3FR to TIFF Converter

Convert 3FR to TIFF Online

Render a Hasselblad .3fr RAW into a finished TIFF that opens straight into Photoshop, InDesign, Capture One, or a print RIP — no Phocus install, no RAW plugin, no watermark. One setting decides whether you get an archival master or a lossy proof: the "Compression Type" dropdown starts on JPEG, and for anything you intend to retouch, print, or keep, you want LZW or DEFLATE instead. Everything else on this page can stay where it is.

How to Convert 3FR to TIFF

1. Upload Your 3FR File: Drag and drop the .3fr onto the page or click "+ Add Files" to browse. Several captures can be queued and converted with the same settings.
2. Set the Compression Type: Open Advanced Options and change "Compression Type" from its "JPEG" default to "LZW" for a widely compatible lossless master, "DEFLATE" for a smaller lossless file, or "NONE" for uncompressed.
3. Confirm Quality and Resolution: "Quality Preset" sits on "Very High (Recommended)" and "Image resolution" on "Keep original", so the back's full pixel count survives; use "Preset Resolutions" or "Width (Keep aspect ratio)" only if you want a smaller working file.
4. Convert and Download: Click "Convert" and save the .tiff. Files are uploaded over an encrypted connection, processed on our servers, and deleted automatically after a few hours. No sign-up, no watermark.

Which Compression Type to Pick

What Changes When a 3FR Becomes a TIFF

• The mosaic is resolved. Sensor data becomes real RGB pixels, so software no longer needs a Hasselblad-aware decoder to show the picture.
• The development is fixed. White balance, exposure, and tone stop being parameters and become the image itself.
• The pixel count survives. With "Image resolution" on "Keep original", a 100 MP capture stays at 11656 × 8742 — a TIFF is a full-size deliverable, not a preview.
• The file becomes editable everywhere. Layers, retouching, soft proofing, and CMYK conversion all happen in ordinary tools once the frame is a TIFF.

TIFF or Something Else for a Hasselblad Frame?

Frequently Asked Questions

Should I export the TIFF from Phocus instead of converting the RAW here?

If the look is not final, yes — Phocus is free from Hasselblad, it applies the manufacturer's own colour pipeline, and it lets you set the export bit depth and colour space explicitly. Use this page when the shot is already where you want it and the job is simply "turn this proprietary file into something the rest of the world can open", or when you are on a machine without Phocus and a client is waiting. The two workflows are complementary: grade in Phocus, convert in bulk here.

What compression should a print master use — LZW, Deflate, or none at all?

LZW is the safe default: lossless, and supported by every TIFF reader since the early 1990s, including old RIPs. Deflate (ZIP) is also lossless and usually a little smaller on photographic content, and it is the better pick at high bit depth — Tim Grey notes that on 16-bit-per-channel TIFFs "LZW compression may actually cause the file size to be larger than without the use of compression". Choose NONE only when a specific piece of software chokes on compressed TIFFs; it is lossless too, just much larger.

Why is my TIFF so big, and can I shrink it without losing quality?

A medium-format frame is simply a lot of pixels — Hasselblad's 100 MP backs shoot 11656 × 8742 — and lossless compression cannot squeeze photographic detail the way a lossy codec does, so a large file is the format working correctly. Your genuinely lossless options are switching "Compression Type" to DEFLATE and, if the pixel count exceeds what the job needs, downscaling under "Image resolution". Anything beyond that trades quality for size: either accept JPEG-in-TIFF for a proof, or deliver a 3FR to JPG render alongside the master.

Does the TIFF still hold the RAW editing latitude?

No, and that is the trade you are making. A 3FR stores undemosaiced sensor data at 14 or 16 bits, which is why exposure, white balance, and highlight recovery stay fully recoverable in Phocus or Lightroom long after the shot. Writing a TIFF means developing that data and baking the decisions in. The result is an excellent editing surface for retouching — layers, curves, dodging, burning, all without generation loss — but the deep RAW recovery is gone. Keep the .3fr as the negative.

Will my print shop or InDesign accept a WebP- or ZSTD-compressed TIFF?

Assume not. Those tags are valid TIFF but they are recent and thinly implemented: ZSTD shows up in current imaging and geospatial toolchains rather than in prepress software, and WebP-in-TIFF is rarer still. A file that opens fine on your desktop can be rejected by a RIP or silently misread by an older asset manager. For anything leaving your studio, stay with LZW, DEFLATE, or NONE — the three settings that have decades of reader support behind them.

Will a TIFF open in a browser or an email preview window?

Usually not, and that is by design rather than a defect. Mozilla's image format guide states that other than Safari, browsers do not natively support TIFF images in web content, which is why it lists TIFF among the formats to avoid for the web while acknowledging its role for "photos and other artwork intended for precision editing or printing". Send a JPG or PNG derivative to anyone who just needs to look at the picture, and reserve the TIFF for the people who will work on it.

Should the file be named .tiff or .tif?

Either — they are the same format, and the shorter spelling is only a leftover from the DOS-era three-character extension limit. Every current reader accepts both. This page's "File extension" control in Advanced Options offers TIFF and TIF, so you can match whatever naming your DAM, print partner, or hot-folder script expects without changing a single pixel of image data.

How are my files handled, and how large a 3FR can I upload?

Your capture is uploaded over an encrypted connection, rendered and written to TIFF on our servers, then deleted automatically after a few hours — no sign-up, no watermark, never shared or made public. We leave "Quality Preset" on "Very High (Recommended)" and "Image resolution" on "Keep original" precisely because the people converting medium-format RAW are usually after fidelity, not a small download. Practically, upload time is the limiting factor: Hasselblad's own datasheet puts an average 100 MP 3FR at 206 MB, so the transfer takes longer than the conversion.