Which Camera Has the BEST Black and White JPEG Profile?
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- Опубліковано 24 тра 2024
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At PetaPixel, we love black and white! However, we’ve never done a side by side test of the black and white profiles each camera manufacturer uses. Chris Niccolls set out to rectify that, with a variety of tests. See which black and white profile reigns supreme!
Rental equipment provided by The Camera Store
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0:00 - Intro
2:03 - The tests
3:57 - Canon
4:55 - Nikon
5:50 - Leica
8:15 - OM System
9:21 - Pentax
10:34 - Panasonic
12:42 - Sony
14:24 - Fujifilm
16:00 - The results - Наука та технологія
Apologies for the dark frame at 16:25. I screwed up!
- Jordan
No apologies necessary. But the murky look of all the podcasting-studio scenes demonstrated why b&w video needs to be lit completely differently from color video. Watching a couple of episodes of the old "Perry Mason" TV series should be all the clinic needed. (But Jordan already knows all this...)
Believe it or not, jail.
No worries
1 out of 28,500 ain’t bad.
I mean, it ain’t bad but we’d still fire you. ;)
I thought for a moment you were going Sopranos-ending...
I like that you still put Pentax in your tests, sadly many people forgot about Pentax...
More like they forgot about themselves. They clearly showed interest in mirrorless in 2013 with the K-01. They should have continued the mirrorless idea instead of abandoning it.
pentax? What are they?
@@jungleboy1 Google it
@@fotografalexandernikolisThey're a niche brand. Would be expensive for them to move to mirrorless. Sure they've made a couple, but it'd still be cheaper for them to make DSLR's like they do. And honestly the only real downside to it is size.
@@fotografalexandernikolisthe K-01 was forgotten because Jourdan took so long to his video review
For those who are wondering, just tested my Zf and Z9 with the latest firmwares, the monochrome profiles are very very close if not identical.
I think that monochrome from Z8 is the same as the Zf and z9 with the latest firmware
Nikon has some of the best monochrome images imo
@@ryantang8146 There are more black and white profiles on the zf!
But they still didn’t test either of the 2 new B&W profiles that they premiered on the ZF
Uga buga uga buga 🦍🦍
I have no idea why i made this comment. It has no meaning
Chris at the end should have been like "Oh buy my B&W presets" 🤣
🤣🤣
😂
This is why Pana's Real-time LUT is such a powerful feature. Can load any look into the camera and use it as a native colour profile (while still getting the untouched RAW).
Absolutely agree .. I think this opens up an entire new space for Panasonic users to create and exchange Luts. Also worth noting the Leica Monochrome profile on the G9II also has a great deal of built-in flexibility right on the screen.. I think that would have been worth a mention on their part.
Agreed - The Nikon Monochrome profile is a winner right out of the box - creating images akin to what we were aiming for in the dark room with our TMAX film. It is a really great B&W. I never saw it up against all the others in such a direct comparison - and of course this is just a matter of preference, but for us old school dark room guys - Nikon hit it out of the park.
-PD
Oh man I used to love TMAX 400 so much…those were the days.
Nikon and Fuji Acros for me.
Same. Nikon stood out in the high contrast group and Fuji stood above Canon in the mid contrast group. And I didn't like either Pentax or OM in the first group
Agree! I hate Nikon colors, but black and white is always a win
@@DiegoJoseSJaime nikon color is better nowaday but B&W are wonderful
A someone who shoots B&W 99.5% of the time, I loved this episode. Thanks for all the hard work!
I love the lecia look. I didn't believe I would say that
BTW for my taste Nikon nailed it.
so true, wasn't expecting it at all!
The monochrome look in the Panasonic lumix G9 ii used to film this episode outdoor is really amazing
Great to see that you included a Pentax here, respect 🙌
Yep. I'm a Fuji Fanboy, but I'd have to give this one to Nikon. A nice balance between punch, midtone separation and contrast in all the examples here.
I am surprised you didn't feature the Ricoh GRIII(X) as in my experience it approaches Leica monochrome
Gxr was better
Panasonic S5II with LUT. It fills my heart with color 🎉
Which LUT do you use, or is it a custom one?
