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Let's talk software

Guy Mancuso

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
Well as a MF digital newbie. LOL

I am trying to sort my way around all the systems and what software doe's what . I know there are some missing pieces here i am trying to figure out.

One is Raw processing and the other is tethered. Now myself having three systems the last thing I want is three or more software programs to run and learn. I truly believe in keeping it simple , so what goes where.

First let's go by systems and what I know than maybe others can fill in the blanks.

Mamiya ZD. Raw processing LR and ACR and ? Tethered I can use LR and supplied Mamiya capture which i have yet to look at.

Hassy backs: Raw Processing Flexcolor and what else
Tethered ?

Leaf backs: Leaf Capture for Raw and tehered ? and What else can we use

Sinar. Okay I am lost here

Phase backs . Capture One both Raw and Tethered..

Now if you noticed i am lost here. I need some help trying to figure what works with what and will like Capture one see leaf files and My Zd is not supported at this time when will that happen. Just a example but how can we mix it up


So I would love to hear from each corner what you guy's are using and maybe some highlights to it. Frankly this is just as important as the backs themselves in my mind . I would like to get my arms around this better as I start planning my game plan down the road.
 
Joseph Ramos

Joseph Ramos

Workshop Member
Guy I have been playing around with Phocus for Hasselblad since the beta was released and I like it. It is also better than Flexcolor shooting tethered.
 
PeterA

PeterA

Well-known member
Leaf has Capture - but also ( if you arent shooting tethered)
Adobe CS/ Lightroom /Aperture etc etc all open the Leaf raw files ...
Leaf has a very open system to alternative raw processors...
 
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G

Graham Mitchell

New member
Sinar: Exposure is used for tethered shooting and importing images from the DB. Raw files are saved in DNG format. You can process the raw file in Exposure and export as TIFF or JPEG, or you can switch to your favourite raw processing package and open the DNGs there.
 
F

fotografz

Well-known member
Hasselblad currently has 2 software programs: Flexcolor and Phocus.

Flexcolor was/is imacon's older program that morphed from what was basically a scanner program. For all practical purposes and decision making, this program should be ignored.

Phocus is the current and future processing software. It's currently in Beta form, but is already in wide spread use. The user interface bears a striking resemblance to Lightroom ... which is no surprise giving that some developers of Lightroom were employed on Phocus.

Hasselblad's current 3FR and FFF (the older file format still in use) are currently directly supported by Phocus and Apple OSX10.5.2/Aperture 2. Wether that collaborative aspect will eventually extend to Adobe remains to be seen.

However, you can use Phocus as an editing browser, and select the option to convert any or all files to DNGs for processing in Adobe Lightroom or PSCS3. The conversion to DNGs is extremely fast.

Most importantly, Phocus is an extension of Hasselblad's philosophy of integrated systems. For example, the mapping data for it's lenses are incorporated to allow automatic DAC corrections: so things like Distortion, Chromatic Aberrations and Vignetting are automatically corrected by specific lens when selecting the DAC option. This is no gimmick, it's actually quite amazing. The new Moire' correction in Phocus is getting rave reviews from professional photographers, as are the new noise correction options.

It is generally agreed by users that the maximum IQ is obtained by using Flexcolor or Phocus (many users of the DMR saw this in action when processing their DNG files in Flexcolor.) Even in Beta form, Phocus is a very fast and intuitive workflow. For a more general workflow, Aperture can be used directly, or DNGs directly in LR/PSCS3 or any other Processing engine supporting the DNG file format. As with most propritary MF RAW programs, Phocus is optimized for the specific backs in use.

Tethered:

all current Hasselbald backs, including the CFV, are firewire 800 interface and transfer rates to the Phocus screen are quick even in Beta form. Dual screen use is supported, so you can have thumbnails on one screen and a full resolution preview filling the other screen. Live view video feed is available as are a multitude of other features like: overlay imports so you can match a shot to an Art Directors' Layout ... or automatic micro focus when using AF while tethered ... and audio feed back for focusing manually when using live video tethered to a viewcamera.

