Black & White on the Nikon D70S - DPChallenge Forums

07/27/2006 05:30:01 PM · #1

I cannot discover from here, dpreview or on the Nikon site whether or not there is a black & white "colour" option on the D70S. Other cameras of a similar ilk offer the ability to shoot b&w as a raw capture and some even offer b&w filter emulation, too.

Does it?

Apologies if this has been answered before.

DjFenzl

07/27/2006 05:31:29 PM · #2

There is not. That would have to be done in post processing.

e301

07/27/2006 05:33:14 PM · #3

You can't shoot black&white as a RAW file. On the 350, if you set it to a black and white mode, you still just get a RAW file, but the camera's screen displays a black and white image, which is useful.

RAW, being the (mostly) unprocessed data from the sensor, actually cannot be B&W. All you need to do is de-saturate in your processor though.

e

kyebosh

Canon EOS-20D

Canon EF 80-200mm f/2.8L

07/27/2006 05:38:28 PM · #4

I wouldn't want to take a photo in b/w. You can always convert it later, and if you know what you're doing it'll turn out better besides.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

07/27/2006 05:40:24 PM · #5

Originally posted by e301:

Thanks Ed, for better articulating what I was trying to get at: a black and white mode on the D70s that shows a b&w image on the screen even though the raw mode remains complete.

Also appears that the D70s doesn't do it, which sadly takes it off of my "next camera" list... bugger! :-) I have discovered how much I like to "shoot" b&w and therefore want a camera that will allow me to do so.

To be fair, this is in part driven by the excellence of the shots in your portfolio as well the "moody and arty" side of me wanting to explore this again.

hanneke

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

07/27/2006 05:41:38 PM · #6

but Carl, wouldn't it be nicer to adjust your photo yourself, play with settings, contrasts, channels etc in PS?
then you'd have all control, and you can decide if you're gonna do it b&w or color.

:)

Message edited by author 2006-07-27 17:42:20.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

07/27/2006 05:47:02 PM · #7

Originally posted by biteme:

Chuckle...

To be honest, Hanneke, I am trying to do as much "in camera" without being destructive as I can. I am trying to go down a minimal post processing path for a while to see where that takes me and my next two projects will both be b&w.

Sigh! The EOS-30D does do in camera b&w but I do not like the ergonomics that much... and the Nikon D200 is way to expensive when you add on the cost of lenses etc. And the D80 will not be available for ages... (moan mode off :-)

hanneke

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

07/27/2006 05:53:07 PM · #8

aaaaw... tough decision, right?

Did you try the 30D? Did you hold it, shoot with it? Really, it feels verrrry nice ;-)

curious to your projects, can you tell more about it yet?

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

07/28/2006 04:07:52 AM · #9

Originally posted by biteme:

aaaaw... tough decision, right?

Did you try the 30D? Did you hold it, shoot with it? Really, it feels verrrry nice ;-)

curious to your projects, can you tell more about it yet?

I have played with the 30D for about 20 minutes on a couple of separate occasions and while it felt OK I found the Nikon D70s and the D200 easier to use. On the other hand, I now have the chance of a Canon EOS 1D MkII for a very good price... and I actually like the Olympus E-500 and there is a great price on that... and then there is the new Sony alpha 100... silent scream

As to the projects, well I need to start taking pictures for me and not the challenges so I have two projects in mind. The first is loosely called "Peace and Tranquility" and is about capturing images that represent peace and stillness, a little like the current Zen challenge. I have a lot of ideas for this one and hope to start the project for real this weekend.

The second one is "Contrast & Contradiction in Towns and Cities". As I get to travel around a lot - more in the UK than elsewhere these days - I cannot help but notice the polarisation of city living. On the one hand you have houses selling for 5,000,000 â�¬ in one part of town and yet down the road you have street people. You also see incredibly old monuments and features that are counter-balanced by modernity. And then there are the contrasts in the people and the way that they live in these urban conurbations. As you might have guessed, this is a subject dear to my heart. The London GTG is a good starting point for this in August but I have some images already from travel this year.

I am going to build a Smugmug site this weekend to host these projects and a bunch of other stuff as well, including a band shoot I did a few months back. In many ways I think that this is me taking my first real steps into photography with a meaning to and for me. I intend to use black and white wherever I can.

Oops! A long message - sorry to all of you who thought this might be interesting.

hanneke

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

07/28/2006 04:15:53 AM · #10

well it it interesting!

your projects sound good, and indeed, I really think they suit you. they both sound very interesting, both with their own special characters.

goodluck with it, and could you send me the link when your smugmug site is online?

nicoledb

Nikon D70s

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8G IF-ED

07/28/2006 07:30:52 AM · #11

You can't do in-camera with the D70(s), but when you have Capture with it, you can do B&W in there. That means you could create a standard post-processing routine, including B&W-conversion, that you apply in batch to all your RAW's with just one button-click.