P Diddy fills it too
Personally I really like how I can adjust the Nikon B/W profiles in Picture Control and tune it with curves, colour filters and other parameters. Makes creating an individual “film simulation” super easy.
Nikon should communicate more about that. It's a great feature to do this in camera. My d780 has it too and I like it
I rarely shoot JPG, and even more rarely B&W, so I am pretty clueless here, but I'd think that all of these cameras would allow for tuning the image processing, no? I mean, can't you go into menus and increase/decrease contrast? Maybe more? Guess I should dig into my a7riv to see. :-)
@@MadChalet Not sure how much the others let you adjust the profile or if they have curves and color filter options. But being able to save copies with different settings on Nikon is very nice. I even made a negative setting so I can see the final result in camera when "scanning" film. I'm pretty sure that wasn't possible on two Sonys I've used
@@TheDeltaMoo To fill the gaps in the conversation, every Fujifilm digital camera of the current era back to 2012 has had the functionality of adjusting film simulation and then shadows, dynamic range (aka mid-range push), highlights, push/pull exposure, color saturation, white balance/shift, sharpness and noise reduction as a profile in camera and the ability to save another copy with different settings from raw. More recent models added additional effects like grain, color chrome, smooth skin, tone curve, clarity.
@@TheDeltaMoo For Canon, I'm only aware of their picture profiles, which are curves that can be created in a graphical editor on a computer and then uploaded to the camera, so less of an exact science (not quantifiable other than by eyeballing on your screen) and more dependent on preparing before going out on a shoot. Not sure what additional features their most recent models made available, hopefully someone else can chime in with details.
It was great to see a comparison of jpegs, letting the camera hardware and software do their thing, leaving Lightroom, Capture One, etc, out of the loop.
Honestly, one of my favorite things to do with my Fuji was to set up the film simulations, slap on an adapted manual focus vintage lens, and just walk around shooting pictures with the back screen off. Don't look at what your results, just focus on taking photos, shoot in JPEG, and enjoy it. I never had any complaints with the results that I got from my Fuji and the built-in profiles, and it was super easy to make custom ones as well.
This is the way 🙏
The problem using sims in jpeg only is if your blacks are raised or contrast is raised you can't retrieve the information later..
@@sclogse1 That's the point, my man. You get what you get and you don't pitch a fit. It's just like shooting film, where you can adjust a little at most; teaches you to really think about your exposure and composition instead of just doing a spray and pray and shooting a thousand photos.
Level 2: Restrict yourself to shooting only in multiples of 36 to really simulate shooting in film.
That's what I love about Fuji too: just shoot the photos the way you want them to look and rarely having to go back to the RAF afterwards.
Exploring something you were curious about with a structured test to get better photos. I like this kind of video, not a new product release, not a podcast. More please 😊
I don’t mind the bright OM look. But I have been enjoying the two grainy film profiles recently. I think they’re really fun. They make everything look extremely interesting and dramatic.
I really like the Grainy Film II setting. If you apply it in one of the PASM modes rather than using the dial Art Filter you can adjust the tone curve to make it more or less dramatic. I like to dial it down a touch. Also the Dramatic Tone filter is fun, move the camera around and use AEL to lock in a particular effect. Good fun and unless you point the camera to the sun you won’t overexpose an image.
I can personalize my Panasonic G9 II’s monochromatic styles, utilize a LUT, or tweak in post-all for a lot less money than some of the other camera brands you profiled. You always bring balance to the table along with a fun and informed narrative. Thank you for including Panasonic in your videos.
You missed the best part of Fuji's Acros simulation: the grain at higher ISOs is absolutely gorgeous and goes coarser the higher you push the ISO like on film. (and the contrast can be adjusted in camera)
These tests were standardized. That should be reserved for reviews else this video would have been 1hr long
@@jakilahmoulien9070Meaning they have a deep dive topic for another time.
@@jakilahmoulien9070 Having a whole film simulation dedicated to recreate analog B/W photography up to the ISO analog grain (plus different lens filters as in analog B/W photography) is a pretty big deal, honestly. And not talking about its capabilities in a video dedicated to B/W photography is just making a disservice to anyone interested in digital B/W photography in the first place. And I say this because it's completely different than the regular monochrome mode and I wish more brands incorporated something like this in their cameras, instead of a lazy grey filter.
