X2 B&W RAW vs JPEG? Settings?

[acuba777]

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Folks, how about your BW experience with this camera?

what are your experience with BW settings, format etc? I read somewhere, that BW high contrast with medium high contrast looks good on jpeg... I actually never shot jpegs, so interesting what is your BW workflow? 

it it more fun to get BW straight from the camera jpeg or shoot raw and then post process it? Your experience and thoughts, guys...?

[gbealnz]

Acura,

I don't have the X2, but with the X1 and X-Vario I usually set DNG and JPEG. With jpegs I set B&W high contrast, and normally use just the Jpegs. They really are that good.

Gary

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[Trivette]

I normally use BW High Contrast. If a particular shot seems to need a lot of PP and deserves saving, I'll work with the DNG. Otherwise, the JPEG is so good that it rarely can be improved.

[gbealnz]

Yep, agree totally. Let me add that while I usually have B&W set as the default JPEG, I assess each shot, and if it's a field of colourful flowers for example, then I set the JPEG to colour, obviously.

But the point remains, try the JPEG's, and you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Gary

[BAASCH]

The X2's out-of-camera monochromes are hard to beat. Half the time, I use them without further processing. The other half of the time, I rely on my secret post processing routine (I'll spill the beans: Raw Photo Processor) to achieve a different end result, but that's an artistic choice. As they are, the camera generated B&Ws are excellent.

[acuba777]

Yes, I already like in-camera high contrast preset) Nice to create something simular in Lr to do it later in a post)))

[ECohen]

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I love the Jpgs from this camera ! ...right out of the camera
Standard for Color

Natural for B&W

                              .......tweaked in PS as needed.
 

High Contrast B&W was too contrasty for me /as Vivid Color is to saturated....for my taste

 

If I make a color shot, B&W later. I'll use the color Jpg  from the X2 and  NIK Silver Effects Pro (now free)   Before Silver Effects I used Photoshop and  Channel Mixer then I played with contrast and some other stuff ...to taste

It must also be said that if shooting B&W jpgs in camera the light and scene need to be "right" .....by that I mean tones and lighting.... otherwise you have far more control of the photo when you start with a color shot.

 

 

Truth be told I don't use the X2 as much as I use to. I used it daily for about 2 years . But mostly now I shoot with an M and there I prefer using RAW over Jpg. I struggled with the M's Jpgs a lot in the beginning  because the X2 jpgs are so good...as were my Nikon Jpgs before that.
 

Leica has done something wonderful to tune the X2 so the Jpgs have a very special look, Color or Black and White. I cant say enough great things about the Jpgs from the X2
 

Off topic, but I often wonder why the M's Jps aren't tuned like the X2?
Thats a topic for a different threat
 

 

Edited August 5, 2016 by ECohen

[Trivette]

As good as the BW JPEGs can be, there are times when they can be improved. This is not the fault of the camera. For example.... As BW film photographers (and users of the Monochrome Ms) know, there are some scenes which can benefit greatly from contrast (colored) filters, such as when a red object is against a green background, with the red and green colors having about the same value (degree of brightness). In such cases one can apply contrast filters to the RAW image to simulate optical filters, thereby improving the red-green contrast when the image is converted to monochrome.

[ECohen]

+1