B&W with the M8

[SJP]

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One could argue that this is not M8 specific so feel free to move if neccesary.

 

I was taking some pictures of the local community group to be published in the local rag and they asked for B&W and color of the same image. See here (OK,OK it was not intended ad high art).

 

The question it triggered was: is it useful to confine yourself to taking B&W exclusively for a period of time? On a film camera this was an obvious choice made when purchasing the film (I guess you could print a color negative on B&W) with the M8 the DNG is color and stays that way. So what to do? DNG and B&W jpeg in camera is a pain - way too slow for me.

 

Any opinions on this?

Does limitation to B&W improve your "photographic eye"? If so how to force yourself to do this with an M8 - can you set C1 to have zero saturation as the standard pre-set?

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[stunsworth]

I shoot DNG and use the Alien Skin Exposure Photoshop plug in to convert to b&w. I'd guess 80% of what I post is in b&w. It's a case of preference on my part. I prefer b&w to colour most of the time.

[john_newell]

My experience fwiw - I've had best results shooting raw color and then "converting" to B&W in post (I use Lightroom, but any software will do). I found the range of tones in the final B&W image were better if I started with color.

[Guest malland]

Stephen:

 

I've always liked B&W but have at times shot color. With the M8 I like the color it can produce and have started getting interested in color photography again. Recently I processed some picture in both color and B&W — I think you should stay away from JPGs and use DNGs — and you can see a thread of this by by clicking here. You can see the two versions in posts # 1, 9 and 15: for most of these pictures I prefer B&W, but for the rice field picture and the seascape on any particular day I may prefer one or the other — and there's one that only works in color.

 

My feeling is that it's better to shoot with the intent in terms of visualizing in either color and B&W, but be open to the possibility when processing that any picture may be better or equally good when processed with the opposite intent with which it was visualized.

 

—Mitch/Bangkok

Bangkok Hysteria©: Book Project — in B&W and now edited down to 164 slides

[hoppyman]

When you shoot BW film, you try to make picures that work in BW. Tones, patterns contrast etc etc. Treat your M8 the same way. That is don't rely on chimping to judge if the shot is successful in BW. Try to SEE in your mind's eye. (My 2c, I'm still learning).

As far as capture, if you choose BW in camera it is certainly possible to achieve satisfying results. Some forum members are happy to do that. But you are undeniably at a disadvantage compared to normal capture. You are discarding a lot of image information with any jpg capture. You have MUCH more control by developing your BW shots from the colour. There is also a penalty for the additional time in camera for the jpgs to be converted and saved. Remember too tht the LCD previews are a guide and don't reflect everything that has been captured in your DNG.

[erl]

Remember when you used to shoot B&W film. Then you had to view the subject in colour, because that is all your eyes can do! You used to pre-visualize the B&W result when shooting. It is no different now. Shoot your M8 as DNG and post process to B&W, with the bonus of colour as a fall back option, which you never had before. How easy is that!!

 

C1 has a a very good B&W ICC profile under 'Other' in the menu system. I find this to be excellent and have no need for 'specialist' software to do this. But then, I may not be considered an expert.