Also Acros has filter versions too. Acros Yellow, Green and Red.
Thumbs up for Nikon and Leica in this comparison. Great vid / thanks!
Personal favorite was the Leica, because I find the brightness in the midtones on it quite pleasing with the rest being so stark and contrasty. I love my G9II (and even have the Leica monochrome profile on one of my custom buttons) but they don't quite get it right in the midtones.
Yeah, I modify B&W on my Olympus. -0.7 or -1 EV, -3 shadow and +3 highlights, +1 contrast. I also like shooting Dynamic Tone B&W art filter.
Sony and Nikon for me. Probably would like Leica more if the portrait was in focus. Fujifilm second place. What about a Ricoh GR and Fujifilm X100 B&W comparison?
Also, like the B&W switch on the Nikon Zf that has Z8 processor, and those great BW images.
I love the monochrome setting on my EM1 Mkii. At first I wasn't that crazy about it but I found some help on a forum by someone who shoots mono and I loved his shots that he posted. I set my Olympus EM1 Mkii to The following:
Sharpness: Default setting
Contrast: +1
Gradation: Low
Color Filter: None
Monochrome color: normal
Highlight & Shadow Control: Shadow: -3, Highlight +3
Often times I will set the ISO to 1600 or higher to introduce noise which looks awesome on the Mkii. Not a huge difference than default, but it made a big improvement in the image.
Also try this with Hi Res mode.
You’re very close to my B/W settings. Low Key Gradation. +2 high, -2 shadows but +6 midtones. No extra contrast. I like to use the Red filter. In my opinion it gets me close to the L Monochrome D look of the GX9. Low Key Gradation is the key here. Those settings don’t quite retain the shadow details of the L Mono D but it’s close enough for a camera that is much easier to hold.
@@alex-reay Wow! Thanks for the feedback. I can't wait to try your settings.
@@ValiRossi hold that, I think I've given you the wrong settings to replicate L Monochrome D, the midtones above are too high! Try Auto Gradation which lifts shadows and lower highlights creating a flatter profile. L Monochrome D has good shadow detail, so Auto Gradation is the way to go. Then in the Tone Curve be careful not to lose that detail. I set it to +3 Highlights, -3 Shadows, 0 Midtones. No Contrast. That seems to create a really nice Mono JPG with good contrast without losing too much shadow info. It's all subjective of course. You might just like Low Key Gradation on it's own, with zero tone curve or contrast, it's really very nice. Panasonic really have worked some magic with L Monochrome D, I think I'm now in the ball park with my Olympus.
The one thing missing on this tests is the different “color” filters available within the profiles. They will change the rendition on skin tones, the sky, foliage.. also, contrast curves are available and other minor tweaks. Of course it would be a hour long video and ebpven longer to shoot but hey.. why not?
Ha Ha! Thank you for appreciating the gravity of the situation!
I think it's good to talk about picture profiles, I used to never think about them. After talking to some of the Fuji shooters and kids who want a retro 'camera', it hit me how much people care about in camera profiles & dont want to do any post work.
Yep- that was one of my primary reasons for going Fuji, second only to compactness.
Of course I do shoot +RAW, but I don’t end up needing them 99.9% of the time, and when I do I’ll use the camera itself to reprocess those images instead of going to Lightroom. Of those, nine times out of ten it can be saved that way.
Glad to see the differences between all the major brands. I didn’t expect to see how much change is seen.
Thank you for continuing to be curious in the B&W side of digital photography!
A lot more variance than I expected.
Not surprising really. Think of every little setting you can tinker with in a RAW file. Each camera is assuming a value for all of these settings in an instant and that will vary a lot camera to camera as per each standard profile like in the video.
I usually shoot raw+ with a tweaked monochrome jpeg on older 16MP Olympus cameras. I seldom have to go to the raw (unless I decide colour works better) and usually have enough leeway to get what I want with minor adjustments in post. I tried this with a Sony a6000 but found the contrast was too high and I had to resort to the raw files. Great video, lots of “drawma!”
