[MD Optofonik]

Anyone prefer OOC RAW b&w images vs converting in LR, either natively or with plugins? Is there any kind of unique character to the OOC b&w images? Any examples? I know the accepted wisdom is shoot color and convert in post.

[mtux]

Is there such a thing as "OOC RAW monochrome" with Q?
Haven't heard it.

[Miguel]

Unless you are using one of the rare cameras (Leica M monochrome comes to mind) with a dedicated B&W sensor, all Raw shots present color data. I'm assuming that you are referring to the B&W conversion being done in camera vs. doing the conversion in external software such as LR?
To answer your question, nope, I almost always prefer conversion via human judgement using software. But I have enjoyed a lot of OOC jpeg-based quickie conversions. Great shots are great shots.

In a similar vein, I am a big fan of Kodak BW400CN film and have obtained some killer C-41 results OOC so to speak.

M

[MD Optofonik]

Ohhh. So the monochrome settings on the Q all produce jpg images. Hmm. Fair enough. So, do these OOC monochrome jpg images have any sort of "character" that would lead one to think there is no reason to post process?

[mtux]

Ohhh. So the monochrome settings on the Q all produce jpg images. Hmm. Fair enough. So, do these OOC monochrome jpg images have any sort of "character" that would lead one to think there is no reason to post process?

I don't think so.

[Miguel]

Ohhh. So the monochrome settings on the Q all produce jpg images. Hmm. Fair enough. So, do these OOC monochrome jpg images have any sort of "character" that would lead one to think there is no reason to post process?

I think it is more random excellence mostly inherent with the shot. Every now and then any camera will produce a kickass B&W jpeg that a raw conversion will only minimally improve.

M

[murrelet]

I like the Q's "bold monochrome" quick dial setting. I won't post-process other than cropping. However, I'm sure you can replicate that look from a RAW image.

[Wired]

I very much enjoy the bold monocrhome setting of my Q' and Q'7's jpgs OOC. There are times when I would rather manually do the conversion to retain some details that sometimes get blacked out due to the incredibly high contrast the OOC jpg does, so I shoot RAW+ and make the decision when I get into Lightroom.

That being said, I recently purchased all 5 of the VSCO plugin packages and I'm in love with using them as a base for my color and b&w processing when it comes to street and landscape stuff. I've used them for some portrait projects, but it depends on the project.

[MD Optofonik]

I very much enjoy the bold monocrhome setting of my Q' and Q'7's jpgs OOC. There are times when I would rather manually do the conversion to retain some details that sometimes get blacked out due to the incredibly high contrast the OOC jpg does, so I shoot RAW+ and make the decision when I get into Lightroom.

The images I've seen using the bold mono setting I like and they are partly responsible for this post. After waiting on the Fotodiox adapter for way too long (I finally cancelled it today) I caved in and bought the Q "primes" and am going see for myself. I'll probably just order the Pentax adapter from B&H this week if I can't find one used; they don't seem to go up for sale very often.

That being said, I recently purchased all 5 of the VSCO plugin packages and I'm in love with using them as a base for my color and b&w processing when it comes to street and landscape stuff. I've used them for some portrait projects, but it depends on the project.

I've heard conflicting reports about VSCO's grain distribution between tonal ranges being realistic or not. What do you think so far?

[Wired]

The images I've seen using the bold mono setting I like and they are partly responsible for this post. After waiting on the Fotodiox adapter for way too long (I finally cancelled it today) I caved in and bought the Q "primes" and am going see for myself. I'll probably just order the Pentax adapter from B&H this week if I can't find one used; they don't seem to go up for sale very often.

I love my Q-K OEM adapter, it was a little pricier, but it's solidly built and really smooth. I have had issues with the shutter not resetting for me recently, and don't know if its a Q7 issue or not, may have to look into that further.

I've heard conflicting reports about VSCO's grain distribution between tonal ranges being realistic or not. What do you think so far?

