Hasselblad HDR Demystified, Part 2 of 5: Output Formats and the Trilemma Every Shooter Faces

This is Part 2 of a four-part series exploring Hasselblad's HDR implementation for RAW shooters. Part 1 covered basic fundamentals of what HDR actually is, and how it differs from traditional HDR tone mapping. If you're joining mid-series, you might want to start there.

In Part 1, we established that HNCS HDR extends output gamut rather than compressing dynamic range, and that Phocus 4.x can apply HDR processing to RAW files from any supported Hasselblad camera - not just the X2D II. But understanding what HDR is doesn't tell you how to actually use it. That's what this post will attempt to address.

We'll work through each output format, examine third-party options for photographers who don't want to live entirely in Phocus, and confront an uncomfortable trade-off that Hasselblad's marketing doesn't mention: the HNCS/HDR/External Editing Trilemma.

A note on support: This post represents my personal exploration and does not constitute official technical support or guidance from Hasselblad. If you need assistance with your Hasselblad camera, Phocus, or any other Hasselblad product, please contact Hasselblad directly: customersupport@hasselblad.com for global support, support.us@hasselblad.com for the Americas, or visit hasselblad.com/support for your regional contact options.

But Wait — Can't Lightroom Already Do HDR?

Before diving into formats and workflows, let's address the obvious question: Adobe Lightroom Classic has supported HDR export with gain maps since October 2024. Photoshop can do it too. So what does Hasselblad's implementation offer that Adobe's doesn't?

Technically, the output format is identical. Both produce Ultra HDR JPEGs using the same ISO 21496-1 gain map standard. The file structure is the same. A display rendering an Ultra HDR JPEG doesn't know or care whether it came from Phocus or Lightroom.

The difference is what happens before the gain map is computed: color science.

When Phocus processes your 3FR file with HDR enabled, it applies HNCS - Hasselblad Natural Colour Solution - during rendering. The color matrices, tonal curves, and proprietary "Hasselblad Film Curve" that give Hasselblad images their distinctive look are baked into the HDR output. When Lightroom processes that same 3FR file, it applies Adobe's color science instead. Both produce technically excellent HDR images, but they won't look the same.

For photographers who chose Hasselblad specifically for HNCS rendering — and many did - Phocus is currently the only path to HDR output that preserves that color signature. If HNCS isn't a priority, or you prefer Adobe's rendering, Lightroom's HDR workflow is functionally equivalent and offers more sophisticated editing tools.

This distinction becomes critical when we get to the Trilemma later in this post. For now, just understand: the "Hasselblad advantage" in HDR isn't about the HDR technology itself - it's about keeping HNCS in the pipeline.

Understanding the Output Formats

Ultra HDR JPEG

The X2D II can output images in several formats, each with different HDR capabilities. Understanding the trade-offs between them is essential for choosing the right format for your workflow and intended audience.

Ultra HDR JPEG is the format you'll most likely want for sharing HDR images. It's based on gain map technology - the same approach Google uses in Pixel phones and Sigma uses in their BF mirrorless camera.⁴ The concept is elegant: an Ultra HDR JPEG contains a standard SDR base image plus an embedded "gain map" that tells HDR-capable displays how much to boost the brightness of each pixel.⁵

This dual-layer structure makes Ultra HDR JPEGs backward compatible by design. Open one on an older computer, a basic photo viewer, or any device without HDR support, and you'll see a perfectly normal-looking JPEG - the SDR base image. But view that same file on an iPhone 13 Pro or later, a MacBook Pro with XDR display, or the X2D II's own screen, and the gain map kicks in: highlights actually glow, specular reflections pop, and the image takes on a luminance range that standard JPEGs simply cannot achieve.

The technology behind this isn't proprietary to any single company. Both Google and Apple have adopted ISO 21496-1, the international standard for gain map HDR images.⁶ This standardization means Ultra HDR JPEGs created by your Hasselblad should display correctly across Android devices, iPhones, Macs, and compatible browsers like Chrome and Edge for years to come. For photographers concerned about format longevity, this cross-platform standardization is reassuring.

HDR HEIF

HDR HEIF is the X2D II's other HDR output format, but its ecosystem support is considerably more limited. According to Hasselblad's FAQ, HDR HEIF files can only display their full HDR highlight range on the X2D II itself and within Phocus. Neither the iPhone/iPad Photos app nor Adobe Photoshop and Camera Raw support HDR HEIF highlight display.⁷

This makes HDR HEIF a rather specialized choice. It might make sense if you're reviewing images exclusively on the camera or in Phocus, or if you're building a workflow that stays entirely within Hasselblad's ecosystem. But for most photographers who want to share HDR images with clients, on social media, or with anyone viewing on devices other than the X2D II, Ultra HDR JPEG is the more practical choice.

