B & W with 40 D

I have been playing shooting in B & W mode about my second week after I got my 40D. I would like to know any comments or feedbacks of any shooters that have tried it.

I also have been playing with different filters. My favorite is shooting clouds during a cloudy day and it's amazing the details that I get using orange...

I am also going to take it to the next level and use other colors and see how it turns out.

I haven't used the B&W camera mode. I shoot in RAW, though, and in programs like Adobe Camera RAW and Adobe Lightroom there are some powerful utilies to convert to grayscale and tweak color settings to alter a grayscale image with cool results.

The advantage of the RAW/pp approach is that you retain all the image data so that you can tweak and retweak, go back to the original and create a whole different path, getting multiple results from the same image -- it can be dramatic and it can be fun!

Tony

Hi Tony
Yes, I'm aware of the utilities you mentioned, but that was the old way. BTW you can shoot RAW B&W and you can add color with DPP or any other software compatible with 40 D.

I hope you understand that I have been shooting only RAW. However, if you shoot B&W other than RAW you CAN'T add any colors. I am just playing with it.

I use the channel mixer in CS3 to convert to b&w. In that way, I can get it wrong and go back and tinker. Why let the camera do it with no chance for remixing?

I like to modify my own Picture Style settings to create an in-camera high contast B&W image. It reminds me of going out with my A-1 with a roll of Neopan 1600. As far as not being able to change it back to color, that's just too bad. I was never able to do that with film either. It makes you REALLY have to pay attention to what you are doing.

Eric

Yes, I still do that but to be honest I seldom shoot B&W but since I got my PowerShot I have been tinkering with it. However, as a back up I usually shoot another frame in color just for the heck of it.

Brad, I think you misuderstood my reply, yes you can add color as long as the original shot was a RAW image.....However, I haven't tried it since I usually shoot another one in color of the same subject.

I am surprised that I haven't heard from others that have tried shooting B&W.

ione wrote in post #4166506
Eric

Yes, I still do that but to be honest I seldom shoot B&W but since I got my PowerShot I have been tinkering with it. However, as a back up I usually shoot another frame in color just for the heck of it.

Brad, I think you misuderstood my reply, yes you can add color as long as the original shot was a RAW image.....However, I haven't tried it since I usually shoot another one in color of the same subject.

I am surprised that I haven't heard from others that have tried shooting B&W.

I know you can shoot RAW + Jpeg ang have the color version as well. I normally just don't want to. I love shooting B&W, and I would much rather pretend there is no way to go back and redo my shot if I screw it up. I don't use the B&W for many shots though. I just like to do it now and then to make sure I am keeping my eyes on the lighting and whatnot. By limiting my options as much as possible with the 40D for these types of shots, it helps me have better results when I go out and shoot film.

Yes, I can see what in agreement that shooting B&W makes you look different as you shoot.

The other day I shot several frames of this beutiful tree and I think had it shot in color the result would have been as dramatic as in B&W. It had a bit of Ansel Adamish look but no way near him but it made me feel good.

I played around with the bnw features of my old camera, but not yet with the 40d. I always used the filters because I thought they gave me a better image. i still had to play with the image in PS, usually bumping curves, adjusting midtones. I would never use it SOOC--too grey.

for nice blue skies, try the red filter.

Well with the exeption of the Powershot I got a couple of years ago I never shot B&W. However, what is neat about the 40D that it has multiple filter and then some. Like I said I did a test shooting clouds and the results were amazing, in fact I have a couple in my screen saver folder

Sageg wrote in post #4166776
I played around with the bnw features of my old camera, but not yet with the 40d. I always used the filters because I thought they gave me a better image. i still had to play with the image in PS, usually bumping curves, adjusting midtones. I would never use it SOOC--too grey.

for nice blue skies, try the red filter.

You have 4 filter options in the Picture Style options for B&W. I normally start with none, bump the contrast and sharpness to the max, then crank up the ISO to 3200. When you are shooting B&W, the noise ends up looking/feeling a lot more like the grain of a faster B&W film.

I'll still play with PS a little bit, but my goal when I am shooting this way is to nail it in-camera. For the PS work I try to stay as simple as possible... Of course that's just me.

I never shoot in BW mode in camera, but always shoot RAW. A favorite trick of mine in DPP is to set to monochrome, then use the red filter. On portraits, this gives a light smooth skin tone.

Brad

That is exactly the way I do it; however, I was reading on the Manual that once you select the filter of choice then you can add other color. If you go to Toning effect you can select sepia, purple,blue etc. I haven't tried it.

There are couple of points here that puzzle me (what's new with that ).
I'll state them assertively, and see who shouts at me.

1. B/W RAW - no such thing. All RAW is almost by definition RGGB.
2. Any Picture styles (monochrome, for example) affect only the jpeg file and the RAW preview.
3. There is nothing that can be done with coloured filters to create a B+W jpeg that cannot be done with more flexibility in post-processing a RAW.
4. The channel mixer tool is the best way to produce B+W from RAW.

OK - let me have it!

xarqi wrote in post #4168189
There are couple of points here that puzzle me (what's new with that ).
I'll state them assertively, and see who shouts at me.

1. B/W RAW - no such thing. All RAW is almost by definition RGGB.
2. Any Picture styles (monochrome, for example) affect only the jpeg file and the RAW preview.
3. There is nothing that can be done with coloured filters to create a B+W jpeg that cannot be done with more flexibility in post-processing a RAW.
4. The channel mixer tool is the best way to produce B+W from RAW.

OK - let me have it!

Since I don't normally (actually, rarely) shoot for or process for B&W or grayscale, I can give no definitive response, and so I shan't, and I will not engage in a "let me have it" debate.

If you want to debate issues such as Depth-Of-Field, I may well have a different response!

With all due respect,

Tony