B&W in camera or or in PS ???

[Pablo]

Hi guys,

A question I imagine has been asked before but can't find.

In the digital world .... if you take a photo with a digital camera that has the ability to take black and white,
is the result better taken that way, or is it as good or better than a colour photo converted to black and white using say Photoshop ?

If it is actually better setting your digital camera to take black and white, why ?

Thanks guys

(I don't take b&w photo's myself but the question was put to me today by a customer and I couldn't answer it).

 

[Pinoy_SAP]

i came across a few magazine that gave some good points on of 20D B&W. if you are ok with PS, can shoot colored then just convert in PS with some tweaking on levels, contrast, etc.

 

[Reflection]

Hi guys,

A question I imagine has been asked before but can't find.

In the digital world .... if you take a photo with a digital camera that has the ability to take black and white,
is the result better taken that way, or is it as good or better than a colour photo converted to black and white using say Photoshop ?

If it is actually better setting your digital camera to take black and white, why ?

Thanks guys

(I don't take b&w photo's myself but the question was put to me today by a customer and I couldn't answer it).

Shoot with colour film, and most people stick with colour till they finish 36 frames. Shoot with B&W film, and most people stick with B&W till they're done with 36 frames. Shoot with a full colour DSLR and you're left with no choice, or no dilemma (whichever way you'd like to see it). Shoot with a colour/B&W DSLR and you're left with a choice, or a huge dilemma (whichever way you'd like to see it).

There...i've summarised it all in one paragraph.
:bsmilie: :bsmilie:

 

[Pablo]

Shoot with colour film, and most people stick with colour till they finish 36 frames. Shoot with B&W film, and most people stick with B&W till they're done with 36 frames. Shoot with a full colour DSLR and you're left with no choice, or no dilemma (whichever way you'd like to see it). Shoot with a colour/B&W DSLR and you're left with a choice, or a huge dilemma (whichever way you'd like to see it).

There...i've summarised it all in one paragraph.
:bsmilie: :bsmilie:

Hi Reflection,

Can I say NO, I disagree ? I don't shoot film but I do know of people that shoot colour and B&W film and change between the two (true) with the same camera changing the films and rewinding by hand!
I can also (with no film swapping trouble) shoot in either b&w or colour for either shot with digital SLR.

My question though is not directed toward film...it is directed toward digital camera shooting...
It is as such:-

The resulting photo taken using a DSLR ...
Is it better setting to take the shot in b&w or does it not matter if you take it in colour and change it to b&w using software ???

 

[Reflection]

Shoot with colour film, and most people stick with colour till they finish 36 frames. Shoot with B&W film, and most people stick with B&W till they're done with 36 frames. Shoot with a full colour DSLR and you're left with no choice, or no dilemma (whichever way you'd like to see it). Shoot with a colour/B&W DSLR and you're left with a choice, or a huge dilemma (whichever way you'd like to see it).

There...i've summarised it all in one paragraph.
:bsmilie: :bsmilie:

Aiyah...i said most lah....
In all honesty, post-processing is part and parcel of digital photography. In the end...the only reason why one would prefer a camera w/B&W capability would be to see the potential on the spot. End result is pretty much (if you're not picky) the same. Whether the results are similar or not, be it via PS or in-camera processing is irrelevant.

 

[Pablo]

Aiyah...i said most lah....
In all honesty, post-processing is part and parcel of digital photography. In the end...the only reason why one would prefer a camera w/B&W capability would be to see the potential on the spot. End result is pretty much (if you're not picky) the same. Whether the results are similar or not, be it via PS or in-camera processing is irrelevant.

Hi Reflection,

Thanks for your replies,

Personally I would not have thought that (using a digital camera) wether you select to put the camera in b&w or if you shoot in colour (using a digital camera) the end result would be the same when processed, would be different.

As I have done neither (I don't do b&w photo's( I could not answer the question put to me)).

My guess is that the result should be the same (it IS digital anyway).

Cheers

 

[Reflection]

Hi Reflection,

Thanks for your replies,

Personally I would not have thought that (using a digital camera) wether you select to put the camera in b&w or if you shoot in colour (using a digital camera) the end result would be the same when processed, would be different.

As I have done neither (I don't do b&w photo's( I could not answer the question put to me)).

My guess is that the result should be the same (it IS digital anyway).

Cheers

Well. Think of it this way. Whatever goes into the lens and ends up being caught by either DSLR is the same. Everything is in colour. What we do in PS is done (for the most part) by the camera when we specify B&W shots. Most people shoot in colour and convert later for fear that their initial preference for B&W could have been misguided. Tones can still be adjusted in-camera as well for both colour and B&W. What PS allows you to do is to customize the tones etc etc, rather than let the factory dictate what's Normal, Standard or High.

 

[snowspeeder]

You cannot compare the quality of adjusting to b&w setting in camera to tweakling a photo in b&w in PS. The latter gives you control over the image. And with skill, it can make a whole lot of difference.

 

[Reflection]

You cannot compare the quality of adjusting to b&w setting in camera to tweakling a photo in b&w in PS. The latter gives you control over the image. And with skill, it can make a whole lot of difference.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of folks out there either don't understand this or don't have the time to do so.

 

[Azure]

Unfortunately, the vast majority of folks out there either don't understand this or don't have the time to do so.

...or cannot be bothered to.... or simply refuse to....

Hi, Reflection. Long time no go shooting/chatting.

 

[Firefox]

Hi guys,

A question I imagine has been asked before but can't find.

In the digital world .... if you take a photo with a digital camera that has the ability to take black and white,
is the result better taken that way, or is it as good or better than a colour photo converted to black and white using say Photoshop ?

If it is actually better setting your digital camera to take black and white, why ?

Thanks guys

(I don't take b&w photo's myself but the question was put to me today by a customer and I couldn't answer it).

Shoot in colour digital and use PS to convert it to B&W using the channel mixer and curves.
Digital B&W straight from cameras don't match up to film yet.
It's better to use PS to convert to B&W and adjust the curves slightly to get your shadows and highlights in. Also, it gives you the choice of keeping the picture in colour or adding effects that work on colour images only.

 

[singscott]

It all boil down to options. When you shoot on full colour and covert it to B&W there many ways like channel switch you could do to the image. With the colour information from digital camera if you use them properly it will have the same effect of putting colour filter on your lens when we shoot on film. If you shoot on B&W mode, it only limited options you might have. But if I will to shoot on film, B&W film will be the way it go as again it give me more options.

 

[billpepsi]

Colour photos can easily be converted to B&W in PS and with proper skills, there is lots of control over the outcome of the photo and could be better than in-camera b&W.

But in-camera B&W can not be converted to colour, unless it is hand painted in PS (I guess).