dpattinson Posted October 13, 2008 Share #1 Posted October 13, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) this was shot at 2500iso on the M8. I'm interested in your impression of the BW conversion, before I go ahead and process a bunch the same way. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted October 13, 2008 Posted October 13, 2008 Hi dpattinson, Take a look here opinions on BW conversion? . I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
dpattinson Posted October 13, 2008 Author Share #2 Posted October 13, 2008 ..compared to this one. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted October 13, 2008 Share #3 Posted October 13, 2008 They both look fine. It's a matter of taste. The first one has slightly warmer tones and a bit more detail in the shadows. It all depends on what you like. The second image has a bit more contrast. I tend to like contrast. I would personally go with the second image but that's just my preference. BTW, this is a very lovely portrait and I'm pleased to see how well the M8 is handling 2500 ISO. Cheers, Wilfredo+ Benitez-Rivera Photography Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marquinius Posted October 13, 2008 Share #4 Posted October 13, 2008 It is as Wilfredo says a matter of taste. I'm also a contrasty guy so I tend to go for the second one as well. Did you read the threads about B&W conversion on the post processing forum page? Marco http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/digital-post-processing-forum/65294-b-w-workflow.html http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/digital-post-processing-forum/65429-b-w-suggested-gorman.html http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/digital-post-processing-forum/65948-b-w-3-techniques-compared.html http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/digital-post-processing-forum/66128-using-lab-convert-b-w.html Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
roguewave Posted October 13, 2008 Share #5 Posted October 13, 2008 dp, agree with the above assessments. You might consider reposting this in the Digital Post Processing forum and add you original color images. I think you'll get a lot of responses there. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
graeme_hutton Posted October 13, 2008 Share #6 Posted October 13, 2008 Hmmm......Much prefer the 1st myself. If you look closely at the hair in the 2nd some feint horizontal banding is evident. Plus the skin is less natural, more 'plastic'. All products of noise removal software? I think the 'grain' at 2500 is quite acceptable myself - It's the quality of the shot that counts - and it's a fine shot. Graeme Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuny Posted October 13, 2008 Share #7 Posted October 13, 2008 Advertisement (gone after registration) David - I can't decide, but the photos are lovely, as is the model, light, framing, detail, mood and tonal quality. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpattinson Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share #8 Posted October 14, 2008 Hmmm......Much prefer the 1st myself. If you look closely at the hair in the 2nd some feint horizontal banding is evident. Plus the skin is less natural, more 'plastic'. All products of noise removal software? I think the 'grain' at 2500 is quite acceptable myself - It's the quality of the shot that counts - and it's a fine shot. Graeme I turned off noise reduction entirely in these, the first one is the result of several separate BW conversion layers in CS3. The second is a single BW conversion layer. Both have slight levels adjustment (left hand slider on 5), and very slight contrast increase using a curve. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpattinson Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share #9 Posted October 14, 2008 I downloaded the Gorman action suggested in the digital post forum, here is the default result. I think I prefer it to the previous two, which is probably unsurprising given my PS skills. I'm afraid I don't really understand how it works, but it occurred to me that there might be some useful tweaks to make it better for the M8 at 2500iso. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpattinson Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share #10 Posted October 14, 2008 and the original color, followed by a retouched version in color. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
luigi bertolotti Posted October 14, 2008 Share #11 Posted October 14, 2008 First of all... I prefer the BWs : in such an intense portrait, in interiors with low lights, the color is simply unnecessary... and, imho, the skin in color won't ever be "natural"; so said, my preferred is the first one, agrreiing with the previous opinion that the skin, in the 2nd, has something "plastic". In any case, the performance at 2500 is very appreciable... maybe is time I decide to try it, sometimes... ; which lens did you use ? My guess is for a 50 or even a 35 ... around 1,4 or 2... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpattinson Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share #12 Posted October 14, 2008 First of all... I prefer the BWs : in such an intense portrait, in interiors with low lights, the color is simply unnecessary... and, imho, the skin in color won't ever be "natural"; so said, my preferred is the first one, agrreiing with the previous opinion that the skin, in the 2nd, has something "plastic". In any case, the performance at 2500 is very appreciable... maybe is time I decide to try it, sometimes... ; which lens did you use ? My guess is for a 50 or even a 35 ... around 1,4 or 2... It's the 35 Lux asph, at f1.4 - hand held at 1/8 second. I find the noise quite acceptable at 2500, so long as you don't underexpose and providing you light skintones well. There is no noise reduction at all in any of these (unless the Gorman action does some). Actually, Carmen's skin is so fine it looks like she has noise reduction in real life Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
wilfredo Posted October 14, 2008 Share #13 Posted October 14, 2008 I downloaded the Gorman action suggested in the digital post forum, here is the default result.I think I prefer it to the previous two, which is probably unsurprising given my PS skills. I'm afraid I don't really understand how it works, but it occurred to me that there might be some useful tweaks to make it better for the M8 at 2500iso. What is the Gorman action? I have never heard of it but your version of the picture looks very pleasing. Wilfredo Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc_braconi Posted October 14, 2008 Share #14 Posted October 14, 2008 # 1 is my favorite, nice model for portraiture! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dpattinson Posted October 14, 2008 Author Share #15 Posted October 14, 2008 What is the Gorman action? I have never heard of it but your version of the picture looks very pleasing. Wilfredo There's a thread on it in the digital post proc forum, you can download a PS action which does a BW conversion according to the method: http://www.l-camera-forum.com/leica-forum/digital-post-processing-forum/65429-b-w-suggested-gorman.html I found that I needed to introduce an exposure layer and lighten the image using a gamma adjustment afterwards. It may be an effect of the high iso image, but the results were a little too dark. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
alun Posted October 24, 2008 Share #16 Posted October 24, 2008 Probably too late to comment usefully on these, but for what it's worth, the "Gorman Action" -- whoever and whatever Gorman is -- to my eye produces the most pleasing of three b&w variants. Looks lovely -- both foreground figure and background seem to benefit in tonality, density and general overall texture. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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