Is there a reason to take digital photos in black&white not colour, rather than converting them to b&w later?

Question

My digital camera has a function to take black and white photos, but I can just get Photoshop to convert them to black and white later anyway - is there any advantage to taking them in black and white in the first place?

Answer 1

While I can say that cameras & Photoshop have come a long way with B&W photography. Simply taking a color photo, & removing the color information (De-saturating) can leave you with a bland picture, lacking the true contrast POP that In camera B&W can give you. Cameras that provide only a JPEG output, actually use the same process as Photoshop would use. That is, take a color image and them processes out the color information. Cameras that shoot in RAW format (Higher end Digital SLR's) actually recored the image information in shades of gray in the B&W mode, just like film. Giving you a much better result, IMHO

Answer 2

One of my cameras actually take much sharper pictures when you take them in black and white in the first place. It's "only" a 5 MP camera, though. You may as well run a few tests and see how your camera does, since testing is FREE with digital.

Answer 3

Noooooooo absolutely none whatsoever. AS you say you can convert them later, but you can't change your mind about a black and white shot.

One thing I do is even if it will end up black and white I sample a colorful piece, then convert it to B&W and then throw in the splash of color, it can be quite effective.

Answer 4

this option was made for people who dont use photoshop, or for the people who use quick share printers, they just print the photos directly after taking them without going to a pc to sync the files. thats what i think, in other words not every photographer knows how to use the computer. i hope this answers your question.

peace