Monochrom experts: how do you process?

[skinnfell]

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So I got a new monochrom. Its wonderful. I am also seeing what the fuss is about in regards to highlights. I am not afraid of burned out areas per se, but the cut-off is rather abrubt, I admit.

 

Are there any experienced MM shooters who wants to chip in your favorite tips to deal with highlights?

 

- Just underexpose enough (how much)?

- Filter?

- Duotone or other toning?

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[Guest borge]

I have found that using a yellow filter (B+W 022 MRC) with zero exposure compensation the best.

The yellow filter will keep the details in the sky and bright areas a bit better, and it will block about half a stop of light on the MM from my experience.

 

The difference in rendering is minimal.

Backfocus is non-existant with the yellow filter. But with orange, red and deep red filters it can be an issue if you shoot wide open. It is easy to compensate for it once you know by how much you have to compensate though.

 

Without a filter I usually dialled the exposure compensation down to -0.7.

 

For night time / evening shoots I use no filter and just shoot with EC at 0 usually, but you'll have to think about where you decide to meter so that the cameras doesn't over-expose a lot (which can easily happen in dark environments). Meter and re-compose does the trick, or, just go all manual and meter with your eyes and find the desired settings.

[Jager]

Well, with highlights there is no safety net. Very much like slide film.

 

And, again very much like slide film, it's important that exposure be a thoughtful part of the picture making process. Between the classic, center-weighted metering function, the clipping indicators, and the histogram, the MM provides a powerful set of tools for managing all that.

 

Dialing in underexposure is an obvious way to stay away from the I've-blown-my-highlights cliff. But, IMO, too often it is used as a crutch for sloppy exposure metering.

 

My advice is to simply learn to meter accurately and with precision. And do it within the context of the image you see in your mind even as the camera is coming to your eye - which is to say, don't let preserving your highlights become a religion. Sometimes you need/want to let them go.

 

Congratulations on the new camera! You have something very special...

[MarkP]

I agree with Jeff - was drafting this whilst he posted.

 

I was initially so concerned about blowing highlights I was underexposing too many photographs. Within a week or so of use I had a handle on the metering and few problems with overexposed files.

 

You just need some practice with the Monochrom to get a handle on it's metering. Forcing underexposure with a negative EV setting is IMHO unnecessary and may just limit the tonal range in your final image.

 

Good luck,

Mark

[abphoto]

I also agree with Jeff. I shoot raw or DNG in this case. Metering and exposure just take a little practice. And I process in CS4. The camera came with LR & Silver Efex and to tell you the truth I prefer photoshop.

 

And for certain effects I will use a filter.

[MarkP]

The camera came with LR & Silver Efex and to tell you the truth I prefer photoshop.

 

I agree.

 

Not much dissent here .

[Guest borge]

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It's also worth noting that there is no specific way to expose with the MM.

 

I only own modern ASPH / FLE lenses myself and you have to be more careful in regards to exposure with modern high-contrast lenses.

 

I tried a few older lenses briefly over a couple of days and noticed that it is much easier to avoid burning highlights on them, since they are lower-contrast lenses.

 

I also noticed a considerable difference between my Summilux 1.4/50 and the latest Summicron 2/50 (non-APO). The Summilux is more contrasty and hence requires more precise exposure. The Summicron was more forgiving. Both of them rendered beautiful images and truth be told I enjoyed the ergonomics of the Summicron much better. It flared like crazy in certain situations however, which is the main reason I opted for the Summilux.

[Ted Lemon]

I have found that using a yellow filter (B+W 022 MRC) with zero exposure compensation the best.

The yellow filter will keep the details in the sky and bright areas a bit better, and it will block about half a stop of light on the MM from my experience.

 

The difference in rendering is minimal.

Backfocus is non-existant with the yellow filter. But with orange, red and deep red filters it can be an issue if you shoot wide open. It is easy to compensate for it once you know by how much you have to compensate though.

 

Without a filter I usually dialled the exposure compensation down to -0.7.

 

For night time / evening shoots I use no filter and just shoot with EC at 0 usually, but you'll have to think about where you decide to meter so that the cameras doesn't over-expose a lot (which can easily happen in dark environments). Meter and re-compose does the trick, or, just go all manual and meter with your eyes and find the desired settings.

 

Same experience with the same filter.MM Post processing in Lightroom is great but I use CS6 for colour work on my ME images and then move image back to Lightroom for work flow purposes.

[dierk]

when I picked up my MM at the dealer, I did all shots with bracketing, to be on the save side. Then find out, where the best exposures are and learn.

