zwarte_kat
Well-known
I'm starting to get more and more into shooting with the x100 and editing BW with Lightroom 4.
I find I don't really need Silver FX so much to get a nice "organic" result (doesn't have to look exactly like film for me). It's also cool that you can shoot in just raw, but still use your jpeg settings to check how things will look in BW. It seems like a weird mistake, because all those settings are gone when importing in lightroom, leaving just a clean color raw image. But it works out for me!
Guess it would be even better if lightroom somehow transfer those jpeg settings to their own raw engine, so that you can get a head start!
Anyway, why don't we exchange some tips and tricks about our X100, X10, or Xpro workflow, because I sometimes see some really nice results here and would like to know more about the process! Maybe you can post one or a few images and explain what you did during shoot or edit to make the look good in BW. Whether it looks like smooth film or sharp digital, anything goes!
I'll humbly start with some of my own own pictures:
DSCF0439 by Rudy Shots, on Flickr
Here the shutter speed was quite low (1/15 sec), so the image has some movement blur. Instead of trying to fix it, I made it even smoother by reducing the clarity. I got lucky with the faces kind of standing out.
Here is another one:
DSCF0565 by Rudy Shots, on Flickr
Here I front focussed a little. This one is a bit extreme, and most won't like it, but it illustrated my point well. I have the Zeiss Sonnar 1.5m, and found that sometimes I PREFER a very slight front focus. Again, I reduced the structure in Lightroom to increase the effect, though the bokeh on the x100 is not stellar, I can get it a little bit more "Sonnar like" this way.
Now come on, don't make me have written all this stuff for nothing, share your own, I am eager to see them!
I find I don't really need Silver FX so much to get a nice "organic" result (doesn't have to look exactly like film for me). It's also cool that you can shoot in just raw, but still use your jpeg settings to check how things will look in BW. It seems like a weird mistake, because all those settings are gone when importing in lightroom, leaving just a clean color raw image. But it works out for me!
Guess it would be even better if lightroom somehow transfer those jpeg settings to their own raw engine, so that you can get a head start!
Anyway, why don't we exchange some tips and tricks about our X100, X10, or Xpro workflow, because I sometimes see some really nice results here and would like to know more about the process! Maybe you can post one or a few images and explain what you did during shoot or edit to make the look good in BW. Whether it looks like smooth film or sharp digital, anything goes!
I'll humbly start with some of my own own pictures:
DSCF0439 by Rudy Shots, on Flickr
Here the shutter speed was quite low (1/15 sec), so the image has some movement blur. Instead of trying to fix it, I made it even smoother by reducing the clarity. I got lucky with the faces kind of standing out.
Here is another one:
DSCF0565 by Rudy Shots, on Flickr
Here I front focussed a little. This one is a bit extreme, and most won't like it, but it illustrated my point well. I have the Zeiss Sonnar 1.5m, and found that sometimes I PREFER a very slight front focus. Again, I reduced the structure in Lightroom to increase the effect, though the bokeh on the x100 is not stellar, I can get it a little bit more "Sonnar like" this way.
Now come on, don't make me have written all this stuff for nothing, share your own, I am eager to see them!
rbelyell
Well-known
nice results. honestly this is the best b&w file producing digital camera ive ever used or even seen.
what i do is shoot RAW plus jpeg, with b&w customized jpeg settings. this gives the 'head start' you spoke of. when i shoot 'people' primary subjects i use the 'green' filter because it really does magic with skin tones, 'scene' subjects and night shots get 'yellow' filter, of course 'red' for sky drama.
i need to do some experimenting with iso control as i typically use 'auto iso'. i am very interested in your experiences with various iso's.
tony
what i do is shoot RAW plus jpeg, with b&w customized jpeg settings. this gives the 'head start' you spoke of. when i shoot 'people' primary subjects i use the 'green' filter because it really does magic with skin tones, 'scene' subjects and night shots get 'yellow' filter, of course 'red' for sky drama.
i need to do some experimenting with iso control as i typically use 'auto iso'. i am very interested in your experiences with various iso's.
tony
willie_901
Veteran
I use LR for 90% of my B&W conversions. I only record raw.
I have a preset that sets all saturation levels to zero in the HSL panel. Next I use the color temperature to get the look I want. Then I just go down the Develop Panel and continue to tweak. The Luminence sliders in the HSL are next. These can be used as virtual lens filters (red, yellow, green). Sometimes I make a second pass down the Develop Panel to make small changes.
The only other tool I use is Viveza 2 for selective adjustments. This is a very useful LR plug on that excels at circular dodging and burning. I make a localized adjustments this way.
I may apply some noise filtering. However I really like the look of B&W from the X100 at ISO 1600 abd 3200 without changing the LR defaults.
You can see some result here (sorry, there are color photos mixed in).
My Flickr X100 Photos
I have a preset that sets all saturation levels to zero in the HSL panel. Next I use the color temperature to get the look I want. Then I just go down the Develop Panel and continue to tweak. The Luminence sliders in the HSL are next. These can be used as virtual lens filters (red, yellow, green). Sometimes I make a second pass down the Develop Panel to make small changes.
The only other tool I use is Viveza 2 for selective adjustments. This is a very useful LR plug on that excels at circular dodging and burning. I make a localized adjustments this way.
