Together, the Hasselblad Phocus software and Hasselblad H3DII provide the world’s most powerful image processing system from lens to laptop.

Hasselblad today announces the launch of a new generation of raw processor, workflow and camera control software, Phocus version 1.0 for Mac.  The outstanding combination of the world’s most advanced DSLR - the Hasselblad H3DII - which already produces the sharpest, most detailed images at the highest resolution, and the innovative Phocus software, enables photographers to achieve unsurpassed image quality. 

Providing the ultimate processing tool for Hasselblad digital images, the new Phocus RAW processor delivers perfect colors through the Hasselblad Natural Color Solution, and includes digital lens corrections for color aberration, distortion and vignetting (DAC I, II and III).  Another key advantage and designed to save hours of post-production work, Phocus’s leading edge moiré removal technology allows image detail to be preserved, even on extremely high resolution images. By automatically removing moiré directly from the raw data, image quality remains intact, while any need for special masking selections or other manual procedures is eliminated.

Professional photographers can now enjoy an entirely new level of flexibility thanks to the innovative, extended controls Phocus provides for the operation of Hasselblad cameras.  Features include live video for easier shot set-up and workflow, and the ability to control the lens drive for focusing when the camera is in a remote position or when the digital capture unit is mounted on a view camera.

Further flexibility provided by the Phocus GUI allows photographers to benefit from the ability to customise their set-up to suit their workflow and work with multiple high resolution images simultaneously.  Choice of import source, browsing/comparison functions, file management, image export in different file formats and pre-setting of options for upcoming shoots, comprise but a few of the easy-to-use options.

Phocus also extends the metadata included in all Hasselblad images and facilitates accurate and detailed cataloguing and indexing as well as the easy management of images.  Also included is GPS data functionality, allowing a host of new functions, such as linking GPS data directly to Google Earth for simple geographic reference, making image storage and retrieval much easier.

The advanced features contained in the Phocus Viewer allow users to enjoy image viewing quality equal to that found in Photoshop.  Offering a wide range of options including full view, compare, browse, horizontal or vertical view, the Phocus Viewer also provides photographers with the capability to customise layout and composition to suit their current or desired workflow.  In addition, multiple folders can be simultaneously opened side-by-side for comparison or selection.

Christian Poulsen, Hasselblad’s Chief Executive Officer, says, “Phocus v1.0 is a powerful software toolbox, providing maximum functionality and seamless integration between the H3D camera and the computer system, and enabling professional photographers to get more from both their images and their photography in general.  Hasselblad strives to constantly provide the ultimate in image quality and through the development of photographic tools such as the Phocus v1.0, which covers a multitude of workflows and conditions, we are able to assist modern photographers in facing the challenges of today’s competitive industry.”

Hasselblad Phocus is immediately available for registered users to download and includes a comprehensive user manual and training tutorial video in QuickTime format.  Hasselblad also plans to issue a Phocus version for Windows in Q3 of 2008.  Phocus comes free of charge with all Hasselblad digital camera products.

About Hasselblad
Hasselblad A/S has developed, manufactured and delivered the very best in high-end camera systems for over 50 years.  A Scandinavian company, headquartered in Gothenburg and Copenhagen, the company employs more than 250 people, has subsidiaries in the USA, the UK, Germany and France and is represented worldwide by more than 90 distribution partners, through which it reaches every segment of the professional photographic market.  Inspired by the vision of its senior management to create the world’s best high-end DSLR cameras and to become the market leader in that sector, Hasselblad continues to pursue its founder’s philosophy of combining the most advanced technology available with a passion for photography to give professional photographers the best possible tools to capture the best possible images.

To satisfy the evolving requirements of today’s customers, Hasselblad continues to offer analogue cameras while delivering the ultimate in flexibility and digital image quality through its H3D camera line and it’s digital backs, the flagship of which is the H3DII, the world’s first high-end, DSLR camera system.  By developing the H3D’s integrated camera architecture specifically for digital users, Hasselblad is able to provide customers with the full benefits of professional medium-format digital cameras as well as the ease of use of the best 35mm DSLRs.

An iconic brand throughout the world of professional photography and probably best known for the cameras that the Apollo astronauts took to the moon, Hasselblad remains synonymous with outstanding craftsmanship and unsurpassed image quality.