H3D-39 - is it the right camera for me?

[neil snape]

my experience. i have had H3DII 39 for over two months and shot a bunch with it.
prior i was with mamiya and a P25.

camera is great. i love it.
phocus is giving me a bunch or problems. hasselblad support in a month has not been able to solve them yet.
mainly two issues:
1- preview at anything lower than 25% is soft, and unusable to determine focus. even if you are supposed to look for correct focus at 100%, it still helps to give a quick glance at the whole frame and understand the focus.
2 - phocus crashed on me few times, creating unusable files, and corrupted 3F. that could be computer related, but on both my macpro and my macbook pro it happened. on the macbook pro i now shoot 30/40 images, and then create a new folder. not the best, as i feel i am back to changing rolls of film... but at least is solving my issues for the time being.

previews and buffer are not super-fast, but they are ok in speed. if you shoot many images using the 1 fps rate after a while it tends to fill up and you have to wait.
battery not an issue for me when tethered. more than 1200 shots in one day with no recharge.

other thing to consider, i am positive you know, is that currently you are stuck with phocus or flexcolor for processing. no LR/photoshop support, apart from exporting to DNG first.

best,
alberto

I only used the new Phocus 1.03soft with focus setting at 100% . I didn't know how or even it was possible at lower zooms.
Curious but since Canon are having problems with crashes and freezes at between 120-160 files per folders with OsX.5.6 update, maybe the problem is Apple.

Phocus 1.01on PC crashed on me and was unusable.


I was able to shoot fast enough with no problems in transfer up to the filling of the buffer.
The Canon is the same but you can shoot faster until the buffer is full. With a card I suppose you could shoot very fast on the Canon.

[Nick-T]

I only used the new Phocus 1.03soft with focus setting at 100% .

The soft previews are a pain and it is being worked on. Phocus mac (which is a few versions ahead of the PC version) is very stable on my systems and has come along way in a relatively short time, granted there is more to do.
Nick-T

[bcooter]

The soft previews are a pain and it is being worked on. Phocus mac (which is a few versions ahead of the PC version) is very stable on my systems and has come along way in a relatively short time, granted there is more to do.
Nick-T

Hey nick, when your sitting around the campfire working out issues with those Hasselblad fellows does the word phocus get confusing?

I mean, do you say, hey I'm having problems with phocus and they reply, focus of the lens or body and you reply no focus on Phocus and do they reply, how do you focus, focus.

it has to be confusing (and a little ironic)  that focus on phocus is a problem.

[rhsu]

Quick post... use the H3D-39mp as DSLR is fine.  When used with any technical camera, ie Cambo WRS, Alpa... you are on your own!  I now have a  6months old 39mp back that doesn't work well with technical camera and require a special cable release, which "may be" will rectify the matter.  I tested with DEMO unit BEFORE purchasing/upgrading and no specific problem. But once I one this "new" back, I discover strange magenta casting.  Also strange is that my friends in US/Canada and AU, who still uses Hasselblad 39mp back all don't have any issues with technical cameras ie Linhof, Sinar, Rollie, Cambo, Alpa, Horseman.

So, beware... please test your 39mp first with a technical camera if you intend to buy.  If no intention in the future, then DSLR is fine as a 39mp just as it is.

(PS:  David, you can voucher on this!)

[Dustbak]

That magenta cast sounds like a sync problem. Which can be fixed fairly simple in most cases.

[Enda Cavanagh]

I would say the H3D 39 is a fantastic camera. For me personally I don't see any need to upgrade to the 39 II or the 50.
There are some issues however
The water seal around the firewire port is well non existant. Unless you call a flap a water seal.
The battery life is awful.
I use the camera for architectural and landscape work with a Cambo digitar wide ds. The compatibility between the Hassie back and the cambo has been a real pain at times. Most of the issues like large magenta and cyan pixilated patterns suddenly appearing on the images for no reason have been resolved with the introduction of phocus. I usuallly shoot tethered and I have to say phocus really brings the Hassleblad up to another level. The lack of noise and the new moire removal is fantastic. It is more user friendly than flexcolour and has more features. The buffer has never filled up for me but I shoot landscape and architecture so I'm not really pushing to the limit.

