Hasselblad introduced 3FR in 2006 with the H2D, part of its H-system medium-format camera line, as the successor to earlier Hasselblad raw formats used with its digital backs. Like most manufacturer raw formats, it is built on a TIFF skeleton, but it is tuned specifically for Hasselblad’s medium-format sensors, storing unprocessed data at 16 bits per channel \u2014 a wider bit depth than most 35mm-format raw files, reflecting the greater dynamic range medium-format sensors typically capture.<\/p>
Compression behavior has changed across Hasselblad’s camera generations: earlier bodies wrote 3FR with lossless compression to manage file size, while newer bodies more often save uncompressed 3FR, prioritizing simpler, more predictable file handling over storage efficiency \u2014 a reasonable trade-off for photographers whose entire workflow already assumes large medium-format file sizes.<\/p>
For a DAM, 3FR sits in a moderate-risk category: Hasselblad is a long-established, currently active manufacturer with its own maintained software (Phocus), and mainstream tools like Adobe Camera Raw and Capture One support the format well. That said, it remains undocumented and proprietary, so converting to DNG for cross-team access and long-term archival is still good practice, particularly for studios and agencies where not every seat has access to Phocus or Capture One.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
3FR is Hasselblad’s proprietary raw format for its medium-format camera systems, introduced in 2006 with the H2D and storing 16-bit-per-channel unprocessed sensor data.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","faq":[{"question":"Does 3FR carry the same vendor-abandonment risk as formats like SRW or MOS?","answer":"No. Hasselblad remains an active manufacturer, so 3FR carries less immediate vendor-abandonment risk than several niche or discontinued formats, though it is still an undocumented proprietary format outside a small professional software ecosystem."},{"question":"What bit depth does 3FR capture at?","answer":"16 bits per channel, reflecting its medium-format sensor origins."},{"question":"Has 3FR's compression approach changed across Hasselblad camera generations?","answer":"Yes. Older Hasselblad generations compressed 3FR losslessly, while current bodies typically write it uncompressed, trading file size for simplicity and predictable read performance."},{"question":"Which software gets closest to full-fidelity 3FR processing?","answer":"Phocus, Hasselblad's own free tethering and raw-processing software, which understands the company's specific color and lens correction profiles."},{"question":"Should a DAM convert 3FR masters to DNG?","answer":"Yes, for broad interoperability and search\/preview generation, while retaining the original for teams that continue working in Phocus."},{"question":"When was 3FR introduced?","answer":"2006, with the Hasselblad H2D."},{"question":"Is there a published specification for 3FR?","answer":"No. There is no public specification, so third-party support relies on tools like Adobe Camera Raw, Capture One, darktable, and RawTherapee via libraw rather than an official spec."},{"question":"What structural family is 3FR based on?","answer":"It is a TIFF-based container holding unprocessed medium-format sensor data alongside EXIF metadata, similar in lineage to other vendor TIFF-derived raw formats."}],"checked_date":"2026-08-07","sources":[{"statement":"Hasselblad introduced the 3FR format with the release of the Hasselblad H2D camera in 2006","source_name":"CleverFiles, 3FR file format guide","url":"https:\/\/www.cleverfiles.com\/howto\/recover-deleted-3fr.html","checked":"2026-08-07"},{"statement":"The 3FR format is based on TIFF, storing unprocessed sensor data at 16 bits per channel with EXIF metadata; older-generation files use lossless compression while newer files are typically uncompressed","source_name":"Just Solve the File Format Problem (Archive Team wiki), Hasselblad 3FR","url":"http:\/\/fileformats.archiveteam.org\/wiki\/Hasselblad_3FR","checked":"2026-08-07"},{"statement":"3FR files can be opened with Hasselblad's Phocus software, viewers, and converters","source_name":"FileInfo.com, 3FR file description","url":"https:\/\/fileinfo.com\/extension\/3fr","checked":"2026-08-07"}],"kicker":"","fact_checker":0,"reading_time":0,"revisions":[],"seo_title":"","seo_description":"","noindex":false,"ext":"3fr","full_name":"Hasselblad 3F RAW","vendor_name":"Hasselblad","introduced":"2006, with the Hasselblad H2D","container_notes":"3FR is a TIFF-based container holding unprocessed medium-format sensor data at 16 bits per channel, along with EXIF metadata. Older Hasselblad generations compressed 3FR losslessly; current bodies typically write it uncompressed, trading file size for simplicity and predictable read performance. There is no public specification, and full-fidelity processing is closest to Hasselblad's own Phocus software, which understands the company's specific color and lens correction profiles.","open_with":[{"platform":"Windows \/ macOS","how":"Phocus, Hasselblad's own free tethering and raw-processing software, native and tuned for the sensor and lens profiles"},{"platform":"Windows \/ macOS","how":"Adobe Camera Raw \/ Lightroom Classic, with standard 3FR camera support"},{"platform":"Professional workflows","how":"Capture One, widely used for medium-format tethered shooting"},{"platform":"Cross-platform, open source","how":"darktable or RawTherapee, both decoding 3FR via libraw"}],"archive_advice":"Hasselblad remains an active manufacturer, so 3FR carries less immediate vendor-abandonment risk than several niche or discontinued formats in this list, but it is still an undocumented proprietary format outside a small professional software ecosystem. Convert 3FR to DNG for broad interoperability and search\/preview generation in a DAM, while retaining the original for teams that continue working in Phocus.","related":[2604,2602,2603,2610,2594,2607],"tool_link":""},"silo":[23],"class_list":["post-2611","format","type-format","status-publish","hentry","silo-formats"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/picajet.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/format\/2611","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/picajet.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/format"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/picajet.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/format"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/picajet.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/format\/2611\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3669,"href":"https:\/\/picajet.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/format\/2611\/revisions\/3669"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/picajet.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2611"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"silo","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/picajet.com\/articles\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/silo?post=2611"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}