Standard 3FR RAW

Here's the part that matters most for RAW shooters: your 3FR files still capture the full 15.3 stops of dynamic range that the X2D II sensor is capable of.⁸ The HDR marketing doesn't change what the sensor records - it changes what you can do with that data at output time.

When you bring a 3FR file into Phocus 4.x, HDR processing is applied at render time rather than being baked into the capture. This means you can shoot RAW-only exactly as you always have, then decide later whether to export as a standard SDR image or as an Ultra HDR JPEG with extended luminance range. The choice happens at export, not at capture.

This is the key insight that changed my thinking about Hasselblad's HDR implementation: it's not asking you to change how you shoot. It's giving you a new output option for the RAW files you're already capturing.

Third-Party RAW Processor HDR Export Capabilities

If you're wondering whether your preferred RAW processor can create these HDR outputs, the answer depends entirely on which software you use.

Adobe Lightroom Classic (version 14 and later, released October 2024) can create HDR exports with gain maps.¹⁹ To enable this, you need to check both "HDR output" and "maximize compatibility" in the export dialog. Lightroom supports gain map export in multiple formats including JPEG, AVIF, JPEG XL, and TIFF, though JPEG gain maps are currently the most compatible choice for broad device support. Lightroom Mobile (version 10+) also supports HDR export via the "export as" option with "HDR output" enabled.

Capture One, as of December 2025, cannot create HDR exports with gain maps.²⁰ This is a notable gap that users have been requesting on Capture One's community forums. The "HDR" feature in Capture One refers to bracket merging for tone-mapped HDR images - a completely different thing from HDR display output with gain maps. You can export in P3 color space from Capture One, which gives you the wider color gamut, but without a gain map the resulting file will still be limited to SDR luminance levels.

This has significant workflow implications for Capture One users who want true HDR output. Your options are either to export directly from Phocus 4.x as Ultra HDR JPEG, or to create a round-trip workflow: Phocus to TIFF to Lightroom Classic, then export the HDR JPEG from there. Neither is ideal if you've built your editing workflow around Capture One, but those are currently the available paths.

The key insight here is that having P3 color space data isn't enough - you need software that can encode the gain map instructions that tell HDR displays to exceed SDR peak white for specific pixels. Without that metadata, even a 16-bit P3 TIFF will display at SDR luminance levels.

Command Line and Third-Party Mac App Options for Creating HDR Gain Maps

For photographers comfortable with command-line tools or willing to experiment with third-party utilities, there are additional options for creating HDR gain maps from TIFF files exported from any RAW processor.

The fundamental requirement for all these tools is the same: you need both an SDR and an HDR rendition of your image. The gain map is computed as the mathematical difference between these two versions - essentially a per-pixel map of how much brighter the HDR version is compared to the SDR version.

toGainMapHDR is a macOS command-line tool that converts HDR files (including TIFFs) to Adaptive HDR and ISO HDR formats.²¹ It's particularly useful because it comes with multiple access points: a GUI version called HDR-Gain-Map-Convert for those who prefer a visual interface, and even a Lightroom plugin (LR_GainMap_HDR_Export_Plugin) that integrates the functionality directly into Adobe's export workflow.

Google's libultrahdr is the official reference implementation of the Ultra HDR codec, and it builds on macOS.²² It includes a command-line demo application called ultrahdr_app that demonstrates the encoding and decoding process. Building it requires some developer tools (libjpeg-turbo, cmake, clang), but it's a solid option for those who want to work with the canonical implementation.

The darktable photo workflow application also includes a lua plugin that can generate Ultra HDR images using libultrahdr under the hood - another option for photographers already using that software.

For Capture One users specifically, a practical workflow using these tools might look like this: export your SDR version from C1 as you normally would, then create an HDR version (either from Phocus with boosted exposure, or by pushing the highlights in a second C1 export), and finally feed both versions to one of these tools to compute the gain map and generate the Ultra HDR JPEG. It's more complex than simply exporting from Phocus or Lightroom, but it's technically possible if you need to keep C1 in your workflow while still producing true HDR output.

Where Can HDR Images Actually Be Seen?

