M8 B&W files

[ray*j*gun]

OK this may qualify as a dumb question thread but I would like to risk it.

I was debating with a friend about the best way to use the M8 shooting B&W and he argued that his best results were setting the menu to B&W and using the files as produced in JPEG mode. I have always shot RAW and then converted to B&W using Lightroom.
Comments and input would be appreciated and as an added note I am fairly new to digi work and still shoot mostly film.

Thanks in advance.

 

[jaapv]

Especially the M8 has rather nice B&W JPGs, although converting them yourself gives more control.

 

[ray*j*gun]

Yes that has been my opinion jaapy but i guess the question is are there any technical reasons that would make the choice jpeg or raw?

 

[marko.oja]

I've found the jpeg write speeds so slow that I've stopped using the bw-jpegs for previews. I prefer Lightroom/Silver Efex for bw conversions.

 

[ray*j*gun]

Marko...cool photos on your gallery! I use Lightroom to convert to B&W from raw and like the results. I think ill try the jpeg and see if i see that lag in write times.

 

[Kingsfan]

I tried shooting the M8 in jpeg once. I liked the results.

 

[ray*j*gun]

Yes they are fine looking images! I did try using jpeg B&W and the write time is awful but I have found that write times are slow on the M8 anyway. The RAW times are better but still not what I would have expected from this camera (I have an M8u).

 

[Mcary]

Like the results I get from shooting RAW and using LR or LR+DXO Film Pack3 so that's what I've stuck with.

 

[ray*j*gun]

I have been playing with the B&W jpeg engine and found that it has a very nice film look to it but doesnt respond well to PP tweaks. Plus the afore mentioned slow write times with jpeg so I think I will stay with RAW (DNG) and convert in Lightroom.

One other question that I have asked before but still am not sure about is, when shooting B&W is there any use to contrast lens filters ala film B&W? With RAW shooting I assume that would not work well but any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Al Downie]

One other question that I have asked before but still am not sure about is, when shooting B&W is there any use to contrast lens filters ala film B&W? With RAW shooting I assume that would not work well but any thoughts would be appreciated.

That's exactly why shooting RAW and converting to B&W in post processing is (in my opinion) much better than shooting b&w jpeg files in the camera. At the point of conversion, in a package like Silver Efex for example, you can experiment with software versions of coloured filters to alter the way that certain colours behave*. If you shoot b&w in-camera, then you have no colour information to give to your post-processing software, and that reduces your adjustment options greatly. You could use coloured filters on camera, but compared to the flexibility of being able to switch them on/off later, that's a real drag - ok for landscapes and architecture perhaps, but for general purpose, carry-about photography... not so much.

* Note - coloured filters don't actually affect contrast as such - they simply change the amount of light that's transmitted by certain colours. In a landscape photo with lots of green grass and a blue sky, then a red filter and a blue filter would both have dramatic but completely different effects. The apparent contrast boost is determined by the colours in the subject, not by the filter itself, if you know what I mean?