travis_rave Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Okay sorry for posting so many questions but I need some help. Okay so my nikond50 doesnt take in black and white. I love black and white photography. Its nodoubt my favorite kind. But when I bought my camera it was the cheapeast DigitalSLR nikon make so do any of their cameras take in black and white?!?! I dontwant to just use use photoshop for black and white i want to be able to takethem myself. To be honest i hate to use photoshop on my photos to much. Soplease do any nikon digital slr cameras take black and white Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobar57 Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Yes, the cheapest of them at this moment, the D40 does take B/W. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Laur Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Travis: So, don't use Photoshop "too much." Just use it to do the very one thing you want it to do, and walk away. The sensor on any digital SLR is capturing in the image in color. Any DSLR that can write black and white files is simply running a piece of software, in the camera, that renders a different version of the image. If you're happy with a piece of software consistently producing your black and white images from that color capture, then you should also be happy if that software step just happens to occur outside of the camera. If it's convenience you're asking about, then Robert is right: the D40x is a good option. But don't let the fact that software translates your color capture to a black and white image stop you. That's happening no matter what. Unless you use film. In which case, the chemicals on the emulsion are turning the colored light into a black and white recording of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raczoliver Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 Since you are shooting digital, I don't see the difference between converting in the camera or in Photoshop, apart from the fact that in PS you get ten times more control over what happens to your picture. I don't even see the use of the B&W function on a digital camera. If you want to "take" black and white, load your old camera with some black and white film and shoot that, then develop and print for yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 You can usually convert color digital photos to monochrome from the Aladdin interfaces for Frontier minilab prints. Freebie, easy to use programs like Irfanview and Picasa offer simple conversions to b&w, and Picasa also offers effects that mimic filters for b&w photography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_hooper1 Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 The Nikon D80, (the body some love to hate, though not me), takes B&W capture with the advantage that you can you can add filter effects, (yellow, orange, red or green), in camera while shooting. Very cool, Travis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgalyon Posted January 12, 2008 Share Posted January 12, 2008 I shoot a D80 as well...but PS conversion to b&w beats in camera...10:1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_hooper1 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Yes, yes, Adobe Photoshop: "You will be assimilated! Resistance is futile." Spare us the mantra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgalyon Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 So what's your point Robert? Do you actually have something to offer...or just attempting to be the wittiest guy in the room? If this is one of those silly arguments about in-camera vs. ps manipulation...it's just...silly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark newcombe www.mcnphoto Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 I think you should take more control over your b&w's in post rather than just disgarding the colour info at the time of the shoot . Heres a good vid on high contrast adjustments You have so much more control in post rather than at capture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_hooper1 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 My contribution, John, 'something to offer', was to answer Travis's question in which he implicitly states that he is not a Photoshop enthusiast. Furthermore, Travis specifically asked about, in-camera B&W capture. Forgive me if my reference to a Borg mentality offended. No argument from here regarding, 'silly arguments about in-camera vs. ps manipulation...it's just...silly.', though, I think the day is coming, and the sooner the better, in my opinion. Also, in my opinion, resistance is not futile. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgalyon Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Robert, I'm not an overly-sensitive kinda guy. it was just the "spare us the mantra" comment that hit me wrong/irked me a little. I'm still not certain how that fitted into answering Travis's question...but neither am i overly concerned at this point...for it is late, i am tired. so, all is well...have a good evening! regards, john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert_hooper1 Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 The mastering of Photoshop eludes me, John. Its a sore point. I was expressing my frustration. Aloha from Maui. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jgalyon Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 Robert, although i use PS as much as my limited abilities will allow...i actually DESPISE IT. generally wish i was born before the digital age in a society that wasn't in so much of a hurry that there would actually be time to learn darkroom skills...so I feel you brother! jg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
graham_marsden Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 I have Photoshop CS2 but for a quick boost or B&W conversion Picasa is great. My D80 gives me more than adequate B&W shooting, you can even convert to a cyanotype if you want. And, in my opinion, the D80's in-camera colour balance is better than Photoshop's because the histograms are there in view during any adjustments you care to make. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lex_jenkins Posted January 13, 2008 Share Posted January 13, 2008 BTW, Travis, you might be disappointed in the results even if the camera could generate b&w photos. My Olympus C-3040Z P&S digicam can generate b&w or sepia photos. The sepia effect can be interesting but the b&w pix are kinda blah. I'd rather capture in full color and do a few minutes of tweaking later to get the desired results. Anyway, give the simple tools in Irfanview and Picasa a try. Picasa, in particular, is very handy for quickie conversions and mimicking b&w filter effects. And it's free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ty_mickan Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 Travis, digital B&W conversion is something that needs to be done in post processing IMO. That is if you are an avid photogrpaher keen on getting the best results. Love him or hate him, Ken Rockwell has some interesting articles on B&W conversion using PS. My preference is the Channel Mixer and I often add duotone effects. As Matt alluded to earlier, all digital files that are in a ready to be posted/printed state have had manipulation of some kind at some stage. Whether this was done by software in camera or software on your desktop, it is still manipulated. Why wouldn't one want to take control of how these images are manipulated? Well if happy snaps are your thing then maybe in camera B&W shots have some merit. With PS essentially you are deciding what type of B&W film style you are shooting from shot to shot. And sometimes a B&W image will look just spot on if it is processed that little bit different than the way you processed the previous image. All of this control comes at a cost however; time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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