M8 - some lucky B&W shots

[twistedpixel]

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I already shot several thousand images on a few assignments, among which I've had some luck simply eyeballing the distance from the subject and shooting with the camera held at chest level with the neck strap.

 

I am still debating whether I should send the camera in for the 'upgrade', for sure not until all the issues are under control. I use the camera exclusively for B&W.

I think Sean Reid was on the ball when he assessed the M8 is potentially the best black & white camera out there. The IR sensitivity is a plus when shooting B&W.

 

I tried processing a few batches using C1, Raw Developer and ACR; eventually I settled with Lightroom which in my opinion has the best B&W conversion.

The 3 images here are all with a summicron 28mm ASPH at f4.

 

Thanks,

 

Alessandro

[pleeson]

Wow, those are really sharp and almost 3-dimensional.

Most impressive

[martinop]

Ditto Phil's comments.

[azzo]

These are very good repotage images Alessandro. Fantastic B&W.

 

Best Azzo

[stuny]

Alesandro -

 

all three are supberb for their subjects, framing, details, light, contrast and full tonal range. Of the three I prefer the last for its humor.

[gverdon]

Wow indeed! Look at the skin tones of the face in #3... A great shot BTW.

 

Have you noticed a sensible difference, shooting or post-processing in B&W, with the IR filter, if you use some, of course.

 

Gérald

[Peter41951]

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Yes, indeed. Some fabulous shots.

[johnwolf]

Wonderful, Alessandro. I suspect "lucky" is not the right word to describe your captures.

 

Any special Lightroom BW conversion techniques, or just the convert checkbox?

[twistedpixel]

Thanks all for the comments.

 

-Gérald- Unfortunately in China IR 486 filters are virtually unknown, maybe I should start a side business I'll look for filters when I am in Hong Kong after the holidays. My few comparisons were between the M8 and the Nikon D2X. I'm not sure whether it's the M8 itself (sensor and IR sensitivity) or the combination of the body and lenses, but when I compare files, the M8 ones have more micro-detail in the shadow and dark areas, especially those that have a lot of magenta cast in them. I do love the virtual 3d effect I am getting from the M8.

 

-johnwolf- I fiddle with the sliders in Lightroom until I am happy with the look, although the M8 gives me very close approximations to what I had in mind. Ironically with many of my B&W images, I introduce some vignetting to narrow the focus on the main subject.

 

Thanks,

 

Alessandro

[wilfredo]

It would apear that B&W photography is this camera's forte. Excellent shots Allesandro.

 

Wilfredo

Benitez-Rivera Photography

[davephoto]

something must have really caught the subject's (of photo 3) eye!

[earleygallery]

and more excellent images, very well caught.

 

I would however send your camera back for its repairs as the banding issues could affect your B&W shots at some point (as well as it's value if you were ever to sell it on).

 

Look forward to seeing more images.

[Danny2p]

Bad news. If I keep seeing such incredibly nice digital images in B&W on top of that I may heat up my credit card for the M8.

I took B&W courses at the Emily Carr Art Institure here in Vancouver and our photos were never contrasty enough for our instructor (Diane Evans, a real master in B&W). These photos are simply amazing (to me anyway).

Thanks for sharing. M8, mmm! $5,500 USD plus 16% currency conversion, plus canadian sale taxes at 13% plus custom... ouch! It's going to hurt.