For black-and-white digital scans, is black-and-white film better than converting color film later?
Asked 11/30/2015
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If I plan to scan my film and end up with a digital black-and-white image, should I shoot black-and-white film from the start, or shoot color film and convert the scan to black and white in editing? I'm mainly asking which approach gives better image quality or a better black-and-white look.
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
10y ago
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The path to answering your question starts with another question "What is the difference between B&W film and Color film?". In the end isn't that B&W film is better at creating a B&W image than using color film and converting it to B&W in the ways you or I would think (dynamic range, sharpness, gamut etc), its that B&W film creates an image that has different visual "properties" to it because of the way B&W film is processed.
This answer sums it up well: https://photo.stackexchange.com/a/17805/1819
Paraphrasing:
"Color film has light sensitve silver halides... During processing the silver halides are replaced with dyes, which carry the color information..."
"Black and White film's silver halides... are converted into silver metal during processing"
Which results in a different "look" in the grain, contrast, and tonality of the image.
So in the end, if you shoot in B&W and scan it to digital vs shoot in color and scan it to digital (and convert it) your original B&W images will "look" more like what you think of as that type of B&W film (t-max, tri-x, delta etc). Where the color image will look like whatever color film you used (portra, velvia etc) that has had all the color removed from it.
If you're trying to have an end result that has that "B&W Film Look", it'd just be easier to start with whatever B&W film it is you're trying to capture the look of (each B&W film has a different look).
Originally by user1819. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user1819
10y ago
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If your final goal is a black-and-white image, black-and-white film is usually the better choice for a true black-and-white look.
The main reason is not simply “better quality” in a generic sense, but that black-and-white film forms its image differently. Traditional B&W film retains metallic silver in processing, while color film records color through dye layers. That gives black-and-white film its own tonal response, grain structure, and overall rendering.
Converting a color scan to black and white can still work well, and it gives you flexibility if you may also want a color version. But it will not look the same as an image captured on black-and-white film, because the source material has different physical characteristics.
So:
- choose black-and-white film if you specifically want the classic B&W film aesthetic
- choose color film if you want the option to keep color and make a B&W version later
Neither is automatically “better” in every case, but they produce different results, and black-and-white film is generally the more direct route to the strongest black-and-white film look.
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