Black and white jpeg or raw or both? (Page 3): On occasion, or when the mood moves me, I will switch my D7100 to monochrome and shoot away, yet always have the shots backed up in RAW.

SuperFly48 Loc: NE ILLINOIS

On occasion, or when the mood moves me, I will switch my D7100 to monochrome and shoot away, yet always have the shots backed up in RAW. Sometimes, when I have a photo op I really think has promise, I will switch between color and monochrome just because I can. I did this when I visited the Grand Canyon last November. At night I would check out/preview my shots on my laptop to see what I got. I have been told that post processing software does a better job decolorizing a digital image than most DSLR's do rendering the original image in black & white. I shoot monochrome to get a feel for the shots and to preview prior to post processing them. My monochrome shots all are large fine JPEG's.

double g Loc: Oklahoma

In my opinion it is. I shoot everything in RAW. I like the flexibility it offers. And, I save all my RAW images just in case I want to go back and do something different with the image.

jayluber Loc: Phoenix, AZ

IMHO: shoot both RAW and JPG. You can shoot in Scene mode -BW. And -at least w my Canon-will get full color RAW and BW JPEG. Kinda best of both worlds. BW JPg will give you idea of what you're getting and then work w RAW in post. You can make adj as you go based on what u're seeing on JPG. As someone said earlier: best not to have camera make decisions.

bpulv Loc: Buena Park, CA

dfharper1961 wrote:

Planning a shoot. Available light only, band performance. I want the final prints in b/w. Should I shoot b/w jpegs or raw+jpegs? If I shoot jpegs (w A7r2) I can see the image thru the view finder, on the flip if I shoot raw I’ve got a Little more range to work with in post. Is it worth the extra work to wait until post to convert the image?

You didn't say how the pictures were going to be used. If the photos are for publication in a newspaper (low quality restricted grey scale), jpeg should be sufficient because a jpeg resolves more shades of grey than the printing process is capable of. If, on the other hand, you plan to print the pictures on your printer, display your pictures on a computer or big screen, or have them published in a high image quality publication, I would definitely shoot everything in raw because a conversion to jpeg from raw will render the maximum number of shades of grey. Remember this, 'when in doubt, shoot raw.'

Leitz Loc: Solms

dfharper1961 wrote:

Planning a shoot. Available light only, band performance. I want the final prints in b/w. Should I shoot b/w jpegs or raw+jpegs? If I shoot jpegs (w A7r2) I can see the image thru the view finder, on the flip if I shoot raw I’ve got a Little more range to work with in post. Is it worth the extra work to wait until post to convert the image?

After you've had your camera a day or two you'll have had time to try either way and make your own decision.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

dfharper1961 wrote:

Planning a shoot. Available light only, band performance. I want the final prints in b/w. Should I shoot b/w jpegs or raw+jpegs? If I shoot jpegs (w A7r2) I can see the image thru the view finder, on the flip if I shoot raw I’ve got a Little more range to work with in post. Is it worth the extra work to wait until post to convert the image?

If you put your camera in raw and choose b/w picture style, your camera LCD will show you what the image will look like in b/w but since you shot in raw, you'll still have ALL the data and then you can choose b/w in post and still have the complete picture that you can still use for color.

cambriaman Loc: Central CA Coast

The event is happening once. Don't fail to get every bit and pixel of the ongoing scene. That, said simply, is shoot RAW and PP to get what you need to deliver.

tjim Loc: Far Northern California

cambriaman wrote:

The event is happening once. Don't fail to get every bit and pixel of the ongoing scene. That, said simply, is shoot RAW and PP to get what you need to deliver.

dfharper1961

Thanks Again Everyone for your thoughts comments. I've decided to Raw/Extra Jpeg with the jpeg being B/W and the raw full color. I'll be shooting with a f2.8 28-105mm and f2.8 80-200mm by Tamron. (Not the newest kids on the block but I love the results they give.) I may also carry the f3.5-6.5 24-270mm FE mount "kit" lens as a back up but I'm not leaning towards it very strongly.

Once Again thanks for all the feedback!

Dave

FalconEddie Loc: Bryan, TX, USA

If you don't mind one more suggestion, here goes. A quick and relatively easy way to get it done is to shoot RAW and process with Nik Silver Effex Pro (free from Google). There's lots of room for manipulation, but also a plethora (did I just use that word?) of presets you can pick from and make adjustments from. I've used it plenty of times and it can be a real time saver without compromising on quality. I hope this helps.

dfharper1961

Thanks, I have it on my lap and desk tops. I've also started using Affinity on my iPAD Pro. I love the bigger screen size and resolution it offers while being more portable than my MacBook when traveling.

Photocraig

Clapperboard wrote:

My suggestion NEVER shoot black & white. Shoot in RAW. Very likely Photoshop or Camera Raw will give a better conversion than the camera and you have so many choices. If you shoot mono you are stuck with what the camera has done and no other choice.

I am on the side of shooting RAW and converting to B&W in post. I prefer B&W.

Many people, including many of my fellow students back in the day, have difficulty visualizing in B&W. The ability to "visualize" how colors become represented in tones in the monochrome image is not intuitive for many. In Ansel Adams' books, he frequently suggests viewing a scene through a Wratten #25? gel or filter (red) to take the colors out and see how they translate into tones. I found that to be true when doing B&W infrared film assignments and seeing the images through the Red filter. Seeing the jpeg representation on the camera screen could very well be an aid and composition guide.
All it does is take up memory card space. The operative image will be the RAW file ready for adjustment and conversion and finishing.

Good for the OP shooting with Black and White in mind. It is another stage of abstraction.
C