Really enjoyed the head to head comparison. It is something I have always been curious about it is only something that only Chris and Jordan can do. Cheers and thank you for this! 🍁
The Nikon monochrome is the tonality I wanted to get in the darkroom out of my TMAX.
The Pentax monochrome is the tonality I actually got.
I really like the black and white images I get from my Nikon Z5 and 50mm /1.8 S. Standard colour profile, full spectrum conversion, 850nm IR filter, custom white balance.
Full spectrum?
This video was so interesting I watched it three times over. I would love to see a part two featuring cameras grouped by sensor size. Keep it coming .
Nikon and fuji look great🔥
Spot-on, no notes. -Nikon Zf shooter 😁
Yay black and white!
I just watched ripley on Netflix and it is the standard for black and white in my eyes now. Absolutely gorgeous, let’s see how this video stacks up!
If you have not already so, should check out the Mad Max Fury Road Black and Chrome (B&W version). I really enjoyed it!
Those camera sensors are capturing a huge range of stops. It's post that produces the look. If you only shoot jpeg sims you can't recover info lost in high contrast settings.
I love love love high contrast BW photography. Even those shots of Chris at his computer with the deep shadows on one side of his face are a delight. I like cinematography that isn't afraid of darkness. Interesting on how well Sony, Nikon, and Leica capture exactly the kind of rich detail I love in BW. Excellent work.
I love my Fuji XT-4 for B&W because you get so many options in the simulations for them, there's always a look I can work with. Like being able to change the tones based on color is super useful if I'm moving between architecture and portrait.
Nikon’s brightness setting in the picture profile lets you control the midtones.
Yeah the "must stick to defaults" approach and then making a judgement based on taste isn't super meaningful IMHO.
Better to try to recreate the same look (or one crushed, one natural, one bright) by shifting exposure, shadows and highlights on each and then actually discussing tonality from there.
You cant test individual settings over n cameras
Hi guys. I enjoyed this immensely! This was you two at your best.
I went back through and processed a RAW file in camera on my Lumix GX9 using L Monochrome D. Really happy with the quick edit I made. Thanks for the reminder of the filter options.
Glad you made this. I used a Leica Monochrom for a little while, and I couldn’t ever justify the cost of the camera and lens when I could get very similar results from my Fuji and Panasonic. This video solidifies what I was seeing.
This is the type of video we didn't know that we needed. Nice comparison!
Ricoh GRIII has the best black and white jpegs I've ever used, and I guess we have Daido Moriyama to thank. 👑
The ones from the Ricoh GX200 are amazing too!
@@drs-Rigo-Reuswow another GX200 user! Yes when I bought mine a few years ago, the Mono JPGs floored me
Camera breaks too easy
Yes proper B&W like PROVOKE, the video above has green in it!
@@_H_2023 quality control is terrible get a Coolpix
You folks need to look at the Olympus PenF for B&W done right.
yes, profile 3 is the best
You can set the settings in my OM5 Mark111 to match the Pen. You can do the same for all the OM series too. Rob Trek has the settings on his You Tube channel. Sooner have my mark111 with weatherproof and other features over the outdated Pen F
Really nice comparison. And a shout out to Leica’s lens. The detail on the hands in the portrait are eye catching.
This was really informative and helpful! Thank you.
Really great video, first time I see such a comparison. Please more videos like this
To me the real USP to the Fuji B+W profiles is the color filters. I use these with analog cameras as well and the convenience of virtually putting on a filter, even in different intensity is unreal 😅
Very interesting review and comparison. A nice change from gear oriented reviews. Thanks for doing this.
For me, the winner is Leica closely followed by Nikon. It was a very interesting comparison indeed.
Sad you didn’t try the old PEN-F because it was designed to take nice B&W pictures. It has filters and you can easily manage highlights, shadows AND midtones.
You are right, no camera takes better B&Ws than a Pen F
Does the Pen-F have any other profiles than the other Olympus cameras? Thought all of them have the same profiles.
@@mariusm2402 Yes it has.
1. You have the Art Filters: Dramatic Tone II, Grainy Film I and II.
2. You have 3 Mono Profiles.
a. Mono Profile 1: Flat: Highlight 0, Midtone 0, Shadow 0, Grain Off.
b. Mono Profile 2: Kind of Tri-X: Highlight +6, Midtone 0, Shadow -6, Grain High.
c. Mono Profile 3: "Infrared effect" with red filter +3.
