Retaining Optical and Color Data in Post Phocus Processing

[Appmax]

My workflow is as follows:

- Import my original files in a "hot folder"
- Use Phocus Auto Export New File to automatically apply optical corrections and color space decoding to the file, save and open in LRC
- Make final adjustments in LRC

My question is what is the best file format to ensure the data decoded or developed in Phocus is not lost to changes automatically applied in LRC?

I believe saving Phocus file export as a Tiff will "lock-in" the corrections made in Phocus, however the files are so large.

If I export as a DNG will the corrections I made in Phocus be retained or lost to LRC's lens corrections, color space adjustments, etc.?

Thank you,

Bill

[tenmangu81]

Lightroom can't read adjustments made into Phocus you mention (lens corrections, colours), except through TIFF.
Exporting as DNG's is worst, as, on top of that, the wonderful Hasselblad colours are lost.

[Dario Bologna]

Hi! in theory, once you export DNG you file must keep all your Phocus edit, even with Tiff
in Lrc I think is better keep off the lens correction anyway... Lcr is a "no conservative" software in terms of color management..

[tenmangu81]

I have done many measurements and experiments, and the answer is "no". Exporting files from Phocus as DNG doesn't keep any adjustment and the colours are lost. There are plenty of DNGs, and if it's not a linear DNG, you can get anything.
The Phocus lens corrections are not kept when opening Lightroom, and you should apply them, which are not as good as those made by Phocus.
I don't understand what you mean by "non conservative". The Lightroom input profile for Hasselblad is not that bad, and you recover most of the time the Phocus colours, provided you choose "Camera Standard" as input profile (with the relevant data in the Preferences). Exceptions are very rare, and mostly when you shoot images with mixing of light sources.

[Appmax]

So if I export from Phocus in Tiff form and open in other programs such as LRC, the Hasselblad colors and lens correcting will be "locked in" and not further modified?

[tenmangu81]

Yes !! Be careful to export your TIFF within a large colour space (the best would be Hasselblad L*RGB), otherwise you could get some colour mismatch when opening with Lightroom, which uses a sort of ProPhoto RGB - large - colour space.

[JCM-Photos]

I really don't understand why so much people use the routine
treat the Hasselblad 3FR RAW in Phocus and export a RAW dng
then treat again the resulting RAW dng in LRC and export a TIFF

The workflow treating in Phocus the 3FR RAW as a 16bit L*RGB TIFF is perfect
an then this TIFF can be treated again in Photoshop or Affinity (if needed) in it's native L*RGB 16bit space