camera B/W vs digital imaging b/w

Vantage

Vantage

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Name
Roger
Edit My Images
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Hi.

Just a quick one.

Whilst rummaging through the forums. A lot of peeps seem to give advice on changing a colour photo to a black and white to see how it differs. Which is all very well.

But what I would like to know is: What produces the best B/W photo. The Camera or the Imaging software.

My guess would lean towards the Camera (I haven't taken any b/w yet). Otherwise what would be the point of having the option in camera.

Its probably a daft Q. but, hey, I'm new here!

Respects

Vantage
 
I always convert to B&W in CS3, but that's because I won't always think about the colour as I'm shooting, but rather try it out after.
 
I supose the reason people have it in the camera is because of the instant satisfaction factor.

I thnking using software will retaint he orig and I suppose a PC is better than the chip on the camera.

My 2 cents.
 
Software every time.

The camera will simply desaturate. i.e. remove colour. It does little for contrast or grain and you can't boost reds etc.

I hate to tell you this but it took me three years to find my ideal B&W and that came in the form of some actions from Jeff Ascough.

There is a rather good magazine you can find in Borders simply called B&W photography. If you have an interest you might like to have a read. It's rather more complicated than you might thing at first.
 
Vantage said:
What produces the best B/W photo. The Camera or the Imaging software.
Click to expand...

Depends on the skill of the person using the software. Personally I prefer to have all the control myself, rather than let some pre defined set of parameters do the job in-camera.

I do, however, set image style in-camera to B&W so the preview gives me an idea of what I can achieve pp.
 
Vantage said:
But what I would like to know is: What produces the best B/W photo. The Camera or the Imaging software.
Click to expand...

There's only one way to find out......

FIGHT!!!!







:exit:
 
Camera vs. PC? Don't think it'd be that entertaining Rolf!
 
Thanks all.

I'm really surprised by the answers so far. but like i said I know very little and just figured the camera would take a richer b/w.

Thanks Alib for the advice. And I'll be sure to look into your suggestions.
 
The camera will use its own basic algorithms to create the B&W image, you would have much more control if you do the conversion yourself, don't assume that the camera will do it better because it's a machine. Of course, if you shoot RAW, the images will still be in colour when you upload them, even if you select B&W in camera.
 
A film camera + Black and White film produces the best result.




:popcorn:
 
With out a doubt I would convert on my computer.
That way you can easily apply filter.
 
film does lol

both can work well but with incamera if you only shoot jpeg then you'll not have a colour version to play with. If I'm shooting for B&W in teh studio I'll shoot raw and a full sized jpeg with no sharpning applied

Vantage said:
Hi.

Just a quick one.

Whilst rummaging through the forums. A lot of peeps seem to give advice on changing a colour photo to a black and white to see how it differs. Which is all very well.

But what I would like to know is: What produces the best B/W photo. The Camera or the Imaging software.

My guess would lean towards the Camera (I haven't taken any b/w yet). Otherwise what would be the point of having the option in camera.

Its probably a daft Q. but, hey, I'm new here!

Respects

Vantage
Click to expand...
 
Shoot in RAW for B&W and convert on the computer - gives much more opportunity to bring out shadow detail as you can comfortably push exposure by +/- 1 in post processing on the shadow / highlights.

Likewise, the colour channel information is incredibly important when determining the conversion to B&W and it's highly dependent on the content of the picture. The camera just can't make these decisions for you.

The best place to make the conversion is in the RAW processing software (Adobe Camera RAW is excellent at this), as it allows you to balance not only the red, green and blue channels, but also presents the oranges, yellows, aquas, purples and magentas as channels for adjustment. Never just 'desaturate' the image - use the colour channels to your advantage.

If you shoot in JPEG on the camera, this information is just thrown away :(
 
Uneducated_Rick said:
:thinking: what's this?
Click to expand...

Something that all digital users want there images to look like :lol:

But on the orginal question, convert to black and white in photoshop or other photo editing software. Loads of actions can be down loaded to simulate film effects. Or you could down the route of DXO Labs, which I believe do some nice black and white stuff.
 
You can simulate exactly what your camera does to create a B&W image in photoshop

Your camera cannot simulate all the options you have available to you in photoshop
 
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