 

PP: I use LR and Nik Silver Efex since the first version and you should give it a try!!

 

dierk

[jaapv]

I dislike LR, always have. For my colour work I will either use CS6 or Capture1 --> finish in CS6.

But for the Monochrom LR4 and if needed Silver Efex Pro is ideal.

[thighslapper]

 

Are there any experienced MM shooters who wants to chip in your favorite tips to deal with highlights?

 

Just take more pictures !

 

It's a digital camera .... you can engage in the photographic equivalent of carpet bombing if you like .....

 

As a photographic numpty with loads of bad habits I just lock metering on something else if highlights look blown and keep chimping till it looks right.......

 

(I will probably be drummed out of the forum for this ...... )

 

To be honest the MM is far more forgiving than most people make out and it's hard not to take a picture that LR4+SEFXP cannot make something decent out of.....

[algrove]

Set high end clipping to 98%.

Use LR + SFEX

Like orange filters the best

I watch histogram like a hawk and do not use ETTR.

 

Use the best glass you can afford and you will be rewarded.

[Guest tanks]

I dislike LR, always have. For my colour work I will either use CS6 or Capture1 --> finish in CS6.

But for the Monochrom LR4 and if needed Silver Efex Pro is ideal.

 

Why different workflow for the Monocrom?

[kidigital]

What I find most creatively liberating about using the MM is the latitude available with the files. The files are so amenable that you will soon find yourself challenging how and what you shoot ... and that's fantastic proposition as it drives a photographer forward.

[jaapv]

Why different workflow for the Monocrom?

Because it works for me.

[swamiji]

I dislike LR, always have. For my colour work I will either use CS6 or Capture1 --> finish in CS6.

But for the Monochrom LR4 and if needed Silver Efex Pro is ideal.

 

+1, now that C1 7.1.1 has some Monochrom support, I am hopeful that 7.2 will work for all my workfliow, but it's not there yet.

[jaapv]

I find C1 7.x does not yet match LR for Monochrom files, unfortunately.

[swamiji]

Well C1 7.1.3 is out and with the push of Adobe CC, I thought I would take a look at C1 again. So I imported some Monochrom files and took a look at the damage. Well the first thing I noticed that C1 assigned the default DNG icc profile, and there are some B&W tonal curve presets.

 

So I contacted support and asked about the lack of a Monochrom icc profile.. Their response was that there was no need for these profiles as there was no color. There will be an icc profile in the future but it will effectively be a null profile. Used for selection of lens profiles. Lens profiles will be the next step in C1 Monochrom support.

 

This information is encouraging. While its still not ready to convert from my LR/PScc workflow, it is ready to start preparing a C1 workflow when I can't stomach the Adobe model any more.

 

P.S. MediaPro now has Monochrom support with 1.4.3

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Hallo,

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[wda]

May a non-MM user comment? Two thoughts.

 

Sometimes there is merit in using a hand-held meter with invercone which measures the light actually falling on the subject. If the main areas of interest are highlights, that should give a good indication of actual exposure needed. Shooting RAW preserves maximum flexibility in PP.

 

Second, I have been experimenting with HDR with encouraging results. Clearly it does not work with moving subjects; but for still scenes it really does allow you to keep a fuller range of tones than with a single exposure. I stress that I abhor the worst examples of HDR and feel I have only succeeded when use of the technique is not suspected.

[Guest malland]

Well C1 7.1.3 is out and with the push of Adobe CC, I thought I would take a look at C1 again...

Since M-Monochrom files do not need demosaicing, it's a trivial matter to make a raw developer handle these files. When I sent an M-Monochrom DNG to Andrey, the developer of Raw Photo Processor (RPP), he had a version of RPP ready in a matter of hours that handled M-Moncihrom files. So, if you don't want to use ACR (i.e., Photoshop or Lightroom), you can simply develop M-Monochrom files in RPP and then pick up the resulting TIFF in Aperture (and Silver Efex if you wish) or any other post-processing software for further adjustment, including selective dodging and burning.

 

Now, for color DNG files from the GXR M-Module, I had found that RPP was better than either the raw developer in Lightroom (ACR) or that in Aperture in that it produced better resolution — also the Kodchrome preset is really good. For M-Monochrom files, however, just because no democaicing is involved, the results from RPP will be no better (and no worse) than from ACR or Aperture or C1. RPP is shareware, with a US$25 contribution recommended.

 

—Mitch/Bangkok

Lanka Footsteps [M-Monochrom/Sri Lanka]