monochrome versus color conversion to B&W (Page 2): I was hot to trot about it for awhile...since I had some older mirrorless hanging around. But the more I looked into it...not for...

Canisdirus

I was hot to trot about it for awhile...since I had some older mirrorless hanging around.

But the more I looked into it...not for me.

If you just want to have fun with B&W ... to serious hobby levels...any modern mirrorless will do that job very well...sans conversion.

If you want to shoot for professional grade...buy a dedicated camera built from the ground up for it.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Ysarex wrote:

Yes, you can still use filters in front of the lens, but that's far less flexible than working with a color image in post. ...

I'm not giving that ease-of-use and flexibility up for what I see as a pretty minor boost in resolution.

What you can't do with a camera that still has its CFA is to gain access to the IR colors. They are already blocked by the hot mirror. In fact, some of the UV light is also blocked. The range of wavelengths that can be recorded are normally limited to visible light, about 400nm to 700nm.

What you can do with filters is to limit the range of wavelengths captured in the image over a much larger range, up to almost 1000nm.

Don't dismiss the improvement in sharpness by not demosaicing. You have never seen it first hand. Several of us already have. The increase in sharpness is not "pretty minor" .

Although the camera may capture the same number of pixels, the demosaicing process is known to reduce the effective resolution by half which means that it reduces the sharpness significantly.

In astronomical photography a monochrome sensor can record stars more like points than blurs.

There may be no point in fooling with color in a B&W conversion when the image only shows one color

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selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Canisdirus wrote:

If you want to shoot for professional grade...buy a dedicated camera built from the ground up for it.

While most of us can't afford a Leica Monochrom or Phase One, a 24MP full frame like the A7 series can do as well as a 24MP Leica.

Anyone who thinks they are getting something special by reaching higher than 24MP is in denial. That's pretty much the sweet spot when it comes to images for normal photographers, if there are any.

They might want to go higher with color sensors but they will need more expensive lenses.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Ysarex wrote:

There is a discernable difference in resolution/sh... (show quote)

Exactly. I play with the tone sliders in ACR all the time and rarely just desaturate to convert to B&W.

andesbill

Is a Leica monochrome (maybe used), out of the question?
Or how about a film camera?

Canisdirus

selmslie wrote:

While most of us can't afford a Leica Monochrom or Phase One, a 24MP full frame like the A7 series can do as well as a 24MP Leica.

Anyone who thinks they are getting something special by reaching higher than 24MP is in denial. That's pretty much the sweet spot when it comes to images for normal photographers, if there are any.

They might want to go higher with color sensors but they will need more expensive lenses.

Why I said...if you are trying to shoot at a professional level.

Most aren't (except perhaps in their own minds).
For those...shooting in color and post processing in B&W is absolutely fine and enough...and you get much more control over the image.

If you just have an old camera around ... go for it...but I doubt you will note much of a difference.

It's...better...but will not get near a dedicated monochrome camera...so...what's the point of that.

Again...unless you just have a body laying around and are curious.

I was curious...but after some digging...meh. I'll go color and PP.

JohnSwanda Loc: San Francisco

User ID wrote:

It was somewhat interesting in the last several exact same discussions this year ... but its not interesting anymore. Its just yesterdays news.

The discussion that usually comes up is shooting monochrome with your camera as opposed to converting in post. I haven't seen this discussion of a converted monochrome camera versus converting in post as often.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Canisdirus wrote:

If you just have an old camera around ... go for it...but I doubt you will note much of a difference.

It's...better...but will not get near a dedicated monochrome camera...so...what's the point of that.

That's what I did. I had an A7 II available and I converted it to monochrome including full access to the IR wavelengths. It's been instructive and entertaining.

And it does make a discernible difference as I have already posted.

Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

selmslie wrote:

What you can't do with a camera that still has its... (show quote)

That's all correct, but none of it would tip the scale for me and induce me to give up the control I have in post starting from a color original in exchange for a monochrome sensor. I appreciate it can be attractive to others. I consider a monochrome sensor a big loss and a step backwards if the goal is good quality b&w images.

Retired CPO Loc: Travel full time in an RV

User ID wrote:

This was somewhat interesting in the last several exact same discussions this year ... but its not interesting anymore. Its just yesterdays news.

Oh, wow. It's so sad to see you back!

Canisdirus

selmslie wrote:

That's what I did. I had an A7 II available and I converted it to monochrome including full access to the IR wavelengths. It's been instructive and entertaining.

And it does make a discernible difference as I have already posted.

I'm sure it does...it's middle ground.

I'll take the PP control.

srt101fan

Canisdirus wrote:

I was hot to trot about it for awhile...since I had some older mirrorless hanging around.

But the more I looked into it...not for me.

If you just want to have fun with B&W ... to serious hobby levels...any modern mirrorless will do that job very well...sans conversion.

So, if you have a DSLR you’re outa luck? 🤔

Canisdirus

srt101fan wrote:

So, if you have a DSLR you’re outa luck? 🤔

No...just a habit. I don't think about dslr's much.

But if you were looking for a middle ground...I'd suggest a DSLR for B&W.

The Pentax K3M3 Monochrome dslr.

If you can't do Leica...that's a good option that is affrodable.

selmslie Loc: Fernandina Beach, FL, USA

Ysarex wrote:

That's all correct, but none of it would tip the scale for me and induce me to give up the control I have in post starting from a color original in exchange for a monochrome sensor. I appreciate it can be attractive to others. I consider a monochrome sensor a big loss and a step backwards if the goal is good quality b&w images.

You don’t include sharpnesses and smooth tonality as desirable qualities?

Incidentally, it is possible to do a monochrome conversion on an X-Trans sensor. It might eliminate some of the issues you have observed related to demosaicing.

BobHartung Loc: Bettendorf, IA

dkeysser wrote:

Thanks, that is sound advice

To whom are you replying? The suggestion is that use always use 'Quote Reply'