Black and white conversion thoughts

[Gareth2]

ok, you can tell, I've opened Photoshop and that has opened up a few quesitons as I work through some shots.

Just a little thought, I use a number of actions that I have acquired through the years and was wondering what everybody else does or what they use to convert to balck and white. Let's say, a high contrast and a low contrast solution, I find some of the actions I use just a little too contrasty for a portrait for example.

[Artichoke]

I have used quite a few channel based PS actions, but find jfi labs profiles for C1 the best for doing BW conversions
I sometimes will combine a color filter and a BW film emulation in PS, but usually just use one of the BW emulation profiles alone
the jfi labs profiles are not all that much money & seem to produce the best results for me

[stunsworth]

Alien Skin Exposure. If the result is too contrasty then the plug-in has a curves tab so the curve can be adjusted during the conversion.

I rarely use any other method these days. A new version of the plug-in is due soon.

[malcolm.mcintyre]

I am quite tempted to give Alien Skin Exposure a try, but it seems quite expensive to buy untried. I also can't find a UK stockist at present.

[chris_tribble]

I find that the combination of LR for b&w conversion (the slider controls are fantastic for controlling contrast IMHO) + QuadTone RIP for printing (to Epson) is a remarkably effective solution. QTR is shareware Welcome to QuadToneRIP and has to be the best deal I've ever come across + a community of really knowledgeable people - can't recommend it too much.

Best

C:

[malcolm.mcintyre]

I am running LR at present, but find it difficult to do the simulation of different film types (which appeals to me) without a plug-in

[stunsworth]

Malcolm, yet it's expensive - too expensive in my opinion, but unfortunately it does what I want.

There's a 30 day trial available on thier website - Alien Skin Software, LLC - this is totally unrestricted, no water marks etc.

You can also buy the software from their site. If you decide to buy the plug-in the CD delivery option contains both the PC and Mac version where as the download option only gives you access to one version.

[ronaldh]

Convert to B & W Pro works well for me. The controls are analogous to methods of wet processing so its an easy transition just as - dare I say it? - the M8 was from the M7.

[stunsworth]

Hi Ronald, is that the Fred Miranda product? I liked the output - and it's inexpensive, but I didn't like the fact that it always flattens any layers when it runs.

[tom0511]

I just use jfi-profiles in c1 to convert directly to b&w

[Photoskeptic]

Gareth, everything you need is in PS. There are a multitude of ways in which to convert, you need to play around with the options and see what works best for you.

[dspeltz]

Originally Posted by chris_tribble

I find that the combination of LR for b&w conversion (the slider controls are fantastic for controlling contrast IMHO) + QuadTone RIP for printing (to Epson) is a remarkably effective solution. QTR is shareware Welcome to QuadToneRIP and has to be the best deal I've ever come across + a community of really knowledgeable people - can't recommend it too much.

Best

C:

The LR conversion is quite nice however I compared some XP2 to the digital version and I am still not there. My real question is the Quadtone RIP. I use Advanced Black and White on my Epson 4800. The RIP is certainly not expensive but the learning curve may be and the question is there a significant improvement of the RIP over Advanced B&W? I have not seen a comparision yet various people swear by each. Can anyone show what the difference is, if any.

David

[cmb_]

1. The JFI Profiles
2. Alien Skin Exposure
3. The new Black & White conversion in Photoshop CS3:
Layer > New Adjustment Layer > Black & White
or
Image > Adjustments > Black & White

[j. borger]

Originally Posted by dspeltz

The LR conversion is quite nice however I compared some XP2 to the digital version and I am still not there. My real question is the Quadtone RIP. I use Advanced Black and White on my Epson 4800. The RIP is certainly not expensive but the learning curve may be and the question is there a significant improvement of the RIP over Advanced B&W? I have not seen a comparision yet various people swear by each. Can anyone show what the difference is, if any.

David

If the 4800 is like the 2400 it should be capable of producing neutral B&Ws without Quadtone RIP.
I used Quadtone Rip exclusively for printinq with the Epson 2100/2200 ... but never used it since i upgraded to the R2400 ... which prints outstanding B&W straight out of the box ... better than using Quadtone Rip

Tweaking the tonalities of the basic picture is key to a good digital B&W picture ..... no B&W conversion program does that "automatic" for you ...... the lens used also plays an important part here! (Pre-asph, older, lenses are better for B&W imho)

[Maggie_O]

I use a variety of settings in CS3's channel mixer and tweak in curves as needed.

[delander]

I just use PSCS3's B&W under image/adjustments. Seems to offer a lot of control plus some useful presets.

Jeff

[DaveB]

Those jfi color filters and C1 make for lovely choices in B&W conversion.

Can't complain about the price either.

[simon_hughes]

Jeff Ascough has a really nice set of actions.
(see http://www.jeffascough.net/webactions/).
I'm starting to use them quite a lot now.

[fjmcsu]

For the M8 jfi profiles work very well. I like the conversion to B & W at the RAW stage. That said I've also used some presets that are downloadable for free in Camera RAW(http://www.ononesoftware.com/photopresets-acr-wow.php); as well as NIK software for conversion in PSCSx as well as the native/HSL/Color balance ways espoused in the Photoshop world.

[prav66]

Jeff Ascough's actions are the best I've tried & I've tried them all - Alien Skin Exposure, DXO labs Film Pack. JFI, Channel Mixer, etc.

Channel mixer works fine for abstract images but skin tones quickly look unnatural if one plays with them too much, unless that's the look one is going for - it's certainly not like XP2. The other plug-ins are all fine but I found them not quite there compared to my negative scans and I kept playing with them slightly unsatisfied and not quite nailing it.

Ascough's actions just works as is and is very naural looking with the M8 images.

I use Ascough's 'Main squeeze' for basic conversion to B&W and contrast adjustment, followed by 'Warm it up' to add slight sepia tone (sublte but helps) and 'Bring some noise' with reduced opacity to give some dithering to the pictures to simulate the accutance and feel of silver B&W film.

Give it a try. I love it and no longer bother with the rest anymore.