The grain distribution can be really messy sometimes. I find I just turn the grain off most of the time, or lower it. There's two parts to VSCO when using it with Lightroom, there are the camera profiles, which are usless with Pentax cameras, and then there are the preset actions.

The camera profiles, which really only work with Canon and Nikon are what I use with my D800 as a basis and typically ignore the presets. They work very well and just adjust the colors to match. So I will use Portra 160 (my favourite film) in the camera profile and use it as a starting point for my edits.

With the plugin settings I will flip through based on what I want out of the image. So if I'm looking for something with a lot of greens and muted neutral colors I will look at the Fuji Velvia presets. Flip through them until I see something I like as they got numerous presets for each film speed. The film speed presets don't just adjust grain as the vibrancy and color balance can differ from 100 to 400 for example. I then will go straight to the "grain" slider in the develop module and take it right back to 0. If I want grain I'll add it back in, and only if I feel it will add to the image. Once I take the grain out I use the white/black sliders to balance the histogram and then go through my usual editing process from there. Really I just want the colour balance profiles of the film presets.




not from Q, but this is an example of how my final results come out with the VSCO and Lightroom technique I described above.

[MD Optofonik]

I love my Q-K OEM adapter, it was a little pricier, but it's solidly built and really smooth. I have had issues with the shutter not resetting for me recently, and don't know if its a Q7 issue or not, may have to look into that further.




The grain distribution can be really messy sometimes. I find I just turn the grain off most of the time, or lower it. There's two parts to VSCO when using it with Lightroom, there are the camera profiles, which are usless with Pentax cameras, and then there are the preset actions.

The camera profiles, which really only work with Canon and Nikon are what I use with my D800 as a basis and typically ignore the presets. They work very well and just adjust the colors to match. So I will use Portra 160 (my favourite film) in the camera profile and use it as a starting point for my edits.

With the plugin settings I will flip through based on what I want out of the image. So if I'm looking for something with a lot of greens and muted neutral colors I will look at the Fuji Velvia presets. Flip through them until I see something I like as they got numerous presets for each film speed. The film speed presets don't just adjust grain as the vibrancy and color balance can differ from 100 to 400 for example. I then will go straight to the "grain" slider in the develop module and take it right back to 0. If I want grain I'll add it back in, and only if I feel it will add to the image. Once I take the grain out I use the white/black sliders to balance the histogram and then go through my usual editing process from there. Really I just want the colour balance profiles of the film presets.




not from Q, but this is an example of how my final results come out with the VSCO and Lightroom technique I described above.

Thanks for that.

[ritualnet]

i noticed in a youtube review of the various Pentax Q bits, that Blunty had a custom black and white setting. Does anyone know what it is, or failing that, have their own custom black and white settings they would like to share? I have one space left on my quick dial for something, and while I love the black and white contrast setting, sometimes it's a tad harsh for what I want it to do.

[pntx]

i noticed in a youtube review of the various Pentax Q bits, that Blunty had a custom black and white setting. Does anyone know what it is, or failing that, have their own custom black and white settings they would like to share? I have one space left on my quick dial for something, and while I love the black and white contrast setting, sometimes it's a tad harsh for what I want it to do.

if you mean the bold monochrome yeah i agree, what i did was to replace it on the quick dial with normal b&w plus the high contrast filter set to minimun, FWIW i've also aplied an yellow filter and a nod to the right with sharpness on the b&w adjustments. a couple examples:

b&w + high contrast filter


bold monochrome

[ritualnet]

Can you apply two filters at once?

[CWRailman]

if you mean the bold monochrome yeah i agree, what i did was to replace it on the quick dial with normal b&w plus the high contrast filter set to minimun, FWIW i've also aplied an yellow filter and a nod to the right with sharpness on the b&w adjustments. a couple examples:

You mention that with the normal B&W you use the minimum high contrast filter setting but then supplement that with a yellow filter? How is that different than upping the high contrast filter setting a notch or two? Have you tried this with a red filter or does that provide too much contrast? Any compensation on the exposure?

Denny