Dilemma: Q2 and/or Q2 Monochrom?

[Richard K]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

23 hours ago, acg69 said:

Such a heated discussion... Jeez:)

So let me add to the heat a bit if I may! My comments are not meant to be inflammatory or insulting, but if you take them as such, please know that this is NOT my intention.......

We can argue until the cows come home about the Q2M helping us see / think in B&W but the real test would be to see images that somehow exude that native, from zero to infinity, B&W mentality exclusively afforded to the photographer because they were HOLDING a monochrome camera:)

Again, I sincerely apologise if anyone is offended by my comments, certainly this was not my intention. We are here to talk and help each other and share experiences and showcase our work with our tools of choice. To that end, my work (recently with the Q2 and before that with many other cameras mentioned on my site) can be seen at writelight.net, among other places.

Happy shooting (with whatever you happen to be carrying!)

Terrific thoughtful post. Appreciated! And, BTW, I am nowhere near rich! I don’t smoke or drink etc. (that’s a standard rationalization too!) so I can easily convince myself of purity of motive and justification... ☺️ Thank you!

[Advertisement]

The Leica Q3 is available for pre-order at B&H Photo Video and Adorama

[acg69]

48 minutes ago, T25UFO said:

 

I hate this type of sarcasm - seemingly apologising for having an infinitely superior level of intelligence.  Not clever, not clever at all.

 

Well, let us all be thankful for that.  Now perhaps we can all get back to doing what people on this forum actually like to do - taking photographs.

 

Yeah, whatever:)

[acg69]

9 minutes ago, Richard K said:

Terrific thoughtful post. Appreciated! And, BTW, I am nowhere near rich! I don’t smoke or drink etc. (that’s a standard rationalization too!) so I can easily convince myself of purity of motive and justification... ☺️ Thank you!

You are welcome! Now let's get back to the business of taking enlightened B&W photographs with our beloved toys, shall we? 

I am making a point that, I realize, is hard to accept. Didn't have any illusions about that. In any case, let's agree to disagree and let's all get out and make images (B&W or color) with whatever we happen to be carrying at the time. And let's share images so we can prove the points we are making and drive the collective knowledge here higher. Not interested to argue with you or anyone else for that matter. Happy shooting:)

[T25UFO]

2 hours ago, acg69 said:

I will not engage in this anymore. Not interesting and not interested

Ah . . . two more posts so you broke your promise twice.  You are so easy to provoke 🤣🤣

[acg69]

Just now, T25UFO said:

Ah . . . two more posts so you broke your promise twice.  You are so easy to provoke 🤣🤣

I know, life of the party. And pathological liar. Oh, and let's not forget flame thrower and photographer. How about you?

[Herr Barnack]

2 hours ago, T25UFO said:

I hate this type of sarcasm - seemingly apologising for having an infinitely superior level of intelligence.  Not clever, not clever at all...

  @T25UFO Agreed. 

Sarcasm is one thing; the only superiority I see in our brethren's faux apology and other posts is an infinitely superior level of narcissism and arrogance.

Carry on. 😊

Edited July 21, 2021 by Herr Barnack

[T25UFO]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

26 minutes ago, acg69 said:

I know, life of the party. And pathological liar. Oh, and let's not forget flame thrower and photographer. How about you?

Me?  What do I do?

I read Greek tragedy which is defined as a play which the protagonist, usually a person of importance and outstanding personal qualities, falls to disaster through a combination of a personal failing and circumstances with which he or she cannot deal.

But you will know all about that, being from Athens.

Edited July 21, 2021 by T25UFO

[Herr Barnack]

54 minutes ago, T25UFO said:

Ah . . . two more posts so you broke your promise twice.  You are so easy to provoke 🤣🤣

Narcissists almost always are. 🙄

Edited July 21, 2021 by Herr Barnack

[robert_parker]

On 7/17/2021 at 1:25 PM, Jeff S said:

Think and see.

