FFF contains the 3FR.

Once you have your 3FRs safely imported as FFFs and backed up you can delete them (the 3FRs).

The FFF contains the 3FR plus previews and adjustments as meta data.

[SrMi]

Folks an FFF contains the 3FR.

Once you have your 3FRs safely imported as FFFs and backed up you can delete them (the 3FRs).

The FFF contains the 3FR plus previews and adjustments as meta data.

One problem is that some software (e.g., DxO) does not recognize FFF files. Adobe works well with both FFF and 3FR.

[Whitten]

The FFF's are blurred in Lightroom. If I then toggle the 'camera' preset on and off they come back into focus. That is a step I don't need to make on dozens of photographs, so I'm just working on FFR's now.