Filters

[Jonathan Cross]

I have been reading about the new Leica Q3 Monochrom (in case I win the lottery!).  Mention is made of having to use coloured filters to change how dark or light colours appear in the image.  When processing in LR, one can mask, e.g. the sky, and then darken that, thus simulating a red filter.  So why buy a red filter?

In puzzlement,

Jonathan

[timwilson]

The LR process to darken the sky works by reducing B channel luminance relative to R&G. With a monochrome sensor, there are no RG or B channels. The B luminance has to be controlled before any light hits the sensor. This inflexibility is the chief disadvantage of monochrome systems in my opinion.

[Rob C]

Closely followed by the loss of the ability to play with controlled filter effects in the computer (while you’re converting to black/white) because there no are colours with which to play.

I’ve looked at a lot of black/white-type sensor photos online, and it’s difficult to accept that that type of capture always leads to the best look. There seems to be a general weakness in the highlights areas, with loss of detail apparent in what I might have considered important areas. (Okay, perhaps user over exposure error, but that’s kinda beyond the limits of reasonable deconstruction of the photo.)

If I were to be interested in printing, maybe the files might look a bit crisper, but for me at least, that era has been and gone.

Frankly, the fewer limits your camera imposes, the better. Which is not to say I’m much of a fan of having a machine capable of miracles, when all I want to do is take advantage of auto ISO if I want it, and autofocus because my eyes are not as they were. Some form of stabilisation would help, especially when going beyond a 50mm lens, but of my cameras, only my iPhone has that - as far as I know.

[langier]

I've considered using color filters when I shoot in monochrome on my fully color-capable cameras but the built-in b&w filters seemed to work well enough I didn't really need to bother. However, the final image was a fully-processed jpeg backed up with a raw file.

Rather than having to bother with the monochrome settings any more, I'll simply process the photo in ACR/Photoshop where I can use multiple filters on the same image to make my best photo.

I don't have to run a red filter to blacken the sky then wish the foreground wasn't as bright. I can simply select the sky and run the digital red filter then for the landscape part, use something not as drastic.

It's just so much easier to start with a high-bit raw file and then do your b&w conversation using the best technology available and fine-tune the grayscale to my heart's content.

[KLaban]

I don't doubt there are those here - Rob C would be an obvious candidate - who are B&W specialists and can look through a colour device and see in monochrome. For us lesser mortals, including this dedicated colour snapper, I admit I'd struggle, as would perhaps many others?

;-)

[timwilson]

I don't doubt there are those here - Rob C would be an obvious candidate - who are B&W specialists and can look through a colour device and see in monochrome. For us lesser mortals, including this dedicated colour snapper, I admit I'd struggle, as would perhaps many others?

The number one feature that sold me on the idea of mirrorless back in 2009 when Micro Four Thirds emerged was the ability to compose in B&W. Second was the ability to change viewfinder aspect ratio. Add big sensors and really good EVFs and I haven't looked back.

[Rob C]

It’s basically quite simple: the key is in understanding that a mid-red and a mid-green, as with all other mid-tones, will look exactly the same as a mid-grey. It becomes nothing more difficult than wondering how those non- mid-grey tones will stand out from one another in terms of grey.

Unless you’re doing commercial stuff, my advice would be this: if you like the shapes, just shoot ‘em regardless. Something may look great in colour even if not so wonderful in black/white; digital photography has removed the cost of film: take advantage of that and leave the steel bracelets at home.

This is pretty much what langier has advised: begin with the best Raw you can produce, then take it from there.

[Rob C]

Further to the above observation:

an iPhone snap showing the problem with identifying what is, or is not a mid-tone.

Whether iPhone technology alters colour perception to the sensors I do not know, but I feel that with a b/w film original, shooting without filters, the tonalities within the main part of the graffito would have looked more similar than they do here, converted, without using filtration sliders, from the original, unaltered, iPhone file.

It would be interesting if somebody who actually owns a digital mono sensor camera, as well as a normal one with the usual colour sensitivities, could amplify on my little test above with their own subject matter.

Rob