You can modify each Mono Profile Highlight, Midtone (I do not think the other cameras have a Midtone adjustment), Shadow, Grain and 8 color filters (yellow, orange, red, magenta, blue, cyan, green, yellow-green and set your settings.
@@yvestuset9263 thanks for detailing the available filters. No I have an idea why photographers asking for a Pen-F mark 2.
The filters listed under 1 are available as well in the om-1. But the om-1 has only 1 B&W preset which can be configured with sharpness, contrast, color filter (neutral, yellow, orange, red and green), monochrome color and gradation.
I change the color filter regularly, depending on the subject.
@@yvestuset9263 yes other Olympus cameras have mid tone curve, when adjusted the highs and lows, just press the Info button to access the Mid curve 😊 I like to shoot my E-M5 II with -2 shadows, +6 mids, +2 highlights and Low Key Gradation (remember to lift the Exp Comp) which seems to closely mimic the gorgeous L Monochrome D profile of my little used GX9 but without the option to add grain of course.
Fantastic video! I started shooting again 1.5 years ago but decided to shoot b n w for 6 months. I never stopped! Once I found Acros Film Simulation that's all I shoot now with RAW backup. This video explains the b n w nuances very well.
I shoot all of my street photography on the X-T5/56 1.2 R WR/90 F2/33 1.4 in the Acros + Green and it just feels right. YMMV.
I think Chris should do a video on trying to come up with his own Fujifilm recipes. Lead by B&W
Thanks for giving some attention to black and white.
iirc Fuji's Monochrome is just the Provia profile but monochrome, whereas Acros has its own voodoo magic with how certain colors are rendered
It works especially great with the "filters"
Thanks so much, guys for doing this.
I found it hilarious that you chose the RX-100 for the test shiots because I use that camera in monochrome mode for my everyday carry. It gives me really punchy monochrome images that I rarely have to edit, and it would stack up really well here.
I enjoyed this one! I have a Q3 I'm taking on a bucket list trip soon and plan on setting it to BW just for the challenge of it. I truly enjoy your videos that get into the nuts and bolts, but doing an experiment just to see what happens brings back the fun of photography, right? So, thanks for this little experiment of yours. I'm really hoping my Q3 shots come out nicely contrasted like your shots with the M11. I will be very happy if they do!
I’m so happy you are able to continue your reviews. They are always great. I’m fortunate to own an M11 Monochrom and I shoot Raw on it and with all of my other cameras. On my “color “ cameras I frequently shoot raw and monochrome jpeg. Shooting monochrome jpeg gives me an idea on what a raw converted to monochrome would look like.
Missing the Olympus PEN-F (ok, discontinued, maybe the EP-7). I liked X-T5, Pentax and very positively surprised by Nikon's result
Great comparison! I love the way you talk about the pictures. :-D
For portraits on Fuji try Acros + Green and over expose 2/3 of a stop.
I like the high contrast of Leica, Nikon, and shockingly Sony
Fuji and Canon did admirable, as expected
The acros portrait is nice
Fuji Acros is my personal favorite. It’s not meant to be shot plain it’s a blank template imo to be tinkered with using Fujis extensive jpeg settings. Also, yes my Panasonic LX3 from 2008 has a dynamic B&W profile that takes stunning JPEGs 😉
It’s a Shame they didn’t include the Panasonic Dynamic Monochrome preset as it’s one of the best!
Excellent video! Super informative and concise.
Such a fun video, super enjoyable to watch!
Fascinating video! Thanks Guys.
Ooh a subject I've been experimenting with lately. I like a good in-camera colour/monochrome profile, if only for a good idea of what the final image could look like (and a better embedded JPEG preview in the RAW). I find the L.Monochrome profile on the Panasonic S5IIX sorta lines up to my experience of Ilford HP5+, which is nice; though I would like them to port the new Leica profile from the G9II. The default monochrome profile on the Nikon Z9 is a bit more situation-specific in my experience due to the contrast, but it's great in certain shots - hoping they bring the new profiles from the Zf over to it in a future firmware update 🤔
Olympus Pen F Monochrome Profile 2. just turn the creative color mode dial, it's addictive.