Jeff

...or even the other way round.... 🗽👀☺️

Edited July 21, 2021 by robert_parker

[robert_parker]

15 minutes ago, Herr Barnack said:

Narcissists always are. 🙄

... I've got some Narcissists in a pot on my patio - as long as you keep them watered, they look great.... 🌻☺️👍

[Le Chef]

There are some great photographs on this forum taken by members with a real eye for composition and great post production techniques as well. The shots exhibited in the Q section of LFI are also always a joy to see.
 

Much to be celebrated.

[Herr Barnack]

29 minutes ago, robert_parker said:

... I've got some Narcissists in a pot on my patio - as long as you keep them watered, they look great.... 🌻☺️👍

But whatever you do, don't water the narcissists growing in the L-Camera-Forum pot! 😳

Edited July 21, 2021 by Herr Barnack

[acg69]

Gee, you boys saw right through me! Interesting how you need a Q2M to see in B&W... Show images. Not words. (incidentally you are not really good with words, hope you are better with images).

Being in Athens, I will go to sleep now to feed my NPD, but I guess you know that already. And as for Greek tragedy, did you get the wikipedia definition? 

Images gentlemen, show your work with the tolls you have and leave the battles or wits to others.

Good night;)

[hdmesa]

On 7/20/2021 at 2:43 PM, acg69 said:

I have been photographing for 40 years now...

That would put you well behind most of us here, wouldn't it? 🤫

 

[T25UFO]

9 hours ago, acg69 said:

And as for Greek tragedy, did you get the wikipedia definition? 

Not wikipedia, although I'm sure you will find it there as well.  It just seemed appropriate.

If you are genuinely interested then check out Gregory Nagy.  He is always interesting and thought provoking.

[acg69]

5 hours ago, hdmesa said:

That would put you well behind most of us here, wouldn't it? 🤫

 

Possibly. The point being...?

If you feel you can put your experience to good use and show me what is meant here by the hypothesis that a monochrome camera somehow influences the input by enabling (or any other verb you prefer) the shooter to see / think in B&W, I would kindly ask you to do so. I mean this, so we can hopefully move beyond the smartass remarks and actually learn something.

I still maintain that the monochrome is only about the output for technical reasons that we all know. If a photographer has been shooting B&W long enough, he or she knows if a story is better told in color or B&W without even using the camera to decide on the composition. Then, by using any camera and setting it to show a B&W image in the EVF or LCD, they can fill in the gaps of their imagination and fine-tune the process.

I am attaching an image I took (albeit not with a Leica) some years ago, when doing a series on the ancient Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio in Greece. This image was conceived as a b&W from the beginning. The story is the light through the columns and to bring it forward without distractions (e.g. from the sky), B&W was the way to go.

The other two images are from the same set but they were conceived as color shots. The story is the simplicity of the columns (in form and color) vs. the light play of the clouds in the sky. Obviously, this story is better told in color, at least for my taste.

What I am saying is that if I had a Q2M in hand that day, that first shot may have been better in terms of tonality and overall IQ, but I do not see how and in what way it would have helped my thinking process in deciding which story is better told in what way. Can someone please show what they mean or at least try to describe it in a way that will make it easier to comprehend?

Again - I am not here to argue for the sake of arguing guys. We share the same passion and we can disagree on issues, but I find it way more interesting to explore what each other has to say so that we can all get better. I, with my 40 years of photography and possibly you too with your many years more too:) (this is a joke, no need to comment on this, really!)

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

[T25UFO]

1 hour ago, acg69 said:

Possibly. The point being...?

If you feel you can put your experience to good use and show me what is meant here by the hypothesis that a monochrome camera somehow influences the input by enabling (or any other verb you prefer) the shooter to see / think in B&W, I would kindly ask you to do so. I mean this, so we can hopefully move beyond the smartass remarks and actually learn something.

