Mono Mode really important for B&W preview?

[Steve in HB]

I've been using point and shoot for years and now it is time to move-up in the photography world. I have an affinity for B&W photography and I'm getting conflicting information concerning the Picture Mode/Style feature known as Monochrome. Nearly all books on B&W digital photo I have read say at one point or another to "bring up your monochrome mode" and see the potential B&W capture in the monitor. So here is my concern. Is the monochrome picture style/mode really helpful in evaluating the image as it might appear in B&W capture and conversion processing? Or, is it just an advantage that is not necessarily required? Reason for my question? I have been considering the Canon T4i with battery grip (my hands are huge!). However, according to the specifications and the word of a sales rep, it does not have a monochrome Picture Style/Mode. To get that, I would have to move up to the 60D or the 7D. Even though cost is not really the object, the 7D, especially, is much more than I am presently ready for and, in some ways the same goes for the 60D. If I must spring for one of these, I would probably go for the 7D. A fellow forum commuter on another web site has said the the T4i does havse a mono feature. I'm hoping someone here can provide some clarity. Thanks to all.

[DavidEccleston]

My T1i had a monochrome picture style, and you can always upload your own picture style to the camera if they removed the default one.

BUT. There are many ways to convert to mono. Sometimes you take luminance, sometimes may just the red channel. So, at best, it's a rough approximation of what you might do in post (assuming you capture RAW, the JPG will already be processed to monochrome).

[cls]

To start with I've never laid hands on a T4i, but I'd be very surprised if it hasn't a monochrome picture style from factory. I took a look in the manual, and on p78 the picture styles are listed (apparently called "ambience settings"). Monochrome is one of them. You shouldn't worry about this.

[Steve in HB]

Thank you to everyone! You have been a great help.

[Busted Knuckles]

I just checked the user manual at canon and it most certainly has a monochrome picture style - "mono mode"

Slim, find a more knowledgeable salesperson.

I also agree w/ JRW to shoot in "raw" mode and play w/ the sliders/picture style in DPP (editing software included with all Canon cameras that record the raw sensor data) unless you have a real need for 1000s of frames on one SD card, shooting in raw is really the only way to go, it gives you the best flexibility on the computer to fix/fiddle w/ something.

Also note that you can apply a colored filter effects in camera and in DPP - like on the old days we would put a yellow, orange, red, or green filters on a B&W film camera to get the sky & clouds to pop up contrast - the blue was selectively blocked from getting to the film and would appear darker in the B&W print. The precise choice was determined by the rest of the subject matter - green filter and green grass makes the grass look very light, sky very dark - sort of infra-red like.... I get carried away.

Thank you to everyone! You have been a great help.

[Steve U]

G'day Slim, I probably process more images as B&W than colour. I generally don't play with Picture Style very much, using either Portrait or Landscape for most things. I shoot in RAW and process to B&W using Photoshop sliders or mainly I use Nik SilverEfex Pro. The Nik software is very easy to use and I find the controls a little more intuitive and easy for me to get my head around.

Textures and contrast is what makes a great B&W for me. That and the right composition and I am not afarid to crop heavily to give me the right composition. Here is an example. The original image is from a commemorative march, but for the B&W, I wanted it to be more intimate moment centered around this fellow, separating from the crowd.



I love B&W, but shoot for colour and then pick my images to process.

[Steve in HB]

Again, I say THANKS!! "Busted" I am going to take your advice about the salesperson. I should have known better. Steve U: great advice also. And I am truly impressed by your B&W. Heartfelt and impressive.

Steve (Slim Chance)

[Steve U]

Thanks Steve, just received an email from Nik Software, they are pushing a book called "From Oz to Kansas" by Vincent Versace, available at Amazon. He is the "King" of B&W, I'm going to order this book, if you want to pursue an interest in B&W photography, it would be a great guide.

Cheers,
Steve

[FastGass]

If you have big hands (mine are average) I would spring for the 60D, I use it and I had a rebel XTi before. I can tell you from experience that I would rather have the 60D without a grip than a rebel with one, the grip is wider and deeper than the rebel grip and is more comfortable for me. Besides that the top LCD is more usefull than you might think (I abesolutely love it!), weather sealing and other tweaks make it a very nice upgrade. If your hands are huge then the rebel would be out of the question for me and the 60D with a grip would be minimum, 1-series would be best.... For what it's worth the 7D is a tiny bit bigger than the 60D.

Just my two cents,
John.

[Busted Knuckles]

Have a gripped T3I and I agree that a battery grip isn't the answer if you need more real estate for your hands.

If you have big hands (mine are average) I would spring for the 60D, I use it and I had a rebel XTi before. I can tell you from experience that I would rather have the 60D without a grip than a rebel with one, the grip is wider and deeper than the rebel grip and is more comfortable for me. Besides that the top LCD is more usefull than you might think (I abesolutely love it!), weather sealing and other tweaks make it a very nice upgrade. If your hands are huge then the rebel would be out of the question for me and the 60D with a grip would be minimum, 1-series would be best.... For what it's worth the 7D is a tiny bit bigger than the 60D.

Just my two cents,
John.