I may apply some noise filtering. However I really like the look of B&W from the X100 at ISO 1600 abd 3200 without changing the LR defaults.
You can see some result here (sorry, there are color photos mixed in).
My Flickr X100 Photos
Kavenzmann
Member
I do it almost the same way.
Shoot RAW with b/w settings for the JPGs. In general i use yellow filter.
Development of the pictures in LR4.
Normaly only slight adjustments in contrast and brightness.
Since last week I started to use ISO 6400 for bar scenes with musicians. Here I also handle some noise and sharpening issues, but the result is most of the time breathtaking. It's almost impossible to deliver better results with all the big stuff.
Since 1.20 MF is a lot better. I love that camera, the size is perfect to take it everywhere. Better than my beloved analog Olympus XA2...
Kavenzmann
Shoot RAW with b/w settings for the JPGs. In general i use yellow filter.
Development of the pictures in LR4.
Normaly only slight adjustments in contrast and brightness.
Since last week I started to use ISO 6400 for bar scenes with musicians. Here I also handle some noise and sharpening issues, but the result is most of the time breathtaking. It's almost impossible to deliver better results with all the big stuff.
Since 1.20 MF is a lot better. I love that camera, the size is perfect to take it everywhere. Better than my beloved analog Olympus XA2...
Kavenzmann
Richard G
Veteran
I don't understand what you are all saying. Are you saying that the JPEG settings in the X100 can be extracted from the raw file or that by shooting raw and jpeg you can make use of the jpeg settings to adjust the raw image...? Please be specific in clarifying this. I am intrigued.
Kavenzmann
Member
No. JPG Settings do not appear in the RAW picture in LR. Unfortunately.
But you can judge your picture better on the display/finder if you use them.
I like it very much to see the motives in b/w on the EVF before pushing the button. I do frame different sometimes than I would do in colour.
It's nothing revolutionary, but very nice to have.
Kavenzmann
But you can judge your picture better on the display/finder if you use them.
I like it very much to see the motives in b/w on the EVF before pushing the button. I do frame different sometimes than I would do in colour.
It's nothing revolutionary, but very nice to have.
Kavenzmann
dcsang
Canadian & Not A Dentist
I'm a patiently awaiting Adobe to release either a new version of their DNG converter OR an update to LR4 with support for Fuji's X-Pro1. In the meantime, I've just been converting accordingly via Silver Efex Pro in PS.
Cheers,
Dave
Cheers,
Dave
zwarte_kat
Well-known
I usually don't change the color temperature, but will give it a try.
I do change the color sliders for luminance and saturation when I really want to spend time one one picture, or when there is one object/face etc. I want to blend in or out.
I find often that making orange brighter brightens faces (I live in Japan, not sure for other colored faces). Making blue darker is sometimes nice to get the sky more dramatic.
I do change the color sliders for luminance and saturation when I really want to spend time one one picture, or when there is one object/face etc. I want to blend in or out.
I find often that making orange brighter brightens faces (I live in Japan, not sure for other colored faces). Making blue darker is sometimes nice to get the sky more dramatic.
Teuthida
Well-known
A second vote for Sivler Efex Pro.
I shoot RAW, then "develop" in LR using Silver Efex. Its at that point that I use filters, film effects, contrast and structure adjustments, dodging and burning.
I shoot RAW, then "develop" in LR using Silver Efex. Its at that point that I use filters, film effects, contrast and structure adjustments, dodging and burning.
willie_901
Veteran
Four weeks late
Four weeks late
As far as I know only the color temperature is passed on to raw rendering software for raw and raw + JPEG. The exception may be SilkyPix which may do more. But I never used SilkyPix and never plan to.
Four weeks late
As far as I know only the color temperature is passed on to raw rendering software for raw and raw + JPEG. The exception may be SilkyPix which may do more. But I never used SilkyPix and never plan to.
celluloidprop
Well-known
Raw Photo Processor -> LR4 -> SEP2
LR4 can give nice results, but the spot control of SEP2, structure, 'soft contrast' keep me going back to it.
This is really the first I've used it with the XP1, since LR4 doesn't support RAWs yet. Not a bad result, but the workflow is less than ideal.
Untitled by celluloidpropaganda, on Flickr
LR4 can give nice results, but the spot control of SEP2, structure, 'soft contrast' keep me going back to it.
This is really the first I've used it with the XP1, since LR4 doesn't support RAWs yet. Not a bad result, but the workflow is less than ideal.
Untitled by celluloidpropaganda, on Flickr
Cirrus1
Member
Here's one from my first 100 shots with my newly aquired X100. I used to use raw and then process with some of the early plugins but now after using a Digilux2 and Dlux 4 for the last 4 years I only shoot Jpegs in camera. I like the treatment and personality of the different camera's processing. There is a facinating thread on DPR about shooting in camera B&W. http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1020&message=38826491
Not to poke a hornets nest but, alot of the stuff I see coming out of silver effects pro looks overprocessed, kind of like when everyone figured out how to do HDR images.
My 2 cents.
Not to poke a hornets nest but, alot of the stuff I see coming out of silver effects pro looks overprocessed, kind of like when everyone figured out how to do HDR images.
My 2 cents.
