Reducing Hasselblad X2D 3FR Raw File Size via Adobe DNG Converter
re: Reducing Hasselblad X2D File Size via Hasselblad Phocus Copy/Import, eg Converting Original Capture 3FR to FFF Format
re: Hasselblad X2D
Hasselblad X2D 3FR files are uncompressed, wastefully ocupying the maximum possible space on camera card, computer SSD, backups etc. Every other camera brand offers lossless-compressed raw files, which are bit-for-bit identical to in data content to uncompressed files.
I have not decided whether to whack my Hasselblad X2D 3FR files and convert them to DNG. To do so would break my longstanding practice of never altering original raw files.
It’s unclear whether Adobe DNG Converter preserves all original raw file EXIF info, or whether one is forced to Embed Original Raw File to guarantee that. Also unclear to me is whether Hasselblad Phocus works identically on a 3FR vs DNG file.
Most troublesome is a mild form of data loss that Adobe DNG Converter invokes: it loses the creation and modification dates; the resulting DNG files have the data/time of conversion, not the original shooting dates. This makes it impossible to sort by shooting date, a huge downside for me.
Complicated exiftool commands can restore the dates, but why can’t Adobe just do it right, or at least offer the option? Well, Adobe DNG Converter is such an old turd it doesn’t even draw cleanly on Retina displays.
Hasselblad X2D 3FR raw files vs DNG
Best choice is have the camera do things right, and store a lossless-compressed raw file, rather than foist a storage headache on the user. Only Hasselblad can do that, and they’ve had five (5) years to do it and never bothered.
You can also convert the 3FR files to FFF files using Hasselblad Phocus. Savings will be similar to the DNG results below with full-size JPEG.
Adobe DNG Converter offers a choice of embedding a medium or full-size JPEG and/or the original raw file. If the original file is included, then the files become ~370MB each, so that’s not a win if the goal is to reduce file size.
Savings with lossless compression as used by Adobe DNG Converter will vary file-by-file due to varying compressibility of the image data (eg smooth areas compress much better than highly detailed areas). Limited savings as seen here are due to the high level of image detail over nearly all the frame; many images would compress better, and some a little worse.
23% size savings plus the bonus of a full-size embedded JPEG, or
32% space savings with a medium-size embedded JPEG (or no JPEG)
Storing 408GB vs 600GB is a nice win on space on the main storage and all backups too. And many images will compress even better.