[TheBishopOfSligo]

Yo.

I love black and white photography and want to continue to do so with my digital cameras.

I saw a system advertised where you screw a plate to the bottom of the camera body and then the filter is mounted on a pair of arms that sit in fron of the lens.

I own a Panasonic Lumix FZ20 and an Olympus Camedia 2040 Zoom - so is there a system out there that fits onto the lens?

I guess the answer is no because the lens on both of those cameras sits inside the body when it's powered down.

Can I use software filters on a B&W picture in the digital darkroom?

[Petographer]

I suppose you can say it is a rule of thumb with digital photographers to always shoot in colour and convert to black and white after. Shooting in B&W right from the camera reduces your options. As far as the filter question goes I am not familiar with those camera brands too much but some zoom cameras have an option where you can purchase a lens adapter. From there you can add on lenses and/or filters.

[shuttertalk]

G'day!

Your camera might or might not have filter threads (I will assume not) or have an optional accessory for attaching filters. My Fuji s5000 had a screw on tube which fit over the extending lens, that had filter threads on it. I know the Canon G series and some of the A series have also similar tubes which clip on to the front and allow you to do so...

For those that don't have accessories made by the manufacturer, I'm sure there are some systems out there but I think they'll probably be quite cumbersome to use...


I think the best option would probably be to do it in post-processing - because you can almost always achieve the same effect, apart from some special optical effects such as polarizers. I know B/W photographers commonly use yellow coloured and red coloured filters to darken skies and make the lighting more dramatic - but I would suggest that Photoshop will give you greater flexibilty over how much of the effect emerges in the images.

[matthew]

Can I use software filters on a B&W picture in the digital darkroom?

Using software filters on a B&W picture would be pretty negligible; using software filters to create a B&W picture is awesome.

As others have said, always capture in colour. You can use a B&W mode to 'preview' the image in monochrome, but you'll have very few options to perfect it later. Colour is to B&W what RAW is to JPG, if that makes sense to you.

There's a little assignment thread about B&W photos here, and many of the messages include notes on how the image was converted from colour to black and white. If you haven't seen it, it may be good for some ideas.

[TheBishopOfSligo]

Thanks all for the replies - I really want to get out this weekend and take some more digital pictures.

I guess it will save me some money if I actually sat down and learnt how to use these image manipulation programmes.


Thanks for all the heads up - This site has become my gospel now!