Phocus is now a highly competent program but you need to know about one REALLY ANNOYING thing: previews are not sharp unless you zoom in. Goodness knows why. Every raw converter I know about gives sharp previews so WTF can't Phocus? That would slow you to almost a standstill if you want to shoot fast and tethered. Hass are bringing in some great new features but this lack of a basic requirement is bewildering.
If your Phocus image browser is showing less then 25% enlargement, it will draw the information from the embedded jpeg in the raw file, but of course show the preview with the correct color look.
If you click on the file to show 25% or larger, it will render the information from the raw file.
But I think what you’re referring to is that the file first renders a little soft and then comes in sharp. This has to do with your computer and how fast it is.
If I was a photographer and was shooting fast and tethered, I would prefer to see a low res preview instead of no preview until the high res file has finished rendering. This works the same way in C1 Pro, it will take a little bit of time for each 50 or 60 mpix file to render as they come in.
In regards to gwhitf’s opening question, both C1 Pro and Phocus are capable of processing out jpegs, with color settings, super-fast, and within seconds for hundreds of files.
Laptops:
I have to say, I like the fact that PhaseOne has the option to battery power their backs while shooting tethered.
The MBP 15” has a higher firewire voltage then the MBP 17”. Low power can be an issue with some specific backs/computer combinations.
You were asking specifically about Phocus and MBP. When I tested my oldest laptop, an MBP 15” - the model that came just before the unibody came out. I was able to shoot non-stop tethered, powered by the internal battery, with the release button pressed constantly down on the H4 50, until the MBP’s battery was in the red at 16%. No hiccups, the files came in just fine.
Cameras:
I got the chance to loan the new Hasselblad H4 50mpix camera for 9 days, 3-4 weeks ago. I used it on one 3 day ad job here in NYC. We were shooting a fair amount of frames a day, maybe around 1000/day.
The camera worked perfectly and the True Focus system is right on. The images looked amazing!
The P65+ is at the top of the mpix race, there is no doubt about the quality of the files as well as to the H4 50mpix’s files. I have not had the chance to compare the files directly side by side, but I would think they would be neck to neck. I think the most interesting camera right now is the Hasselblad H4 40 because of the micro-lenses. The extra +1 stop you gain with the P30 and now with the H4 40 is often a life saver. We have gotten spoiled with the high ISO DSLR cameras and we have gotten used to shooting at ISO 200-1000.
The Nikon 3x makes beautiful files, it's a great camera, but it is not geared for high phase tethered shooting. There is something about the tethered connection that seems a bit unstable, especially if you are shooting fast and furious, I would option for CF cards or a Canon.
Software:
As someone mentioned, Phocus can, especially on a laptop, at times, be a little unresponsive but I would say it’s nothing compared to C1 Pro when you ask it to batch rename a handful of files - you can see your nostril hair grow while this happens. It’s funny how LC11 has become the gold standard in regards to stability. Also, there is something very nice about the color engine of LC11. The files look very fine and neutral, nearly like Fuji’s neutral negative film would look like, when compared to Kodak in old days. I think both C1 Pro, Phocus and LC11 generate very beautiful colors - LC11 being more neutral. C1 Pro develops very nice popping colors. All my clients like the colors from C1 Pro and the raw files often need very little adjustments. At times, I have clients licking my Eizo monitors in pure madness over the colors. Phocus is by default a bit more neutral in its colors but can easily be made as poppy as C1 Pro. Phocus pretty much has the same selective color adjustment tool as you will find in C1 Pro. LC11 is missing many of the advance adjustment options of C1 Pro or Phocus.
I think that both Hasselblad and Phase are moving very fast when it comes to their software, but of course not fast enough. However, each version is an improvement. I’m sure C1 Pro will fine a solution to batch rename their files, now when they recommend not to use Bridge and XMP files in tandem with C1 Pro. In general I feel that Hasselblad is a little bit more on the ball, while Phase is introducing a lot of new features on the cost of stability, i.e. the over-pass sharpness filter Vs. stabile batch renaming, or the ability to show the same order of your images when toggling between different folders in the browser. Its now corrected in the latest release, but it drove me and many of my clients crazy that they had to see the very first frame of a scene each time we were viewing a folder. It can create a bad dynamic in front of the client when they can’t see frame 0046 - which you like - instead of frame 0001 when shifting to a new folder. Fortunately, that problem is now in the past, and I can avoid the awkward explanations about the interruptive functions when the end client has agreed to pay sometimes $100,000 or more for a production ;-).
Best,
Esben