Phocus 3.7.

3 Mac read-me

March 31st 2023

Compatibility

macOS 10.15 or later is required.

In case you need to run Phocus on older versions of macOS please visit our software
archive.

Phocus requires at least 8 GB of memory, where 16 GB or more is recommended.

Apple Silicon

This build has native support for Apple Silicon Macs - however currently it is not
compatible with macOS 11.0 or 11.0.1 when running native - it needs 11.1 or later. You
can force it to run using Rosetta if needed via Finder Get Info.

Furthermore EIZO monitor calibration and use of the Rodenstock eShutter will require
you to run using Rosetta.

System Requirements

Graphics adapters

You should be aware that Phocus utilizes the processing power of the GPU - therefore
using a Mac with a high performance GPU is definitely an advantage. All Apple Silicon
Macs and all Intel Mac’s using discrete GPU’s should provide good performance. We do
not recommend using a Mac that only incorporates an integrated Intel GPU.

Also if you are using an old GPU that does not support Metal you will see some
limitations. The extended GPU usage option will not be available and also you will have
lower quality rendering of the new clarity, shadow fill and recovery algorithms in the
viewer in between 25 and 100%. We expect this to be the last feature release that will
run without a Metal capable GPU.

Phocus will take full advantage of an external GPU.

Supported products

Image files from all Hasselblad USB and FireWire based digital camera products are
supported. Tethered operation will work with the same range of cameras except for the
first generation Ixpress series.
Capture of micro-step images is not supported.
Scanner 3F files are not supported.
3F files generated by Phocus are not backward compatible with FlexColor!
New features in 3.7

Performance enhancements

Big steps have been taken in adding further GPU support for image processing filters.
This has been done to a degree that a lot of exports will be able to run entirely on the
GPU leading to significant performance improvements. Results will of course vary
depending on hardware but for reasonably modern Macs you can expect at least a
factor 2 improvement. The optimizations will affect both exports and 100% view.

This GPU usage is still depending on the Extended GPU usage checkbox in preferences
being selected.

Added live view functionality for X1D II/CFV II and later *

For the most recent generation of cameras we are now utilizing their ability to deliver a
preprocessed compressed live view stream. This leads to improved image quality in
overview and a larger detail view image. Also the reduced bandwidth requirements
makes it possible to use live view when connected via USB-2. You will find a new set of
buttons at the bottom right corner:

Auto

When active it will deliver a well exposed image no matter the exposure settings.
When inactive the live view will use exposure simulation.

DoF

When active it will stop down to the selected aperture.

Focus peaking

Turn this on to get in-image indication of sharpness.

Be aware that as the final image is generated by the camera, current adjustments do
not affect the live view.

*) The initial firmware release for X2D does not support tethered live view

Support for new hardware

This release adds support for the new X2D 100C camera and the XCD 38V, XCD 55V
and XCD 90V lenses.

General improvements

A large number of fixes and stability improvements have also been included in this
release.
Change log

V 3.7.3

- camera orientation is now respected when running live view on X1D II or CFV II

- improved viewer quality when zoomed between 25 and 100%

- performance enhancements for multi-shot and 6 shot export and 100% view

- fixes an issue that could lead to images not being fetched from an X2D during
tethered capture

- the checkerboard filter can now handle more extreme situations

- fixes a possible situation where in mid resolutions the viewer would show the
previous image after a capture

- changing camera orientation during burst capture is now handled correctly

- fixes an Apple silicon related issue that could lead to incorrect rendering of 3FV video

- includes a large number of stability improvements

V 3.7.2

- improved handling of fast burst capture with X2D

- fixes a problem that could lead to a hang when using the navigator at 100%

- a layer with negative recovery adjustment would not be correctly rendered in the
viewer below 100%. This has been fixed

- fixes a problem that could lead to very slow exports of multi-shot images

- fixes potentially missing stitch correction for the older CCD based cameras

- possible lens correction issue for HTS based multi-shots has been fixed

- a problem that could lead to a few lines of artifacts in the top of the lo-res preview
when capturing tethered with X1D II or CFV II has been fixed

- date sorting of thumbnails for rapid burst sequences is now correct even for images
shot within the same second

- also handles a number of stability issues

V 3.7.1

- the EIZO monitor calibration feature has been reintroduced, it's still only supported on
Intel or running via Rosetta on Apple silicon

- a problem with luma curves not having effect on exports has been fixed

- on H6D and X1D there was a problem making a capture after having exited live view
while in zoomed mode. This has been fixed
- also fixes another issue that meant live video auto exposure control might not be
active even if it was indicated by the UI

- when browsing at 100% using Phocus Mobile 1 mirror was not handled correctly

- fixes a few crash issues, the most common one would happen directly after
connection of the camera