Best way to do B & W

[vandergus]

...do not have the ability to make true lossless Raw images-I know the Nikon consumer dslrs don't

OK, before someone jumps all over this, do you care to clarify exactly what you mean by "lossless RAW images", cause I've never seen a DSLR that can't shoot RAW.

[kencaleno]

Originally Posted by vandergus

OK, before someone jumps all over this, do you care to clarify exactly what you mean by "lossless RAW images", cause I've never seen a DSLR that can't shoot RAW.

From Thom Hogan:

"The Compressed NEF format is the only one that comes close to retaining the full data set the D50 is capable of acquiring. I say "close to retaining" because the compression scheme Nikon uses is not lossless. Basically, the camera takes the highlight data and places them into groups (essentially a rounding of many of the data points), producing the equivalent to somewhere between 9 and 10 bits of data. When this is returned to 12-bit form, there's a bit of posterization in the highlight data. The reason this works as a visually lossless scheme is that our eyes really can't resolve more than about an 8-bit value can produce (and our eyes aren't linear in response to light, either). For the most part it isn't a big thing that the compression loses data, though there may be some post-processing manipulations that will render slightly differently because of the data rounding.

The NEF format contains the compressed data that came from the CCD, with no interpolation or camera processing. Unfortunately, you need an extra software program to fully use this format (typically Capture 4.3). At least the Photoshop import filter supplied with the camera allows you to do some of the post exposure adjustments users like to do with their NEF files (exposure, white balance, and rotation, in this case). To get the most from NEF files, you need a converter program such as Nikon Capture, though."

Regards, KEN

[kencaleno]

Here are another 6 ways I know to convert color to black & white:

1. Greyscale:

Image>Mode>Greyscale
discard color information?-click "OK"
Save

2. Desaturate:

Image>Adjustments>Desaturate
save

3.Layers:
Ctrl+J
new adjustment layer- Hue/saturation
Reduce saturation to -100
New adjustment layer-Hue/saturation>Blues
drag "lightness" slider to -100
>Greens-push up to lighten
new adjustment layer>Hue/saturation
Increase saturation to just before noise appears
Flatten save

4.Channel mixer:

CCtrl+J
Image>Adjustments>Channel mixer
Check "monochrome" box
Move sliders to define image:
-as a starting point Red +50%
Green +50%
Blue 0%
Whatever the mix,total must add up to 100%
Flatten save

5.Kodak Plus X:

Image>Adjustments>Desaturate
Image>Mode>Lab color
Ctrl+J
Filter>Other>High Pass radius 10 pixels
Opacity between 20%-40%
Blend Mode-Hard light
New curve layer(Ctrl+M)
Input 22- Output 16
flatten
Image>Mode>RGB
save

6. Kodak Tri-X:

1. Desaturate color
Use either the hue/saturation or desaturate command to remove all color from the image.

2. Add monochrome noise -Just enough to see (Check "monochrome" box)


3. Adjust levels

Bleach Highlights
move the highlight slider to the left - this will start to cause the highlights to overexpose
Deepen Shadows
move the shadow slider a very small amount to the right - this will make the shadows a bit darker and increase the image contrast.
Adjust Midtones
adjust the midtone slider to taste

Save

Regards, Ken

[SarasotaTim]

I think someone else mentioned it, but for me, I always use Image Calculations in Photoshop to convert to B&W. Very easy to do, and I usually can get some good, contrasting Adams-type images that way.

[Bruce A]

Originally Posted by kencaleno

From Thom Hogan:

"The Compressed NEF format is the only one that comes close to retaining the full data set the D50 is capable of acquiring. I say "close to retaining" because the compression scheme Nikon uses is not lossless. Basically, the camera takes the highlight data and places them into groups (essentially a rounding of many of the data points), producing the equivalent to somewhere between 9 and 10 bits of data. When this is returned to 12-bit form, there's a bit of posterization in the highlight data. The reason this works as a visually lossless scheme is that our eyes really can't resolve more than about an 8-bit value can produce (and our eyes aren't linear in response to light, either). For the most part it isn't a big thing that the compression loses data, though there may be some post-processing manipulations that will render slightly differently because of the data rounding.

The NEF format contains the compressed data that came from the CCD, with no interpolation or camera processing. Unfortunately, you need an extra software program to fully use this format (typically Capture 4.3). At least the Photoshop import filter supplied with the camera allows you to do some of the post exposure adjustments users like to do with their NEF files (exposure, white balance, and rotation, in this case). To get the most from NEF files, you need a converter program such as Nikon Capture, though."

Regards, KEN

I'm not so sure this correct with all Nikon cameras Ken, as I just upgraded from a D90 to a D7000 which gives an option of compressed RAW (12bit) or uncompressed 14bit RAW if I have that right. If I'm wrong about this I'm sure you'll let me know.

[Shawn7656]

@Bruce: He was posting two years ago, it's probably changed since then.

Twas an interesting little squabble though. I wonder of those two ever worked it out... haha