Creating HDR output is only half the equation. Before investing effort in HDR workflows, it's worth understanding where your audience will actually be able to see the difference.

Social media support is fragmented. Instagram and Threads (both Meta-owned) have supported HDR photo display since March 2024, working across iOS, Android, and desktop browsers.²³ According to Greg Benz, approximately 80% of Instagram and Threads viewers are using HDR-capable devices²⁴ - though "capable" and "noticeably different" aren't the same thing, as we'll discuss in Part 4.

Facebook's support is more limited: HDR photos only display when viewing shared Instagram or Threads links in a browser, not natively in the Facebook app itself. Google Photos supports Ultra HDR JPEGs as of version 7.24.0.

Most other platforms don't support HDR photos at all. WhatsApp, TikTok, and Snapchat will display your Ultra HDR JPEGs, but only the SDR base layer — the gain map is ignored. This is actually the backward compatibility working as designed, but it means your HDR highlights won't be visible to viewers on those platforms.

For photographers whose primary distribution is Instagram, the HDR investment may be worthwhile. For those sharing primarily through messaging apps or platforms without HDR support, the practical benefit is limited to personal viewing on HDR displays and future-proofing the files for when support eventually expands.

The HNCS, HDR, and External Editing Trilemma

There's an uncomfortable reality that emerges from the technical limitations described above, and it's worth stating plainly: you can have any two of these three things, but not all three:

1. HNCS color rendering - Hasselblad's signature color science
2. Intermediate editing in another app via TIFF - Capture One, Photoshop, etc.
3. HDR output with gain maps - for display on HDR-capable screens

Here's why each combination works - and why all three together doesn't:

HNCS + HDR requires editing entirely in Phocus and exporting Ultra HDR JPEG directly. No intermediate editing elsewhere - no Capture One's superior masking tools, no Photoshop's content-aware fill, no third-party plugins. You're limited to Phocus's editing capabilities, which many users find constraining. There's also a workflow nuance here that's easy to miss: Ultra HDR JPEGs contain an SDR base layer for backward compatibility, and Phocus maintains separate settings for SDR and HDR rendering. If you only ever work with the HDR checkbox enabled, your SDR fallback - what most viewers will actually see - may be essentially unprocessed. Part 3 covers the recommended processing order in detail.

HNCS + TIFF editing means exporting TIFF from Phocus with HNCS baked in, then editing in your preferred application. This is the workflow many X System photographers have adopted to combine Hasselblad's color science with more capable editing tools. But your final output is limited to SDR - no gain map, no HDR luminance on displays. The luminance relationships in your highlights have already been tone-mapped to fit within the TIFF's SDR ceiling, and no software can recover what's been compressed.

HDR output + external editing means working from RAW in Lightroom Classic 14+ and exporting with gain map enabled. You get true HDR delivery with highlights that actually glow on capable displays. But you're using Adobe color science, not HNCS - you've traded Hasselblad's rendering for Adobe's.

This is a significant limitation that Hasselblad's "end-to-end HDR" marketing glosses over. Their HDR pipeline essentially requires you to do all your editing in Phocus if you want both HNCS and HDR output. The moment you export a TIFF to take advantage of Capture One's superior editing tools or Photoshop's retouching capabilities, you've exited the HDR pipeline permanently.

For photographers who've built workflows around Phocus-to-Capture One handoffs - which many X System users have, given Phocus's limited editing tools - this creates a genuine choice: accept SDR-only output to keep HNCS and your preferred editor, or sacrifice one of those to gain HDR delivery.

I've raised this point repeatedly in discussions on the Hasselblad forums and subreddit, and it's remarkable how often the Lightroom enthusiasts overlook or ignore the HNCS trade-off. Yes, Lightroom can export HDR with gain maps - but the resulting images don't have Hasselblad's color science, which for many users is a significant part of why they bought into the system in the first place.

Compatibility Warning: HDR TIFFs in Capture One and Other Software

If you export HDR-processed TIFFs from Phocus and open them in Capture One, you may see severely blown-out highlights that make the image appear ruined. Your files are not corrupted. This is a fundamental software limitation.

Here's what's happening: Phocus exports HDR TIFFs with HDR color profiles (likely Rec.2100 PQ or HLG-based) that encode pixel values mapping to brightness levels above SDR peak white - potentially 400, 600, or even 1000+ nits. macOS 15+ and iOS 18+ have native HDR display support and will tone-map these values correctly, which is why the same file looks fine in Finder, Preview, or Photos.

