[Jonathan Mac]

Not to offend anyone, and I don't know how many here are using in-camera jpegs and how many are post-processing in an external program, but it does seem to me that Pentax haven't made any changes to their standard B&W jpeg profile. They still look a bit low-contrast and dull.

I've always found the B&W profile in my K-3 to be quite poor by modern standards (Fujifilm's and Panasonic's are much nicer), and of course there's an element of taste, but I had hoped that this would be improved for a dedicated B&W camera.

[Digitalis]

They still look a bit low-contrast and dull.

99% of the time i'm shooting RAW. Sometimes I'll do an quick in camera conversion to tiff and work that way but those situations are pretty rare.


I think Pentax have geared the JPG engine to give a bit more freedom for post processing - Fuji and Panasonic certainly give you a lot more control with in-camera processing however the end product isn't as easily fixable if for some reason you need to edit an image.

[pevik]

Not to offend anyone, and I don't know how many here are using in-camera jpegs and how many are post-processing in an external program, but it does seem to me that Pentax haven't made any changes to their standard B&W jpeg profile. They still look a bit low-contrast and dull.

I've always found the B&W profile in my K-3 to be quite poor by modern standards (Fujifilm's and Panasonic's are much nicer), and of course there's an element of taste, but I had hoped that this would be improved for a dedicated B&W camera.

There are 3 custom modes you can set that alters how tones are rendered. There is Standard, Hard and Soft modes. Also, you can adjust tones / contrast for shadows and highlights separately, prior to taking photos.


Check out "Monochrome-specific Custom Image" at Feature | PENTAX K-3 Mark III Monochrome | RICOH IMAGING ->

[Jonathan Mac]

There are 3 custom modes you can set that alters how tones are rendered. There is Standard, Hard and Soft modes. Also, you can adjust tones / contrast for shadows and highlights separately, prior to taking photos.

Check out "Monochrome-specific Custom Image" at Feature | PENTAX K-3 Mark III Monochrome | RICOH IMAGING ->

Yes, I don't think it's really been updated since my K-3 and I've never been able to get as nice SOOC B&Ws from the K-3 as I get from some other cameras.

[garywakeling]

First day out with the camera and looking forward to learning how best to use it and process the files, so far it feels like using slide film, you really need to protect the highlights.

[Digitalis]

you really need to protect the highlights.

No kidding, nearly half the lightning shots I took of the storms the other night were blown out from unexpectedly bright lightning. The unpredictability of lightning coupled with the limited highlight headroom of the KiMONO makes that kind of photography a bit tricky.

In my testing the highlight handling characteristics of the Leica M10 Monochrom* is a bit different from the KiMONO. As you approach 255 (pure white in 8 bit format*) the Leica monochrom seems to have a bit of a shoulder to it, where the Pentax KiMONO seems to behave with more linearity. I think Leica has gone for a more conservative tone curve in-camera as this trait is evident in JPGs and in RAW files.


I'm doing some experiments under precisely controlled studio lighting with RAWdigger to characterize this trait.


* The M9 Monochrom is different too. It has a CCD which burns out highlight detail very easily, shadow detail can be problematic too. Internally the tone curve seems to be compressive so details can easily be lost if you only shoot JPG.

** Higher bit depths in RAW files different cameras have different points where highlight detail completely burns out.

[Digitalis]

Cat in the bag..


Pentax KiMONO SMCP-K 55mm f/1.8 @ f/1.8 ISO64000 1/250th [no noise reduction used]

I wouldn't ordinarily use such a high ISO, but the KiMONO is remarkably usable even such an extreme setting.

[Digitalis]

Among the first shots I ever took with the new camera after giving it a wet cleaning*.


Pentax KiMONO SMCP-K 50mm f/1.2 @ f/4 ISO 3200 1/125th



* Ever since the Nikon D850 oil spot controversy I have made a habit of wet cleaning every new cameras sensor to make sure there aren't any horrid sensor spots left from the factory lurking on the sensor.