I've also used Capture One and Leaf Capture, but have not used the Sinar program.
 
D

David K

Workshop Member
My Sinar rep tells me that the new Exposure software now incorporates the Brumbaer code which seems to be universally well regarded. For me, once the file is in DNG format it's going thru Aperture on it's way to Photoshop.
 
F

fotografz

Well-known member
Can someone walk through a brief work flow with a Sinar Back. Sinar is a contender for use on my Hasselblad 203FE and 503CWs ... but as Guy said, software is almost as important as the back itself.

Pretty please.
 
Guy Mancuso

Guy Mancuso

Administrator, Instructor
I think this is a excellent thread myself and something we really don't talk about . Workflow to me is paramount to getting my work done on a timely manner. We all don't get paid to sit behind a computer all day and process. Life and digital has made it more complex and working with software is a major concern to our work. Would love to hear more on workflow with different systems and software so you can base buying decisions in part to this area. I feel this is very important in what we do.
 
G

Graham Mitchell

New member
fotografz said:
Can someone walk through a brief work flow with a Sinar Back.
Click to expand...
UNTETHERED:

- Shoot images untethered
- Connect back to a Mac running Exposure
- Import selected or all images to a local directory
- Images are now saved as DNG files in that directory
- Use Exposure or raw developer of choice to export TIFFs

TETHERED:

- Connect back to Mac running Exposure
- Images will be saved as DNG files in selected directory
- Use Exposure or raw developer of choice to export TIFFs

I choose to develop a linear 16 bit file from Exposure and apply a curve layer and any other changes in Photoshop. YMMV.
 
gogopix

gogopix

Subscriber
I had no trouble opening Graham's dng from sinar 54 directly in C1 4

it actually looked quite good!

hoever the older 3.7.8 was a no go. didnt even see it

Victor
 
D

David Klepacki

New member
fotografz said:
Can someone walk through a brief work flow with a Sinar Back. Sinar is a contender for use on my Hasselblad 203FE and 503CWs ... but as Guy said, software is almost as important as the back itself.

Pretty please.
Click to expand...
Sinar a contender for you? .... I think your decision has already been made but you just don't know it yet :) The fact that the Sinar backs will allow you to use your 203 and 503 gear will eat away at you until you actually make the purchase.

As far as the workflow is concerned, it is pretty much as Graham outlined. The only restriction so far is that the software to process the raw images is currently for Mac only, with a PC version to be available "soon" (but this probably does not matter to you).

The eXposure software still has some quirks on Leopard. An alternative workflow that works now without a hitch is to use the software from Stephen Brumbaer (also Mac only). Basically, you can select/reject images from his reader tool and copy them onto your desktop. You can then drag and drop directories of images into his DNG converter, which will automatically batch convert the images to DNG format, and it is smart enough to use the latest white balance reference contained in the directory.
 
D

David Klepacki

New member
foto-z said:
UNTETHERED:

- Shoot images untethered
- Connect back to a Mac running Exposure
- Import selected or all images to a local directory
- Images are now saved as DNG files in that directory
- Use Exposure or raw developer of choice to export TIFFs

.... YMMV.
Click to expand...
This is correct if you shoot untethered without a CF card.

If you choose to shoot to a CF card, then you do not need to connect the back to a computer. BUT, you must import the images from the CF card with eXposure via a CF card reader. If you copy the contents of the CF card to the desktop first, eXposure will not be able to read it from there. This is a very annoying behavior, which was present even with the older CaptureShop software from Sinar.
 
D

David Klepacki

New member
BJNY said:
Except, a DNG created by Brumbaer is not visible by eXposure.
Click to expand...
Right now, at least, eXposure is so crippled in Leopard that it does not matter.

The DNG from Brumbaer is readable by all other software, including Lightroom, ACR, C1, and Aperture. So, if eXposure cannot read it, one would have to wonder why.
 
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