[Professional]

I took many shots with my Hasselblad H3DII 39 and still the battery is ready to go, yesterday i took around 30 photos of my daughters and an adopted son, and before i took some shots of still life, and still the battery is working, but my problem is that first i can't work with Phocus due to my OSX which is still 10.4 and i didn't upgrade and no plan to do, second my workflow is not good as i have problem to correct colors or adjust the rest like sharpness and contrast and so with any photo, and last is that i don't use this camera for any serious or pro high quality work yet, so i don't know what i can do with this amazing phenomenal camera.

[fraherim]

Quick post... use the H3D-39mp as DSLR is fine.  When used with any technical camera, ie Cambo WRS, Alpa... you are on your own!  I now have a  6months old 39mp back that doesn't work well with technical camera and require a special cable release, which "may be" will rectify the matter.  I tested with DEMO unit BEFORE purchasing/upgrading and no specific problem. But once I one this "new" back, I discover strange magenta casting.  Also strange is that my friends in US/Canada and AU, who still uses Hasselblad 39mp back all don't have any issues with technical cameras ie Linhof, Sinar, Rollie, Cambo, Alpa, Horseman.

So, beware... please test your 39mp first with a technical camera if you intend to buy.  If no intention in the future, then DSLR is fine as a 39mp just as it is.

(PS:  David, you can voucher on this!)

I'm wondering if the Magenta cast is the same thing I've ran into with the Kodak chips.  It happened to my PhaseOne and now my HD3II 39 on an Arca-Swiis view camera with copal shutters.
There is a feature in Phocus called Custom White Balance.
Here is the only instructions I've found on this:
Custom white correction

This feature allows you to correct for things like cast issues when using tilt and shift. User interface for this has been added to the lens correction tool. The procedure is as follows:

1) Make a calibration image of a neutral gray surface - the best results are obtained by using an opaque filter. The capture can be made either tethered or untethered.

2) The calibration image needs to be available as a 3F file so if it was captured untethered you will need to import it.

3) Load an image where you'd like to apply the correction

4) Select the thumbnail of the calibration image and click the Create button found in the Lens Correction tool

5) You will be prompted for a name of the correction - it's a good idea to use it to describe things like the lens and aperture used.

6) You have now created a custom white correction - to see it's effect on the currently loaded image check the Custom white checkbox.

7) To apply the custom white correction you can follow the same methods as when applying any other adjustment to a range of images using either the Modify dialog or the Modify Lens Corrections of Selected Files option in the Lens tool preset menu.

If this correction is one that you might want to save for future use you can simply create a Lens Adjustment preset with the correction active.

This applies to Phocus 1.1 or later MAC ONLY.
The current Phocus for the PC does not have tis feature yet.  We have to wait for version 1.1 to come out.
However if you are a PC person like myself the custom white balance feature does work on FlexColor.

The cable release problem I never encountered with the Hasselbald but I did with the Phase.
If you are using copal shutters use a standard cable release and a cable from the shutter sync to one of the ports on the back.  You may need to go into the menu on the back and select the proper shutter style.  I think it defaults to the HD3II.
If you are tethered using Flexcolor You may be able to change the shutter style through the software.  I don't know how to do this through Phocus though.

I hope this helps,

Bob

I hope this solves your problem.

Bob

[KSkewes]

Hey nick, when your sitting around the campfire working out issues with those Hasselblad fellows does the word phocus get confusing?

I mean, do you say, hey I'm having problems with phocus and they reply, focus of the lens or body and you reply no focus on Phocus and do they reply, how do you focus, focus.

it has to be confusing (and a little ironic)  that focus on phocus is a problem.

Yeah I have had encounted this problem too, I was stating that to a colleague that all the photos were out of Phocus (as in they had been exported as tiffs) and he just froze until I hastily explained.


In terms of Phocus stability on the MacPro, personally I haven't had a problem the other day I was working on a folder of 2400-odd H3D-39 captures and it was fine (though I did need to time my lunch around when I was going to convert them from 3FR to fff).

[Enda Cavanagh]

Hi guys

With all lenses and especially wide-angle lenses, the glass at the edges is very thick compared to the center. Light traveling through the center arrives at the sensor faster than light at the edge of the lens. This same effect is really obvious in older DSLR wide angle lenses that were designed for use in mirror up mode and is why they are not recommended for digital capture. Digital capture chips record much more than film, capturing the speed difference of light causing a phenomenon known as “lens cast”. Lens cast is seen as a fading cyan hue in one corner of the image and a fading magenta hue in the opposite corner and as you say Bob it is rectified with the custom white under the lens correction tool.

