Digital Monochrome

[LargeFormat]

Using a digital camera I have always captured the image in colour and converted it to monochrome in post processing. My daughter, on the other hand switches the camera to mono.

I have read somewhere that it is better to do one rather than the other but can't remember which is which. Can someone advise on the alternative merits?

[Roger_Provins]

I'd capture in colour and transform later PP.

There is an exception though.

With the live-view on my Sony a350 that's also in B/W when that mode is selected (I expect all LV are) ... so one "sees" in mono - which is much better my visualising

[Intermanaut]

Capture in colour, convert later.

[beejaybee]

Capture in RAW! The camera monochrome is just saturation reduced to zero; capturing raw you have all the information the sensor sees available to the computer, you can mix RGB in any proportions you want to get filter effects.

[El_Sid]

I always capture in RAW format and colour leaving the conversion for later. This way I can tweak for best results.

Previously I have used channel mixer in PS or Fen's two saturation layer method to convert to mono but just lately I've been playing about with converting directly to mono in the RAW converter (Canon's own DPP) which seems to give really nice smooth results - probably because it's 16-bit rather than the 8-bit of PS7...

With my 20D I do set the parameters to mono so that I get a rough idea on the screen of how the shot looks.

[Fen]

Capture in RAW! The camera monochrome is just saturation reduced to zero; capturing raw you have all the information the sensor sees available to the computer, you can mix RGB in any proportions you want to get filter effects.

Either that or it only captures the information from one colour channel (normally the Red Channel).

Much better (as everyone has said) to capture colour and then convert to B&W

[LargeFormat]

Either that or it only captures the information from one colour channel (normally the Red Channel).

Ah! that's the wrinkle I had at the back of my mind. It struck me that if the camera only captures one channel its resolution will be reduced to a half if it's the green and a third for the red and blue. Is that right and does anyone know which cameras, if any, do single channel capture?

At least I can be confident when I tell my daughter she should do it like me.

[beejaybee]

Is that right and does anyone know which cameras, if any, do single channel capture?

All of them, if you mix the channels 100:0:0 R:G:B (red filter) or G:R:B (green filter) or B:R:G (blue filter).
BTW the luminance noise goes way up, too.

Kodak had a point when they introduced a DSLR with a monochrome sensor. Didn't last long in the market, though.

Most astronomers use monochrome sensors, taking seperate exposures through filters to get colour if they want it.

[fabs]

If I'm shooting with mono in mind, I'll shoot in RAW but I will still set the camera to B&W as it helps me at the time and gives me a better idea of what I'm aiming for when I do the conversion.

[taylorconor]

Even while I am setting up for a mono image, I will shoot in colour, just do I dont look back after and say 'Oh, that looks a bit flat'

[Benchista]

If I'm shooting with mono in mind, I'll shoot in RAW but I will still set the camera to B&W as it helps me at the time and gives me a better idea of what I'm aiming for when I do the conversion.

Me too - I always shoot in RAW, but for mono it helps me get the shot right to set the camera up in B&W - I've several "picture styles" set up with different values set up for each channel to check my visualisation.