Hasselblad H3DII - Capture Unit Sensor and Handling

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In very simple terms, a digital capture unit holds a light sensitive sensor in place at the lm plane.
The electronic signals from the sensor are then processed and stored as a digital le.
As an electronic colour image is made up of three components − red, green and blue which combine
to form a so-called RGB image − the sensor’s task is to convert a multi spectrum light image into
three digital les (red, green and blue) for combination later on.
The H3D II uses a CCD (Charged Couple Device) type sensor that has millions of light sensitive areas
on its surface each of which creates a pixel.
Each pixel in the sensor is ltered to create the three separate red, green and blue les. Software then
processes these electronic les as a package into a Hasselblad 3FR le which in turn is processed in
Phocus to produce Hasselblad 3F les or various other formats such as DNG, TIFF, JPEG etc.
The three components of the image le are later recombined on the computer screen to produce the
familiar full colour image.
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The captured image can be temporarily stored internally on a CF card. Externally, captures can be
stored via a FireWire connection onto a Hasselblad ImageBank-II or onto the hard disk of a com-
puter. When using the camera tethered in a studio you can control all the digital aspects of camera
operation from a computer using Phocus. See the separate Phocus manual for further details.
As the H3D II is a purely electronic device, attention to power supply is vital. When working unteth-
ered it is therefore important to plan either battery loading or battery replacement to ensure contin-
ued workow. Likewise, image storage is limited, particularly when using ash cards and appropri-
ate steps should also be taken when planning a shoot.
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When attaching and removing the digital capture unit, pay particular attention to the image sensor
area. The sensor itself is covered and protected by a glass IR lter but take great care when handling.
If you need to clean the lter, see later section for specic details. When storing separated from the
camera, always ensure you have replaced the protective cover.
If you scratch or mark the lter in any way, it will show up on every shot. Replacements are expensive
so treat the glass surface with at least as much care as you would a lens.
The sensor itself is not accessible for any kind of cleaning or maintenance by a user. Do not attempt
any such action as you will almost certainly damage it irreparably.
As is the case with all electronic devices pay extra care when working in damp en vironments and
avoid damp conditions for storage.
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Take note of the ways of working you can adopt to improve workow eciency. Using batches, nam-
ing batches, IAA etc will speed things up when working on image development in both FlexColor
and Phocus (the Hasselblad image processing software included).