GH2 Shoot B/W or fix it in post?
- Thread starter flowolf
- Start date
I'm under the impression that BW mode might resolve better detail than Color to BW in post.
My (very unscientific and very possibly wrong) understanding is the sensor in bw mode is concerned with capturing the greyscale values of a scene rather trying to interpolate color (ie red) in color mode.
I watched a music video some time ago when a friend of mine lit a scene (involving the Devil) with red lights. Because the Bayer system devotes only 25 percent to red and interpolates the rest, the picture came out looking very mushy and had no detail.
I'm sure that mushiness and lack of detail will just transfer over from a color shot to BW in post.
Some weeks later I was asked to do a pick up shot of the Devil. I shot normally (no red lights just the usual white) and colored the Devil red in post. The picture was much more detailed and sharper.
My (very unscientific and very possibly wrong) understanding is the sensor in bw mode is concerned with capturing the greyscale values of a scene rather trying to interpolate color (ie red) in color mode.
I watched a music video some time ago when a friend of mine lit a scene (involving the Devil) with red lights. Because the Bayer system devotes only 25 percent to red and interpolates the rest, the picture came out looking very mushy and had no detail.
I'm sure that mushiness and lack of detail will just transfer over from a color shot to BW in post.
Some weeks later I was asked to do a pick up shot of the Devil. I shot normally (no red lights just the usual white) and colored the Devil red in post. The picture was much more detailed and sharper.
I think it very likely could matter. The processor in these cameras does a LOT, so, for instance, how does the compressor handle the B&W vs. Color data?
You will probably have to do thorough tests to find out for sure, unless you find someone else who has already done the tests.
Good luck!
As documented elsewhere on this forum by Hunter Richards, you can get a really nice B&W look straight out of the camera by shooting in ETC mode, using dynamic B&W, and cranking the ISO to 1600 or above. Try it!
http://vimeo.com/17472698
http://vimeo.com/17472698
As documented elsewhere on this forum by Hunter Richards, you can get a really nice B&W look straight out of the camera by shooting in ETC mode, using dynamic B&W, and cranking the ISO to 1600 or aboveTry it!
http://vimeo.com/17472698
humm... thx for this, pretty interesting
If you understand B&W filtering, then shooting in B&W _can_ give better results. Otherwise, shoot in color and convert later.
Proper B&W filtering can give you better tonal separation under certain conditions. Certain effects like turning a blue sky into black via a polarizer + dark red filter is alot easier to do in camera - you could do the filtering and capture in color, but when you capture in B&W, you can see/understand the effect.
Proper B&W filtering can give you better tonal separation under certain conditions. Certain effects like turning a blue sky into black via a polarizer + dark red filter is alot easier to do in camera - you could do the filtering and capture in color, but when you capture in B&W, you can see/understand the effect.
