Shooting in Monochrome

[stevegaskin]

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Within the M10 JPEG settings you can select Monochrome.   I assumed this would mean that the JPEG file would be in mono' and that the DNG would be colour, which is the case.  However when viewed on the memory card both are in monochrome, once imported to LR the DNG reverts to a colour image.    Is this colour image the same as if the JPG setting was set to colour; i.e a full DNG?  Also, is there a benefit when wanting to create monochrome images, to shoot at this setting, or shoot in colour and convert to monochrome in PP?

Edited July 28, 2020 by stevegaskin

[jaapv]

What do you mean by "viewing on the memory card"?

The colour image in LR is the default Lightroom interpretation of the DNG file.

The benefit of the monochrome setting in the camera is the visualisation of the image when shooting.

In general, given a proper postprocessing technique, the DNG conversion is preferable to using the camera JPG, as it offers far more flexibility. Nowadays shooting in B&W is more deliberate, so there is not much call for quick-and-dirty out of camera, unless you happen to like the result. It is nice to have a choice.

[stevegaskin]

2 minutes ago, jaapv said:

What do you mean by "viewing on the memory card"?

The colour image in LR is the default Lightroom interpretation of the DNG file.

The benefit of the monochrome setting in the camera is the visualisation of the image when shooting.

In general, given a proper postprocessing technique, the DNG conversion is preferable to using the camera JPG, as it offers far more flexibility. Nowadays shooting in B&W is more deliberate, so there is not much call for quick-and-dirty out of camera, unless you happen to like the result. It is nice to have a choice.

Hi Jaapv thanks for your prompt response.   After I inserted my SD card into my Mac and viewed the files on the card, both the DNG and JPEG were showing as B&W. I've never used this setting before so I was surprised and then wondered whether the DNG would be in B&W when I opened it in LR, but it's not. The JPEG however is in B&W.

[jaapv]

That is a Mac bug, it shows the JPG, not a converted DNG.

[stevegaskin]

34 minutes ago, jaapv said:

That is a Mac bug, it shows the JPG, not a converted DNG.

Wen previewed fro memory card

 

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[tgray]

If the M10 is like most other cameras set to B&W, the JPG will be in B&W, as will the thumbnail preview embedded in the raw DNG file.  Programs that only read the thumbnail and not the actual raw data will only display the B&W image. Programs that quick load the thumbnail before raw data will show the B&W image, then switch to a color image.

[stevegaskin]

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5 minutes ago, tgray said:

If the M10 is like most other cameras set to B&W, the JPG will be in B&W, as will the thumbnail preview embedded in the raw DNG file.  Programs that only read the thumbnail and not the actual raw data will only display the B&W image. Programs that quick load the thumbnail before raw data will show the B&W image, then switch to a color image.

Thanks, that makes sense. Thought I'd found a cheaper way of getting a Monochrom

[adan]

2 hours ago, stevegaskin said:

Thought I'd found a cheaper way of getting a Monochrom

Enhhhh! What makes a Monochrom different is not that the image is B&W, but that a Monochrom does not:

- lose light (about 66%, or 1-1.4 stops) to colored filters on the sensor. Less noise for a given ISO.

- have to be debayerized or demosaiced (sharing - i.e. blurring - subject information between neighboring pixels to avoid having a checkerboard picture).

It happens that avoiding those requires the picture be in B&W.