b&w M8 dng files in Adobe Camera Raw

I don't own a M8 but I had the same question about my Canon DSLR RAW files. Turns out you can not do what you are asking, at least with a Canon. RAW files will show up in full color but perhaps that is a good thing as sometimes some photos just work better in color. On the other hand if you "see" in B&W (ala Salgado) it could be problematic to your workflow. I hope someone proves me wrong because it would be a neat option to have.
 
If you use LR then you can import using a B&W preset of your own creation or one of the ready made ones.

If you use ACR within PS then not sure

Mike
 
ACR allows you to set the default parameters for a camera, even by ISO. You could set the default parameters for your M8 or Canon 5D to be black and white. However, then every image would come up black and white, not just those shot in black and white mode.

Probably best to make a preset for black and white and then apply that preset to your batch of images in Bridge.
 
AusDLK said:
Is there a way to force M8 dng raw files to show up in b&w when the camera has been set to b&w only mode?
Click to expand...

Why should you? In my experience to get the best B&W conversions the only way to go is individual treatment of each file.

If you want to do a batch with a minimum of work a better way would be to set the camera to Jpeg fine and B&W. The in-camera B&W conversions on the M8 are actually rather good.
 
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pachuco -- While I dare not compare myself to Salgado (there was a show in Austin recently of ~80 his prints, wow...), I do think in black and white and NEVER want to see a color version (unless I specifically have a reason to)

Gabriel -- I still hold my unpopular opinion of the M8 but Leica was listening because the M8.2 (which I now have) fixes everything that I bitched about. Seems to confirm that I could hardly have been the only one with these, um, issues. So far I am very, very pleased with the M8.2 (particularly after adding a Thumbs Up to simulate the advance lever). I wish the M8.2 had come out two years ago but that's water under the bridge -- I now have the camera I wanted then and that's all that matters... 😉

Jaap -- I think my response to pachuco answers your question too. When I have the camera set to b&w mode then I'd like the digital experiece to be like I had used b&w film -- and I'd like to be able to use the dng file to get the best image.

Just seems like a RAW converter should see this setting and respect it. I agree that the b&w jpgs out of the camera are very good.
 
If you use a proprietary RAW converter of a brand (like dpp from canon) it "understands" the camera settings because of the internal knowledge some camera manufacturers build in their raw files. So every RAW converter that is usable for multiple brands will have no knowledge about those camera settings. They can just offer some presets.
But if you use Lightroom for example you can apply a custom preset during import. So you can design a suitable bw preset. I think that could be a solution for you.
 
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