Great video! Of course many cameras have the ability to tweak their profiles, Panasonic with overall contrast and dynamic range, as well as highlight and shadow adjustments. This makes it easy to, say mimick the Nikon I believe. And I'm sure the other makers also allow for tweaks. And going to the Panny G9M2 and S5M2 you just make a cool look in Photoshop or Affinity, and export it as a LUT and it can bake that look into your jpegs in camera. That ability really make those two cameras into camelions - as every aspect of a look can be adjusted. But great video! Hope you follow up on the theme - there's so much more to B&W shooting! Like colour filtering, etc.
Although it's an old-fashioned camera that people don't use these days, Fujifilm s3pro's monochrome mode remains a very good memory
Nice review Chris. Very interesting and different.
Sony B&W is underrated. B&W images from my A7Cii are often excellent SOOC.
Nikon Z8/Z9 and the Leica are tops. Great looking. Thanks for the comparisons.
This is a video of firsts for me. The first video where I want to know more about the sponsor, and although I have never shot in monochrome, the Nikon Z8 looked so great that I will be trying it on my Nikons tomorrow!
I'm with you Chris, the Nikon looks beautiful!
The lumix looks great!
This was surprisingly interesting. Like others have said, I didn't expect so much variation in the default B&W JPG presets. I've sometimes wondered if camera JPG presets are the camera manufacturers feel for what best represents a particular sensor as JPG, or if it's just a, "Meh, these are for the people who don't want to bother editing," sort of attitude. To me, your test indicates it's actually more about a company's culture than about either of the previous thoughts. (Including when a "Meh" attitude comes out in some ways.) And because I was curious, I read a bunch of the comments. My favourites have been those dismissing 8 bit as pedestrian and obviously not real photography. LOL
GREAT great great video. This answered a lot of question I had on other camera brands that I would never be able to answer.
Agree on Nikon, although Leica has a tonal separation that is unique. But my favourite B&N rendering is from the Foveon sensor!
Fun video! As default profiles are often easily adjusted in camera, I would find it more useful to compare how well the default profiles can be adjusted to achieve one, or several reference image looks. To me the whole purpose of using a relatively expensive ILC is the ability to achieve the desired results through the provided adjustments. This was helpful to identify the starting points of one profile for each camera. How about a Part Two on in-camera profile adjustments?
Hey I really enjoyed this style of video, and learned some stuff about some camera systems I will never ever shoot. Acros plus red forever, until I can afford a Leica.
Interesting. Would love to see a Round 2 where you made some changes to the profile (like Sony raising the shadows) to see when dialed in, how they'd fair. Thanks for making and sharing!
Haven't read each of the 300 + comments, but would back the superb mono jpgs from my x 2 OMD any day.
These cameras are true classics.
I really like the Pen-F for customized color and monochrome JPGs... easy to use graphical interface of color wheels and saturation curves.
That was fun and interesting. Looks like you had fun making it.
Great topic and I really enjoyed seeing these different interpretations of monochrome compared. It does seem to me that several cameras went too far in essentially reducing dynamic range for my tastes (i.e. "crushing" the blacks and brining down the highlights). That kind of look may be preferred for some subjects, but these are JPGs and - like any image - I would like to start with the most natural image possible to run though post. Thanks!
Very, very helpful. Thanks!
I like this comparison. A fun side video that isn't a review. I'm happy Nikon has a good B&W engine. I really want to get a Zf and be able to switch it into BW mode and emulate going out and going some street photography with an old film camera. I think it's also worth mentioning that Lightroom can be setup to match it's RAW color profile with the one it has emulating the camera settings, so you can shoot a RAW while having the color set to Monochrome, and in Lightroom you have a monochrome image by default but still all the controls of editing a RAW. Might be good for something like the Sony where you can import the B&W, then recover the shadows a bit in post instead of them being discarded.
Great idea, cool question.
Excellent work
Chris, you prove that what seems to be Black and White is not Absolutely Back and White.
Great episode.
Great video, thanks for making it. I think all but olympus and pentax did good for a great popping bw image
great comparison; really fun video