I still maintain that the monochrome is only about the output for technical reasons that we all know. If a photographer has been shooting B&W long enough, he or she knows if a story is better told in color or B&W without even using the camera to decide on the composition. Then, by using any camera and setting it to show a B&W image in the EVF or LCD, they can fill in the gaps of their imagination and fine-tune the process.

I am attaching an image I took (albeit not with a Leica) some years ago, when doing a series on the ancient Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio in Greece. This image was conceived as a b&W from the beginning. The story is the light through the columns and to bring it forward without distractions (e.g. from the sky), B&W was the way to go.

The other two images are from the same set but they were conceived as color shots. The story is the simplicity of the columns (in form and color) vs. the light play of the clouds in the sky. Obviously, this story is better told in color, at least for my taste.

What I am saying is that if I had a Q2M in hand that day, that first shot may have been better in terms of tonality and overall IQ, but I do not see how and in what way it would have helped my thinking process in deciding which story is better told in what way. Can someone please show what they mean or at least try to describe it in a way that will make it easier to comprehend?

Again - I am not here to argue for the sake of arguing guys. We share the same passion and we can disagree on issues, but I find it way more interesting to explore what each other has to say so that we can all get better. I, with my 40 years of photography and possibly you too with your many years more too:) (this is a joke, no need to comment on this, really!)

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

Think I like the third photo best.  Nice subject, nice composition, nice sky, just about the right balance of shadow detail.  I would probably have straightened the verticals, but that's just me. 

[acg69]

2 minutes ago, T25UFO said:

Think I like the third photo best.  Nice subject, nice composition, nice sky, just about the right balance of shadow detail.  I would probably have straightened the verticals, but that's just me. 

Thank you. I see your point about the verticals - I did straighten the horizon (look at where the sea meets the sky).

The point I am trying to make is how the same (sort of) subject can be conveyed in both color and B&W depending on the story one wants to tell and I believe that this is doable in the mind of the photographer without any external help, save for looking at a B&W EVF for finetuning.

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[hdmesa]

4 hours ago, acg69 said:

Possibly. The point being...?

If you feel you can put your experience to good use and show me what is meant here by the hypothesis that a monochrome camera somehow influences the input by enabling (or any other verb you prefer) the shooter to see / think in B&W, I would kindly ask you to do so. I mean this, so we can hopefully move beyond the smartass remarks and actually learn something.

I still maintain that the monochrome is only about the output for technical reasons that we all know. If a photographer has been shooting B&W long enough, he or she knows if a story is better told in color or B&W without even using the camera to decide on the composition. Then, by using any camera and setting it to show a B&W image in the EVF or LCD, they can fill in the gaps of their imagination and fine-tune the process.

I am attaching an image I took (albeit not with a Leica) some years ago, when doing a series on the ancient Temple of Poseidon at Cape Sounio in Greece. This image was conceived as a b&W from the beginning. The story is the light through the columns and to bring it forward without distractions (e.g. from the sky), B&W was the way to go.

The other two images are from the same set but they were conceived as color shots. The story is the simplicity of the columns (in form and color) vs. the light play of the clouds in the sky. Obviously, this story is better told in color, at least for my taste.

What I am saying is that if I had a Q2M in hand that day, that first shot may have been better in terms of tonality and overall IQ, but I do not see how and in what way it would have helped my thinking process in deciding which story is better told in what way. Can someone please show what they mean or at least try to describe it in a way that will make it easier to comprehend?

Again - I am not here to argue for the sake of arguing guys. We share the same passion and we can disagree on issues, but I find it way more interesting to explore what each other has to say so that we can all get better. I, with my 40 years of photography and possibly you too with your many years more too:) (this is a joke, no need to comment on this, really!)

 

Welcome, dear visitor! As registered member you'd see an image here…

Simply register for free here – We are always happy to welcome new members!

TLDR. Nice photos, though. 

[acg69]

49 minutes ago, hdmesa said:

TLDR. Nice photos, though. 

Thanks. YSRT:)