The problem I had with this magenta and cyan pixilated distortion was different. I have attached a photo. You would literally have blocks of magenta or cyan appearing on the corners of the image making it useless. This was to say the least an absolute pain in the behind. I shoot often out doors in bright sunshine and I would constantly have to check if this pixilated issue would start happening. When it would start it would be quite subtle and would be very difficult to notice in the sunshine unless you zoomed in a bit. Eventually these large blocks of color would become more and more defined. The only way to rectify it was to disconnect the camera from the laptop and reconnect. Endless calls to my camera dealer who in turn made endless calls and emails to hasselblad did not rectify the problem. They were blaming everything bar their camera on the problem. For example that there was too much sky in the shot which was affecting the camera!!! and their suggestion was wait for it.... to go indoors set up the camera movements and aperture and than go outside and take she shot.

It is only now with phocus that the problem seems to have sorted itself out. To me it was always a software compatability issue between the 2 cameras.

Has anyone else had this problem when using the h3d 39 with a view camera.

BTW the custom white tool on phocus is 10 times better than with flexcolour where you had to to the whole custom white on location everytime you changed the aperture or lens movements. Now it's possible to do it later at your desktop.

Enda

I'm wondering if the Magenta cast is the same thing I've ran into with the Kodak chips.  It happened to my PhaseOne and now my HD3II 39 on an Arca-Swiis view camera with copal shutters.
There is a feature in Phocus called Custom White Balance.
Here is the only instructions I've found on this:
Custom white correction

This feature allows you to correct for things like cast issues when using tilt and shift. User interface for this has been added to the lens correction tool. The procedure is as follows:

1) Make a calibration image of a neutral gray surface - the best results are obtained by using an opaque filter. The capture can be made either tethered or untethered.

2) The calibration image needs to be available as a 3F file so if it was captured untethered you will need to import it.

3) Load an image where you'd like to apply the correction

4) Select the thumbnail of the calibration image and click the Create button found in the Lens Correction tool

5) You will be prompted for a name of the correction - it's a good idea to use it to describe things like the lens and aperture used.

6) You have now created a custom white correction - to see it's effect on the currently loaded image check the Custom white checkbox.

7) To apply the custom white correction you can follow the same methods as when applying any other adjustment to a range of images using either the Modify dialog or the Modify Lens Corrections of Selected Files option in the Lens tool preset menu.

If this correction is one that you might want to save for future use you can simply create a Lens Adjustment preset with the correction active.

This applies to Phocus 1.1 or later MAC ONLY.
The current Phocus for the PC does not have tis feature yet.  We have to wait for version 1.1 to come out.
However if you are a PC person like myself the custom white balance feature does work on FlexColor.

The cable release problem I never encountered with the Hasselbald but I did with the Phase.
If you are using copal shutters use a standard cable release and a cable from the shutter sync to one of the ports on the back.  You may need to go into the menu on the back and select the proper shutter style.  I think it defaults to the HD3II.
If you are tethered using Flexcolor You may be able to change the shutter style through the software.  I don't know how to do this through Phocus though.

I hope this helps,

Bob

I hope this solves your problem.

Bob

[David Grover / Capture One]

Quick post... use the H3D-39mp as DSLR is fine.  When used with any technical camera, ie Cambo WRS, Alpa... you are on your own!  I now have a  6months old 39mp back that doesn't work well with technical camera and require a special cable release, which "may be" will rectify the matter.  I tested with DEMO unit BEFORE purchasing/upgrading and no specific problem. But once I one this "new" back, I discover strange magenta casting.  Also strange is that my friends in US/Canada and AU, who still uses Hasselblad 39mp back all don't have any issues with technical cameras ie Linhof, Sinar, Rollie, Cambo, Alpa, Horseman.

So, beware... please test your 39mp first with a technical camera if you intend to buy.  If no intention in the future, then DSLR is fine as a 39mp just as it is.

(PS:  David, you can voucher on this!)

Actually Richard I cannot vouch for this at all.  I have answered on your original thread...

http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/index....st&p=260229