Capture One has no HDR color management.²⁵ It interprets those HDR-encoded values as if they were standard SDR, so a pixel meant to display at 400 nits gets treated as "already at maximum brightness" - resulting in completely blown highlights. This isn't a bug; it's the absence of a feature C1 doesn't have.

Other software with the same limitation includes Adobe Bridge.²⁵ Before panicking about "corrupted" exports, check the file in macOS Finder or Preview first.

This adds another dimension to the Trilemma: not only can you not get HDR output after going to TIFF, you can't even reliably evaluate HDR-processed TIFFs in Capture One without seeing a catastrophically wrong rendering.

Coming Up in Part 3

The Trilemma is a constraint, but it doesn't have to be a dead end. Part 3 dives into the practical workflow: how to actually process RAW files with HDR in Phocus 4.x, from enabling HDR mode to exporting your final Ultra HDR JPEG.

We'll also explore something Hasselblad's documentation barely mentions: the HDR histogram is actually an interactive Levels tool operating in HDR luminance space. Understanding how these hidden controls work opens up considerably more creative flexibility than the official documentation would suggest.

Series Navigation

This post is part of a five-part series on Hasselblad's HDR implementation:

• Part 1: What Is HNCS HDR and Why Should RAW Shooters Care?
• Part 2: Output Formats and the Trilemma Every Shooter Faces
• Part 3: The Complete Phocus 4.x Workflow
• Part 4: Displays, In-Camera Limitations, and Platform Support (you are here)
• Part 5: Print, Archival, and Practical Recommendations

References

1. DPReview, "Hasselblad X2D II 100C in-depth review," September 2025. "...a technique adopted by Google in its Pixel phones, and by Sigma in its BF Mirrorless camera."
2. Android Developers, "Ultra HDR Image Format v1.1." https://developer.android.com/media/platform/hdr-image-format
3. Wikipedia, "Ultra HDR." "As of Android 15, the Ultra HDR and ISO 21496-1 over JPEG formats are encoded simultaneously for HDR compatibility across Android and Apple devices."
4. Hasselblad X2D II 100C FAQ. "HDR HEIF only supports HDR display on X2D II 100C and in Phocus. iPhone/iPad Photos app and third-party software such as Adobe Photoshop/Adobe Camera Raw do not support HDR HEIF highlight display." https://www.hasselblad.com/x-system/x2d-ii-100c-faq/
5. Hasselblad X2D II 100C Product Page. "15.3 stops of dynamic range provides photographers with precise control."
6. Greg Benz Photography, "ISO gain maps: sharing HDR photos is about to get much easier," September 2025. "Adobe Lightroom (Classic v14, Cloud v8, Mobile v10 apps) and Adobe Camera RAW v17, which were all just released in Oct 2024. All versions support JPG gain maps... ISO gain maps are created when you export with 'HDR output' and 'maximize compatibility' checked." https://gregbenzphotography.com/hdr-photos/iso-21496-1-gain-maps-share-hdr-photos/
7. Capture One Community Feature Requests, including "Add HDR support and export. Instagram support jpeg + gain map as of jan24. C1 users will be left behind!" and "Creating HDR images - Output the AVIF, HEIF, JPG Gain Maps." As of December 2025, Capture One does not support HDR editing or gain map export. https://support.captureone.com/hc/en-us/community/posts/16355850453533
8. GitHub, "toGainMapHDR - A tool to convert HDR file to Adaptive HDR (Gain Map HDR) and ISO HDR format." Includes command line tool, GUI version (HDR-Gain-Map-Convert), and Lightroom plugin (LR_GainMap_HDR_Export_Plugin). https://github.com/chemharuka/toGainMapHDR
9. GitHub, "google/libultrahdr - Ultra HDR is a true HDR image format, and is backcompatible. libultrahdr is the reference codec for the Ultra HDR format." https://github.com/google/libultrahdr
10. Meta Engineering, "Bringing HDR photos to Instagram and Facebook," November 2025. Note: HDR photo support preceded the November 2025 announcement, which focused on Dolby Vision HDR video.
11. Greg Benz, "HDR Display & Photo Software Support," gregbenzphotography.com/hdr-display-photo-software/, accessed December 2025.
12. Greg Benz, "HDR Display & Photo Software Support," gregbenzphotography.com/hdr-display-photo-software/, accessed December 2025. Benz explicitly lists Capture One and Adobe Bridge among software that does not support HDR photos.