[Leica] M8 B&W questions

Peter Dzwig pdzwig at summaventures.com
Tue Feb 15 09:16:58 PST 2022


I completely agree.

I keep an archive of RAW files, which is what I work on and treat as the 
digital equivalent of negatives. I generally do my conversions as .TIFFs 
Then, when I print them or post them I generally save as jpgs.

**BUT** very sadly, when I have film processed by Ilford and scanned by 
them despite any requests it always comes back as jpegs, so then I am 
limited to a few minor adjustments :-(

M3 due back from repair soon-ish!

Peter

On 15/02/2022 16:16, Jayanand Govindaraj via LUG wrote:
> IMHO, all cameras nowadays produce great files despite their flaws (and all
> of them have flaws), and I don't see why the M8 should be any different. My
> view is just use the body that feels most natural in your hands and do not
> obsess with the brand name, so that you do not miss shots fiddling with the
> settings/controls. The idea is to get the shot as painlessly as we can!
> 
> I do not see why you would want to lose the benefits of a RAW file, though.
> To state an analogy to film, a RAW file is like an unprocessed piece  of
> film that you can develop (process) a million different ways if you wish.
> Why lose such an advantage, especially as improvements in software come
> along that seriously enhance your options all the time.
> 
> Cheers
> Jayanand
> 
> On Tue, Feb 15, 2022 at 8:40 PM Jean-Michel Mertz via LUG <
> lug at leica-users.org> wrote:
> 
>>
>> Dear Luggers,
>> I bought an M8 back in 2010. I've used it ever since for colour
>> photography, shooting in raw and then developing my pictures in Lightroom.
>> I think this camera produces great pictures despite its basic flaws - its
>> infrared sensitivity and the 1.33 crop factor. In fact the lens you choose
>> helps a lot ! (I use a summicron 35 on a daily basis).
>>
>> Now there's a good number of photographers who have come to realize that
>> this camera also produces fairly good B&W pictures. Some even compare them
>> to pictures taken with the M Monochrom. My point here is not the conversion
>> we all do from raw files to B&W, thanks to LR, PS, etc. I'd like to know
>> what your opinion is on shooting direct JPEG files in B&W and then
>> developing the pictures for example in Silver E. I've seen some really
>> smashing JPEG + SE pictures. Of course, you can't have large prints. Of
>> course, you won't have the possibility to resort to your raw files in
>> colour should you need to work on details.
>>
>> I've recently done a few pictures with my M8 + a 1949 Elmar 50, 3.5. It's
>> (almost) like shooting film. I mean, I get the same thrill. The pictures
>> have a nostalgic quality I miss when shooting colour and then converting
>> the files to B&W. And having a look at the LCD display is, after all, a
>> good way to assess the picture - a bit faster than darkroom work !
>>
>> Is the M8 the "poor man's monochrom" ?
>>
>> Thanks for your answers and any advice that might help me get the most
>> (the best !) out of my M8 !
>>
>> JM
>>
>> _______________________________________________
>> Leica Users Group.
>> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information
>>
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information

-- 

Dr. Peter Dzwig


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