D3 for Black and White -- any takers?

[jim_francis]

Folks, I have been looking to transition from my three trusty F-4s shooting XP-2.

 

My D-2X is a great camera, but for black and white I have been going back to the

film cameras. Either my technique is wanting, or the tonal range is just not there,

especially for challenging subjects like weddings.

 

Anyway, I was reading a review of the Active D-Lighting system for the D-3 and

wonder if there is not hope for digital black and white. Anyone have any

experience in this area?

[gary_mcghee]

hopefuly this thread from Patrick Lavoie may help.

 

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=00NNJ6

 

gary.

[jb17kx]

The D3 is the God of B&W.

 

I recommend you send at least one of your F4s to me at once for secure disposal and 'recycling'.

 

:P

[frans_waterlander]

If you can't get great b&w images with your D-2X then the D3 isn't going to solve your problems.

[ellis_vener_photography]

I tke D3 files and convert them to "black and White" regularly. An intelligent use of conversion techniques in either Lightroom or photoshop CS3 makes for very fine images.

[Jerry_]

Or you could look into a Nikon D80 body and see if that might work for what you want in B+W images first. The D3 and the D80 seem to "share" the same software in-camera that allows you to go "B+W" in camera, or taking a color image and getting the B+W image stored on the memory card.

 

 

 

Just bear in mind, once you capture a image in B+W, getting back to a color .jpg file is not going to make your day. The D3 (and the D80) have the capability to 'edit' a color image into a few types of B+W image....leaving the original color image untouched for later use.

[tholte]

Like Frans says, I don't think a D3 is your answer. You may want to take digital b&w workshop (Santa Fe or Maine) from a pro that knows what he/she is doing.

[photo5]

Here are some black and white conversions I've done. There are also some color ones

as well for comparison. These were all shot in color with a D80 and converted to black

and white in photoshop.

 

http://www.smugmug.com/gallery/3339423_c3dKP/1/186057634_P2A5t

[justinblake]

I don't believe any digital camera has the tonal range of a good B&W film. Unless you start playing around with multiple exposure HDR you are always going to be dissapointed by the tonal range of digital when you compare it to film.

[ilkka_nissila]

I think the D3 is great for black and white images. However, I often want some "grit" in my black and white stuff hence Delta 100 developed in dr5 (120 format).

[fhovie]

Yep - gotta agree - for B&W there is no place like film -

It has grain (it is supposed to be there)

It is sharp (because of the grain)

CCD and CMOS sensors do not record colors the same way B&W film does

- of course maybe some clever feller will (or has) made software to simulate grain and color profile - but then there is printing:

Nothing like silver fiber based paper. Not that thin plastic stuff but the kind of print that makes my long gone grandpa look like he was photographed yesterday even though the print is over 100 years old. yep - The Hasselblad and the Tachihara stay - along with the darkroom - the D300 is just for color - and shooting those fast moving grandkids.

[frans_waterlander]

It apparently couldn't be avoided; this thread has been highjacked by the film vs. digital crowd and as such has become meaningless. You film folks like film and silver based prints; fine, good for you, but refrain from these non-sensical comments and let us digital affecionados discuss our preferences in peace.

[justinblake]

Seeing as the OP was comparing Film and Digital it would seem logical that there be some comments comparing the two within the thread.

[ty_mickan]

I regularly shoot film on my F4 or F5 and I also convert to b&w from my D3. I love the conversions and when I know in advance that I'm going black and white, I crank up the ISO to 12 800 or 25 600 which gives me a real film like grain. I love it.

[ty_mickan]

Here is a shot I prepared earlier....

[lex_jenkins]

As a lifetime lover of b&w film, I will re-hijack this thread...

 

Yup, it is absolutely possible to do very good conversions from digital. It's all in the editing. It's not easy, but neither is traditional b&w darkroom processing and printing. Different techniques, that's all.

 

One reason I still enjoy using an older copy of Jasc Paint Shop Pro 7 is for the "Clarify" tool. It emulates rather well the characteristic often referred to as "micro-contrast" by b&w wonks. While useful on color as well, it's especially good as a final tweak after basic tonal adjustments following a color-to-monochrome conversion. Applied delicately, it gently separates midtones without affecting highlights or shadows. Applied a bit more vigorously, it digs detail a bit deeper out of shadows and tames highlights. Applied heavily, especially when run more than once, it creates that "halo" or "glow" effect of a photo that has been either clumsily dodged and burned, or deliberately subjected to such manipulation for artistic effect.

 

I've used this one tool several times to offer an alternative tweak to several photo critiques where people were unsure about the quality of their digital b&w conversions. Invariably they say the effect is closer to what they wanted.

 

It's not the camera. It works just as well with my older Olympus P&S digicam as with my D2H as with my color slide and negative scans. You don't need another camera to do this. Just the right editing tools and practice with the technique.