D80 - B&W mode

[antsplan]

L&G

I'm not certain what forum this thread should have gone in but I'll hedge my bets that its here. Mod's please feel free to move if this isn't in the correct place.

Ok, first one, does anyone shoot B&W in camera with D80, if so why ? Does it offer better quality than shooting colour and then making a B&W conversion in PP ?

Also what settings are you using, i.e. contrast, sharpness for the B&W mode ?

Secondly, I tried out shooting in B&W, looked excellent on the camera, I pulled the NEF's off the camera using CS3 bridge, and the thumbs all appeared B&W, excellent I thought, but as I clicked on a thumb it changed to colour - am I doing something wrong here ?

Thanks for any comments/advice.

 

[Kiwi Geoff]

Anthony, all digital cameras (I think) actually take the image in b/w and then this is interpreted to colour by the software to give the raw image file.
Now when you set your camera to b/w the camera is doing a b/w conversion from the colour file just as PS does. What you see on your camera lcd and the thumbnail of the nef is a jpeg of the image from your camera settings.
The NEF you see ( in colour) in PS is the raw file without the camera settings applied.
Is one better than the other? That is a personal preference and I suggest that you experiment with using the b/w in PS and see what you like.
Just remember that the lcd shows the camera setting interpretaions and raw files show the data before you apply your interpretation. They are just different.

 

[antsplan]

Ahh Geoff, thanks, that explains a lot. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

Let me get my head round this then:

So the camera records in B&W, converts to colour and if I have the camera set to B&W mode it then converts again to B&W but only for a jpeg for the screen, my actual raw file is colour and therefore if i want it B&W I have to PP ? Sorry If I'm making this sound confusing.

Can I assume then that If I shoot jpg in the camera in B&W it will import to CS3 in B&W ? I suppose the best way to find out is to try it - LOL

TBH, I am keen to learn more about this method as I have seen some images from a friend who is shooting B&W mode on his d200 with very little pp and I'm stunned by the images, I cant personally make a B&W conv in PP anything like it.

Thanks again. :biggrin:

 

[mikeyd86]

When you record in B&W on the D80, it records only the .jpeg as a B&W conversion, with the RAW file retaining a colour version.

When I'm thinking of doing B&W for certain shots, I'll switch to B&W (because I particularly like the conversion the camera does, and as well, lets me check how well it suits the composition) but keep my quality mode on RAW+Fine. That way it records both the B&W and the colour versions. I used a boosted contrast in my custom setup, as I like it better.

Here's an example, unprocessed:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[bubz]

Can you shoot in B&W on the D80 or just take the original image and make it B&W in the Menu??

 

[alexf]

Anthony, all digital cameras (I think) actually take the image in b/w and then this is interpreted to colour by the software to give the raw image file.
Now when you set your camera to b/w the camera is doing a b/w conversion from the colour file just as PS does.

Is that so? I had the understanding (I might be wrong as I'm no expert) that it is the other way around. CCD can only see colour (RGB for example). Any in-camera conversion to BW or sepia is done in software.

 

[TOLady]

B&W conversion in Photoshop using channel mixer gives much richer B&W pics from a colour capture.

 

[mikeyd86]

B&W conversion in Photoshop using channel mixer gives much richer B&W pics from a colour capture.

The idea that the channel mixer is a better monochrome converter is in comparison with desaturation, the first avenue many take in photoshop when making colour photos black & white, and one which robs the photo of much of it's richness. While the channel mixer definitely gives you more control over your black and whites than either desaturation or the D80's B&W mode, I've found that the D80's conversions (which are much more than just desaturations) to be comparably "rich" or "deep".

 

[antsplan]

When you record in B&W on the D80, it records only the .jpeg as a B&W conversion, with the RAW file retaining a colour version.

When I'm thinking of doing B&W for certain shots, I'll switch to B&W (because I particularly like the conversion the camera does, and as well, lets me check how well it suits the composition) but keep my quality mode on RAW+Fine. That way it records both the B&W and the colour versions. I used a boosted contrast in my custom setup, as I like it better.

Here's an example, unprocessed:

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

Mikey

I'm now using this setup, thank you.