Tethered To A Computer; Connecting To A Computer - Hasselblad H2D User Manual

This manual is a provisional version only.

Tethered to a computer

When tethered to a computer, you can control many camera functions using the
FlexColor software. Even if you never shoot while connected, you will probably connect
the camera to your computer each time you want to download your images, though you
might instead use a compact-flash card reader and/or connect your Image Bank CF or
FireWire disk directly.

Connecting to a computer

To connect to a computer, simply attach a FireWire cable from the FireWire port on
your computer to the port on the side of the sensor unit. The port on the sensor unit is
protected behind a self closing flap. Simply align the cable connector as indicated by the
illustration on the flap, then press the cable connector against the door to open it and
continue to press the cable into the socket until it stops and is held in place.
Shooting with FlexColor running
When you are connected to a computer, the following rules apply:
• The destination medium and location are controlled from FlexColor.
• All exposure settings, including ISO, aperture and exposure time, are controlled
from FlexColor.
• Focus is controlled only from the camera and auto-focus is disabled. You must
therefore focus manually before shooting.
• The screen and menu system on the sensor unit are disabled.
• The sensor unit will take power from the FireWire cable if it is available (not all
computers supply power here, notably laptops). This will help conserve the battery
power of the H2D. However, you must still have a charged battery connected to
the H2D; the camera body requires this battery in order to operate.
When initiating a shot from FlexColor, the computer sends a signal to the sensor unit,
which triggers the shutter and strobe lights (if any). The sensor unit then sends the image
back over the FireWire connection to the computer, where it is displayed on the screen
and saved as a 16-bit-per-color "3f" file in the currently selected folder of the computer
hard disk.
3f is a proprietary Hasselblad format for storing raw captures. It contains the complete
raw image exactly as it was captured by the camera, plus technical details that enable
FlexColor to process and display the image correctly. It furthermore stores a complete
history of the FlexColor settings that you have applied to each image and stores meta-
data such as camera settings, image name, photographer, copyright, etc. The 3f format
is similar to the DNG format used by the sensor unit when it saves images to its internal
card, external hard disk or ImageBank-CF. When you load images into FlexColor from
the camera or external media, the DNG files are converted into 3f format. If you prefer
not to use FlexColor, then you can work with the original DNG files using any applica-
tion that supports that format, including Adobe Photoshop.
Please refer to the FlexColor Software Reference manual for further instructions about
taking pictures using FlexColor. The remainder of this chapter discusses how to use
the sensor unit mounted to an H2D as a stand-alone digital camera with or without an
ImageBank-CF or hard disk.
Working Stand-Alone or with an ImageBank CF or Hard Disk
There are no practical differences between shooting to the internal card or to an ImageBank-
CF or hard disk. However, when several media are mounted, you must be sure to select
the correct destination medium (see also Working with Media and Batches ).
When you are not connected to a computer, control over the various sensor unit settings
is provided via the built-in menu system (see also Working with the Menus ). Most of
the usual settings, such as focus, aperture, shutter speed and shutter release, are made
using the standard camera-body controls, however.
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