[denton]

This morning I went for a walk in NYC's Central Park. I usually only take one lens to try and make the most of it. I've now shot all my MF lenses except for the 135mm 3.5. Not exactly a sports lens. But I remembered how we did it back in the '70s. Pick a spot to focus on and let the action flow through it. Got a few good ones.

[gatorguy]

First full day out with the KiiiMono. I think I like it. I used the 16-50PLM, A16 Fisheye, Laowa 12mm Zero-D, DA70, and DA*200. Maybe another lens, but not certain. I was trying not to leave too many of the babies out.

[KURO]

Not to offend anyone, and I don't know how many here are using in-camera jpegs and how many are post-processing in an external program, but it does seem to me that Pentax haven't made any changes to their standard B&W jpeg profile. They still look a bit low-contrast and dull.

I've always found the B&W profile in my K-3 to be quite poor by modern standards (Fujifilm's and Panasonic's are much nicer), and of course there's an element of taste, but I had hoped that this would be improved for a dedicated B&W camera.

Hi, I am a Pentax user in Taiwan. English is not my native language,
so please bear with me if my sentence structure is not very fluent.


The characteristic you mentioned, " dull." or a less pronounced contrast in terms of light performance,
is something I can relate to. I have also ordered a Pentax K-3 III monochrome edition,
but I have yet to receive it as it is still in transit.

I believe there could be a few reasons for this:

We are not yet accustomed to the pure black and white sensor,
which results in "monochrome images based on brightness performance.
" It's likely that both Pentax engineers and users are still exploring and adjusting to this new technology.
However, I believe it will improve over time. Prior to this, high-priced black and white cameras from Leica were the only options available, and they were not widely used, so similar issues were not commonly observed.

Over the past decade, we have become accustomed to black and white photos derived from color images.
In this process, we could enhance specific colors by switching color channels. For example,
Pentax's BW mode can simulate the effects of color filters by switching between seven color channels.

I believe this rendering process has shaped our perception of "black and white photos." In a pure black and white camera,
this functionality returns to the physical properties of filters. Without using filters,
the result may be the "original texture" that we observe.

Moreover, different manufacturers' BW modes exhibit significant variations in "contrast" characteristics.
For instance, (based on my experience with my wife's XT-3, )
Fujifilm's ACROS mode demonstrates a pronounced development trend at both the pure black and pure white ends.
This creates a distinct contrast performance in ACROS photos, which can be further fine-tuned through custom settings.

Pentax's customizable options also appear to have similar capabilities.
However, due to the limited number of K-3 III monochrome users currently,
the availability of user feedback is still scarce.
Nevertheless, I believe the JPEG output capability of the camera should also deliver a distinct contrast performance.

[CK1951]

First full day out with the KiiiMono. I think I like it. I used the 16-50PLM, A16 Fisheye, Laowa 12mm Zero-D, DA70, and DA*200. Maybe another lens, but not certain. I was trying not to leave too many of the babies out.

Lovely images.

[Digitalis]

What I enjoy most about the KiMONO is not being restrained by focal lengths as I am with my Leica RF cameras. Lenses in M mount with focal lengths of 200mm and longer are quite rare and difficult to use.


Birds in flight:

Pentax KiMONO Sigma 100-300mm f/4 APO EX @ 220mm f/16 ISO 200 1/15th handheld.

[pevik]

What I enjoy most about the KiMONO is not being restrained by focal lengths as I am with my Leica RF cameras

The "KiMONO" nickname gives me a gooseflesh every time you name it this way Maybe because it looks more like "K-1 Mono"...? Yeah, I think it's the case. Once Pentax releases K-1 Mono the perfect nickname for it would be occupied! Maybe we should go with "KiiiMONO"

EDIT: ...unless you're actually shooting a modified K-1 with color filter removed :?

[wm_brant]

Went to a show of historical military vehicles and snapped a couple of pictures. The vehicles were parked indoors, so I relied on the K-3 III Monochrome's high ISO capabilities.

Handheld 35/2.8 Limited at f/8, 1/60 sec, ISO 6400. No filters.