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Author Topic: Shot in B&W and opened as Colour?  (Read 2968 times)

Philippe

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Shot in B&W and opened as Colour?
« on: July 19, 2009, 11:16:04 am »

Why are B&W RAW files taken with the K20D set in B&W mode via the FN -> Custom Image, opened as COLOUR RAW files in Light Room 2.4? The same happens in Bridge CS3 and PS. It is as all the B&W info is gone and replaced by colour. I know that in B&W mode, the files are still RGB, but B&W in RGB is not that exceptional...
It looks like shooting B&W is rather virtual, for the PP software at least.

The files are not in-camera processed and when I review the pictures on the camera's LCD screen, they appear in B&W.

When shooting, 'thinking in B&W' is not the same as done in Colour.

Philippe

Jeremy Payne

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Shot in B&W and opened as Colour?
« Reply #1 on: July 19, 2009, 11:22:22 am »

Because there is no such thing as a "B&W" RAW file ... a RAW file is a RAW file ...

If you want it B&W, you need to use the RAW data to create an image.  Your camera can do that ... and so can LR.

The issue is that LR doesn't read your camera's 'tags' (if they exist) that say: "Process me as a B&W image" ... all it sees is the RAW data.
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Misirlou

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Shot in B&W and opened as Colour?
« Reply #2 on: July 22, 2009, 10:25:14 am »

Besides, Lightroom gives you far more control over the black and white rendering of different colors and tones than any camera will. There are some really outstanding tools in Lightroom for producing black and white images from color ones. You could try darkening just the blues, sort of the way a red filter worked on film, for example. If you shoot jpg and raw with your camera simultaneously, take a look at one of the jpgs, and see if you can't do a lot better by converting the color raw file in Lightroom.
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jpegman

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Shot in B&W and opened as Colour?
« Reply #3 on: July 22, 2009, 02:34:32 pm »

Quote from: Philippe
Why are B&W RAW files taken with the K20D set in B&W mode via the FN -> Custom Image, opened as COLOUR RAW files in Light Room 2.4? The same happens in Bridge CS3 and PS. It is as all the B&W info is gone and replaced by colour. I know that in B&W mode, the files are still RGB, but B&W in RGB is not that exceptional...
It looks like shooting B&W is rather virtual, for the PP software at least.

The files are not in-camera processed and when I review the pictures on the camera's LCD screen, they appear in B&W.

When shooting, 'thinking in B&W' is not the same as done in Colour.

Philippe

It's a contradiction to say you want a B&W RAW file. What your K20D is doing internally is processing the RAW data into a B&W  jpeg (of whatever resolution and compression you chose) and showing you the "jpeg" output on your camera's LCD screen (screen images are always jpeg images).  If you want the B&W image you see on the LCD screen, then output the file from the camera as a jpeg, not a RAW file.
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Jim Pascoe

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Shot in B&W and opened as Colour?
« Reply #4 on: July 23, 2009, 07:53:29 am »

Phillippe

Not withstanding the previous comments, most cameras allow you to record the data as jpeg and raw simultaneously.  That way you can see the image as you shot it right away without the distraction of seeing it in colour first.  Then if you do need the flexibility afforded by using the raw data, you can go back and do the conversion in Lightroom.

We were in London yesterday, a rare visit for us provincial types.  I took my Panasonic G1, and set it to B&W mode, and 16:9 ratio.  The nice thing about the G1 in B&W mode is that of course the electronic viewfinder is also showing the image in B&W!  I did however leave the quality setting to raw though.  When I imported the pictures into Lightroom this morning, they converted into full colour as soon as the previews were done!  Now I know that I can change them into monochrome very easily, but it does somehow spoil the magic to see them in colour - even briefly.  There is something quite special about viewing, shooting and editing in mono.  Next time I will set the camera to record in jpeg and raw.

As another has already said, the conversion to mono is ultimately best handled by Lightroom.

Jim
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Christopher

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Shot in B&W and opened as Colour?
« Reply #5 on: July 25, 2009, 08:05:11 pm »

Quote from: Jim Pascoe
Phillippe

Not withstanding the previous comments, most cameras allow you to record the data as jpeg and raw simultaneously.  That way you can see the image as you shot it right away without the distraction of seeing it in colour first.  Then if you do need the flexibility afforded by using the raw data, you can go back and do the conversion in Lightroom.

We were in London yesterday, a rare visit for us provincial types.  I took my Panasonic G1, and set it to B&W mode, and 16:9 ratio.  The nice thing about the G1 in B&W mode is that of course the electronic viewfinder is also showing the image in B&W!  I did however leave the quality setting to raw though.  When I imported the pictures into Lightroom this morning, they converted into full colour as soon as the previews were done!  Now I know that I can change them into monochrome very easily, but it does somehow spoil the magic to see them in colour - even briefly.  There is something quite special about viewing, shooting and editing in mono.  Next time I will set the camera to record in jpeg and raw.

As another has already said, the conversion to mono is ultimately best handled by Lightroom.

Jim

Just use a simple BW preset when importing raws and you won't see you images in color. No need to shoot jpgs.
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Christopher Hauser
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Philippe

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Shot in B&W and opened as Colour?
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2009, 09:09:55 am »

Thank you all for the interesting answers!
Interestingly enough, when I do an in-camera B&W conversion, on the spot, with the camera's software. I can do this by first converting the RAW in to a TIFF and then in to a B&W and then even tweaking it a little (contrast, colour filter, toning, even the sharpness...). Sometimes, I find that image better then when doing it, later, in LR2.
The B&W image is a little closer to what I had in mind at the moment of the shooting. But of course, tweaking on the spot takes some time. Perhaps, that might be a little step closer to what it took to shoot in the good old analogue days. After all, nothing is wrong with taking your time wile shooting, it is not a step back, I guess...  

The only thing that has to be done, the 'day after', is tweaking the image a little more in detail while seeing it on the big computer screen.

Philippe
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