Problem shooting black and white w/ 20D

[shortpballer]

I put my 20D in B & W mode. When I shoot it comes out in black and white on my lcd. However when I export the images into aperture it comes out in color? Is this normal? I feel that either I'm doing something wrong or if this is normal, this is the worst design ever...

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

You shouldn't shoot in b&w in camera anyway.

 

[ANDS!]

You shouldn't shoot in b&w in camera anyway.

Nothing wrong with that.

When I shoot it comes out in black and white on my lcd.

What file format are you using? If it's shooting in RAW, it should be displaying the CONVERTED file on your LCD - however depending on the software you use to export, it may not be maintaining the camera presets you've chosen.

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

Nothing wrong with shooting in Auto Mode either.

 

[ANDS!]

Nothing wrong with shooting in Auto Mode either.

There really isn't. My camera is pretty much perma-stuck on Aperture-Priority.

 

[robertwsimpson]

when I shoot in raw B&W the pics come out color also. Then I just desaturate them. no biggie.

 

[Slaphead]

If you shoot in raw the the raw file is in colour regardless of whatever camera settings you have. Aperture does not maintain the camera settings at all. If you shoot in JPEG then yes you'll see all of the settings that you've applied, but it's not good to shoot in JPEG if you want to edit the photo.

Seriously, shoot in raw and use Aperture to convert to B&W. You'll have a far better result and be able to see how the adjustments affect the photo without losing the colour information, which in my mind is critical to achieving a good B&W conversion.

 

[shortpballer]

I shoot in raw. So must be the problem. Definitely don't shoot in auto mode. Mostly manual and if not aperture priority.

 

[SrBiscuit]

it optimizes for BW...so that when you do the conversion it will look better.
if you want BW ooc, shoot jpg :thumbup:

personally i prefer shooting everything in color, and then converting the ones i want later.

you can always go color-->BW

can't go the other way

 

[Bitter Jeweler]

I shoot in raw. So must be the problem. Definitely don't shoot in auto mode. Mostly manual and if not aperture priority.

That's my point. If you like to make decisions instead of the camera doing it for you, why would you let the camera decide how best to handle your B+W processing?

 

[Dwig]

I shoot in raw. So must be the problem. ...

The shooting in RAW is not, itself, the problem here. The problem is not understanding what RAW fomrats are and how RAW converters work.

1. ALL RAW formats are color only except in rare scientific cameras that only shot B&W.

2. All cameras always shoot RAW and only RAW.

3. Cameras have embedded RAW-to-JPEG converters which are used to convert the RAW data to a JPEG for preview and, if you select JPEG as the save mode, to save to the memory card.

4. The camera settings for WB, contrast, saturation, B&W, ... are saved as notes appended to the RAW files when you select RAW as the same mode.

5. The setting note attached to RAW files are specific to the software in the camera and the camera manufacturer's software running on you personal computer. These settings are meaningless to any other software. When you convert a RAW to a bitmap format on a PC (Mac or Windows) the software can't make any sense of the setting notes in the RAW file and must, instead, apply its own defaults, either the factory defaults or some custom default you've created. Some RAW converters have only one set of factory defaults and others have a library of different defaults for different cameras. Either way, they don't read the notes in the RAW files saved by the camera.

What this boils down to is that for the B&W mode in any camera to work you must use that camera's own specific software, either the camera's embedded software by saving as JPEG or the standalone software supplied by the camera manufacturer specifically for that camera.

As handy as the in-camera B&W mode can be, almost always its possible to get better results doing a B&W conversion custom to each individual image. To do this, you must do the conversion as part of your PP routine.

 

[molyart]

hello all, I prefer to shoot in color and then change it to monochrome by editing it on computer. for black and white shooting you can check this link
Black and White

 

[ann]

ah, another one of these year old threads make a new appearance