Phocus 3.4

[Marc Gysin]

This release is very bad. I have a lot of problems on Mac. If I use the V2 the image sometimes becomes gray with outlined masks like it shows the sharpening mask and when I use Phocus 3.4 with my MackBook Pro on the external screen and start it up only on my MacBook Pro the sub tool bar is missing. As I struggle for several month also using my back (H5D 200MS) on a technical camera (a lot of issues especially with the multi shoot) I consider strongly to switch. I wait until February where there are roomers of a new camera and I hope this time they don't present a half-baked product. I'm a Hasselblad owner since more than 20 years and had the first H but now the company has lost it's momentum and the lineup is just poor.

[jorgedelatorriente]

I've just logged into the Hasselblad site and version 3.3.6 for Windows is there along with all the previous versions. Have another look.

Yay! 

Thanks for the update! I'm heading there now to download it...

[BradP]

On a relatively new Power PC, so I don't know if this helps much.  I've spent about 15 to 20 hours with the 3.4 update and it seems an improvement.  It is buggy though and clearly should have gone through better beta tests before release.  Better highlight and shadow recovery, though still not better than Adobe nor integrated well with them. (I did that a good bit).  I am liking the clarity and detail adjustments.  Although the clarity adjustment is too strong and the detail adjustment is too weak.

All in all an improvement.  But not quite what I'd expect from something carrying the Hasselblad brand.  I'm NOT going back through my archives at all to reprocess them until it's better refined.

[Domip]

If you email events@hasselbladbron.com, they should be able to send you a link to a educational video on the new changes in Phocus 3.4 just held today, if a link isn't elsewhere available on their website.  I didn't see it but registered and had a link emailed to me.  I've only listened to part of it so far. 

Hi, Maybe you could share this link?

[DJPixelMan]

If you email events@hasselbladbron.com, they should be able to send you a link to a educational video on the new changes in Phocus 3.4 just held today, if a link isn't elsewhere available on their website.  I didn't see it but registered and had a link emailed to me.  I've only listened to part of it so far. 

From what I heard and see using the slider, clarity now controls localized contrast (contrast using a localized algorithm that operates differently from overall contrast) and detail controls localized contrast on an even smaller scale.  The part of the video I saw mentioned that the new sliders tap into contrasting areas over a larger dynamic range than the old clarity slider.  The example of the clouds in the video was impressive.   I do like the sliders BTW, but htey are powerful and a few increments overdoing it can quickly make an image look crunchy (bad).

One would have thought that Hasselblad would have posted their educational videos onto their own official website...https://www.hasselblad.com/learn/ instead of YouTube

[morganhn]

Really enjoy the new v2 recovery and fill and that Phocus still is the cleanest digital darkroom available.

Clarity seems to be somewhat exaggerated and needs to be pulled back to 1 if not 0 for pictures that has a gentle amount in v1.
For portraits on my H5D-60, it's not worth going past 1-2 if you want natural skin... If you're not going for that heavy USM look..

Also have issues with an overlaid mask/lines when using recovery, fill or clarity and general slow performance using v2 on a i7 MBP.

[NBuxton]

Trying to import 7 images taken on a H6D-100 using HTS1.5. Phocus 3.4 just closes completely. Card OK as able to download via Lightroom CC classic. Running 2 yr old MacBook pro with 32Mb ram and Mojave. Any suggestions from the experts please??

[Arild]

3.4.1 is out. Most of bugs pointed out here in the change log. Fingers crossed  .

Update: After a quick test things seem back in place and snappier. Thanks Hasselblad! Removed old version with AppCleaner and installed fresh on my MacBook Pro 15" 2017. Let's see after tomorrow's tethered shoot...

Update 2: 200+ shots done and not a single crash or error. Hurray!

[Alex]

Fingers crossed  .

.....

[Arild]

In V2 if I use the recovery slider the image gets blurred. This doesn't happen in V1.

I do not see that same issue here... neither on my MacPro(late2013) nor MacBookPro(mid2017). Sounds like it could be a graphics card issue(?). Sometimes it takes a sec for Phocus to update the image with new settings, and in that process it's blurry. Maybe it doesn't update properly?

Did you remove all the preference files when re-installing Phocus? Might be worth a try.

So far Phocus v3.4.1 seems to be working just fine here.

[BradP]

But I have serious reservations about the V1 / V2 adjustments.

In V2 if I use the recovery slider the image gets blurred. This doesn't happen in V1.

Anyone else experienced this?

From now on I'm not touching V2.

Yesterday I used the V2 sliders and was thinking about your questions.  If I drag the new V2 clarity slider to the left, the image gets blurry seriously quickly.  If I drag the clarity slider to the right, the image gets sharper and crunchy.  The V2 clarity slider seems very imprecise to me. It's worh it only at the lowest levels. Not at all even comparable to Lightroom this revision I am working with, although maybe headed in a better direction if Hasselblad is paying attention.

The way the new V2 clarity sliders make sense to me is there is contrast as we all are used to it. And that works fine. The clarity adjustment is contrast on a smaller scale.  Think about it like applying contast in each 10th of the picture. The detail slider is like applying contrast toeach 1/10th of  each 1/10th of the slider. 

Whatever algorithm H is using, the V2 clarity function seems to be way to strong, and the "clarity detail" function seems to me to be way too weak. 

[DenisM]

No crashes, as others have reported, but brutally clunky on my Windows 10 x64.

The edit effect of almost all sliders - but particularly in Clarity, Levels and Curves - do not kick in as I move the sliders. Everything happens after the fact. It's terrible.

So, if I gradually move Levels shadow from, say, 8 to 15, I see the effect at maybe 12 and 15, but not in between.

There is no elasticity in the sliders - they jump randomly through the numbers.

This has only happened with 3.4.2.

Extended GPU usage is both compatible and turned on in Preferences.

Not good.

D.

[DenisM]

Thanks for the reply.

In that case I'm not sure what's wrong.

This computer is a Porsche with a keyboard.

64Gb of fast RAM, i7-6800k processor, 1070 graphics card and all programs are on a fast SSD card.

So, I'm mystified.

But, maybe it's a case of tweaking something in my computer to make everything run faster!

D.

[Juan Pascual Garrido]

I also have the problems that DenisM have with the last version, in my MacBook Pro. Desperate one more time with the "professional" Phocus.

[Alex]

For me 3.4.2 seem to run OK (definitely more stable /smoother/ better than the previous versions until 3.1.5) on 2 different windows 7, 2012 setups (4.6Ghz 32GB GTX580 & Quadro machines) - it definitely likes fast CPU cores though.