The only certain thing is constant change. What is right today can be wrong tomorrow because things evolve.

We have to accept changes.

I’m good at selling this BS to people around me. Yet sometimes I forget to sell it to myself. The case in point being Phocus app from Hasselblad.

Back from Finland with hundreds of photos from my Hasselblad, I was facing the nightmare of editing all RAW files one by one. It proved to be highly inefficient, especially because my 9-year-old iMac struggles with the 200 MB RAW files.

Before you ask. I don’t use Photoshop or Lightroom for my Hasselblad photos. I use Phocus app from Hasselblad because, according to them, this is the best way to extract the 16-bit colour depth of the RAW files.

Phocus is available for both MacOS (iMac) and iOS (iPhone / iPad).

And here comes the part of accepting (or not accepting) change: I couldn’t care less about the iOS version. I was too stubborn to change my decades old habit of saving and editing the photos in my iMac.

Problem is, the desktop version of Phocus does not support batch processing of RAW files. When searching for a solution in the internet I realized Phocus Mobile 2 (latest version for iOS) added this functionality. Moreover, now there is something called Hasselblad Natural Noise Reduction (HNNR), an AI tool for noise reduction.

Accept change

Reluctantly, I changed my decades old workflow. Putting aside my iMac, had my files transferred wirelessly from the camera to the iPad. Then started working on the files. All by using Phocus Mobile 2.

And wow.

Phocus Mobile 2 in my iPad works a million times better than in my iMac.

Adjusting the RAW files, moving the sliders with my Apple Pencil feels much better than the traditional mouse in my iMac. In the iPad everything feels seamless, faster, smoother, easier, more intuitive and efficient.

Using the batch process functionality, in a couple of hours I had all my Finland photos edited.

And the best part is that I could do it in the couch, while enjoying a coffee with my wife. Or lying in the bed. Whatever.

All was done during short brakes, the in-between times while I was doing something else. That’s the advantage of using an iPad.

It took just a few more hours to tackle the photos from my Portugal trip last year. Yes, I had photos from last year yet to be edited. All done now. I couldn’t be happier.

Ditching the desktop

For whatever reason, Hasselblad decided not to update and bring these new functionalities to the desktop version of Phocus. Or perhaps not yet? Not sure what is their game plan.

Are they ditching the desktop version altogether?

Some photographers are definitely not impressed by this, venting their frustration in several internet forums. For each its own. As of myself, I couldn’t be happier using Phocus Mobile 2 in my iPad.

Writing these lines, I’m actually in Phuket, Thailand, for a short break. Enjoying my morning coffee while my wife is sleeping. When I’m done with this post I may use the spare time to edit photos from our short trip last weekend to Tai O fishing village in Hong Kong.

This is the power of mobility. It’s not new, I know. But sometimes it takes time to change old habits.

Even for a progressive and forward looking person like me.