B & W from Color Slides

[ableforensics]

I have been using Vue Scan with my NIkon Cool Scan V. I would like to know what success anyone has had in converting a Color Slide to Black and White and the work flow used.

I have had marginal success thus far in changing the output to either a TIFF or JPEG Bank and White.

Any assistance would be welcome. Thanks.

Howard Eisemann

 

[maelswarm]

I always do my B&W conversions in photoshop, after I've scanned it as a colour JPEG.

 

[Conner999]

Scan as a color Tiff, bring into Photoshop and treat just like any other digital file for B&W conversion.

The B&W 'adjustments' feature in CS3 is nice as well as using gradient maps and channel mixer in monochrome mode. The B&W feature also allows you to select and tweak various BW filters (red, yellow, etc_ or make your own such as orange).

There is also Nik software's B&W conversion tool with it's control point tech inside, there is the Gorman method - any number of 101 ways to do a nice job of B&W conversion and tinting if desired.

I tend to find no one method works for all pics and it pays to explore as many as you can. Do a Google for photoshop conversion methods.

NOTE - since you'll be bringing in as Tiffs (no compression as with jpegs) MAKE SURE you use SAVE AS to rename the file as soon as you bring it in, otherwise a simple 'save' will over-write the color original.

I convert Canon CR2 Raw files, but simply adding a "BW" with a 'save as' onto the end of the filename as soon as you open it in CS3 will save you a lot of grief later. Loads of fun - enjoy.

 

[mackigator]

Yep, scan as normal then convert in the image editor of your choice. I save an original tiff and make a jpg to convert.

I channel mix first, then play with light and shadows, then tweak overall exposure and contrast.

Here's a really expensive way to shoot BW:

Fuji 400x, 2 stop push, scan, convert.
http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=400x%20BW&w=95742421%40N00

Sample (CLE + M-Rokkor 40mm):