Steve Hendrix at Capture Integration has just posted a user's review of the strengths and limitations of the Hasselblad X2D. https://www.captureintegration.com/author/steve-hendrix/. IMO, it is by far and away the best review I have read in capturing and describing the unique capabilities of the X2D, which are not susceptible to "objective" tests or quantification. It is written by someone who actually has the experience of having worked with all of the medium format digital systems over the years.
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New Review of X2D by Capture Integration
- Thread starter hcubell
- Start date
Photon42
Well-known member
I saw the same issues in color with the X1D2 and Adobe. Also, the "Camera profile" never makes it to their mobile versions. I have made peace with Phocus and learnt all the (for me) important functions. I keep X raw files in the LR catalogue, but edit them always in Phocus. Works well for me, YMMV.
Thank you Steve for the lovely review, from the heart. Nice to read.
Phocus (with the 907) is awkward for me - in part because there is a significant difference in the file structuring, the processes, at the beginning, which always throw me for a loop. With more time, patience, I suspect its learnable, but as Steve said, the muscle memory isn't there. .In C1, things just fall to hand in a way that makes simple sense. Phocus has a rather different setup, but once you get the file in, running and making adjustments, the quality of control (tone curve for example) is quite nice. Simple shots get done in LR, the ones that matter go to Phocus. There is a subtle but real difference - the ones done in Phocus have that extra 2% of quality, which is why we're all here, right? OK time to go learn it (again)....
Phocus (with the 907) is awkward for me - in part because there is a significant difference in the file structuring, the processes, at the beginning, which always throw me for a loop. With more time, patience, I suspect its learnable, but as Steve said, the muscle memory isn't there. .In C1, things just fall to hand in a way that makes simple sense. Phocus has a rather different setup, but once you get the file in, running and making adjustments, the quality of control (tone curve for example) is quite nice. Simple shots get done in LR, the ones that matter go to Phocus. There is a subtle but real difference - the ones done in Phocus have that extra 2% of quality, which is why we're all here, right? OK time to go learn it (again)....
KC_2020
Active member
I've never found Phocus difficult but I guess we're all creatures of habit and once acclimated to a workflow deviating from it isn't easy.
There's good reason to process your 3FR file in Phocus but you can just do the basic conversation, then export and move on to your app of choice.
Here's Karl Taylor's Hasselblad sanctioned Phocus tutorial. Another somewhat protracted but useful tutorial is here.
There's good reason to process your 3FR file in Phocus but you can just do the basic conversation, then export and move on to your app of choice.
Here's Karl Taylor's Hasselblad sanctioned Phocus tutorial. Another somewhat protracted but useful tutorial is here.
KC_2020
Active member
Just a couple of quotes from the reveiw.
"What makes the X2D EVF so fantastic is that it is the first EVF I have looked through that really starts to feel like a medium format optical viewfinder. That is, it is not just clear and bright, it is large. It is the largest, brightest, clearest EVF I have ever looked through."
"...as someone who regularly shoots 150mp files with a Phase One IQ4 150 and 100mp files from a Fuji GFX 100s. So it is a given that the 100mp Hasselblad X2D file is going to exhibit fantastic quality. But there is more that needs to be said about the Hasselblad file, which is that it is one of the least “digital” looking files that I’ve seen..."
Same here! I have also noticed that if you have created and loaded a Custom Profile and you adjust a setting like ISO or WB, that setting will be applied even if you shut down the camera and power it up again. I had assumed the original settings in the Custom Profile would be there when you power up the camera again. The Mode Dial on the X1D was great because you tell in a glance if your Custom Profile was selected. The firmware on the X2D should be changed so that the Control Screen shows if you have selected a Custom Profile.
Ray Harrison
Well-known member
Unless you are an IQ4 user, I struggle to think of another camera that does at least part of that (and there may be others, I just can’t think of any). At the end of the day, it’s the quality of the file. Raw histograms are interesting and I do find the IQ4’s useful, but, it’s not going to be a “make or break” feature. By all accounts, these files are fantastic.
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Well said. Every camera system is a balance sheet of pluses and minuses to which we assign different weights. Way up on my list of "assets" is the inherent "look" of the files. Pretty far down on the list of "liabilities" is the absence of a LV histogram. I just do not find making a high quality exposure without it today with these systems that much of a challenge.
I would like to be able to check that I do not clip relevant highlights during shooting and not only when reviewing the image. On one hand, OVF-based cameras did not have live histograms either and they worked well, on the other hand, a live histogram is one of the few advantages of EVF over OVF.
FYI, I did a little testing. I connected the X2D to my Mac and downloaded a few files using Phocus to a folder on my Desktop. I then immediately ejected the SSD and disconnected the X2D. The AWB setting was still there on the X2D, even after powering off and on the camera. Hmmmm? However, I then followed the same download process, but instead of immediately disconnecting the X2D after the download was complete, I left it connected and went to the folder where I had downloaded the files and opened one up. I then disconnected the X2D. Now, the AWB setting had been changed to a Manual WB setting! I have usually left my X2D connected even after a download to recharge the battery, so that's why I was often seeing this inexplicable switch to MWB from AWB. The same switch to MWB happens even if you don't download files, and you skip Mass Storage and elect just to use the USB-C connection to recharge the battery, but while the camera is charging, you use Phocus to open a file.
The snob inside me says, waveform! (Have waveform as an option in the Halide app.)
The camera needs a trigger and GPS, and if possible traking.
Maybe because not everybody needs the same stuff. I can live without the live histogram. In fact, I could take pictures before live histogram was a thing (I learn with film). I have never had a camera I can't put on the trigger and shoot it without touching it. When I buy my first camera I buy a cable release.
Hasselblad is a tinny European manufacturer. Maybe they lack the capacity to add a live histogram, but I am sure they could have added a cable release.