What is the best camera for taking black and white photographs?

Question

I know there is almost always a way to change any picture to black and white but I was wondering if anyone had any tips on which cameras work best?

Thanks.

Answer 1

Film is still MUCH better for black and white photos than digital. There is just no comparison. Yes, you can convert a color digital image to black and white, but I have never seen one that looked quite right or compared with a picture from true black and white film. All the pictures I've seen converted to b&w tend to look more noisy (grainy) and it ruins the tones.



I would say that if you're seriously interested in black and white photography, then you need to get a film camera and use traditional silver-based film. You can get it from a photography shop (a REAL camera shop, not one that just sells digital cameras) or you can order it online. I would recommend Kodak Plus-X film, because it takes very sharp pictures with no grain, and it's also very forgiving with exposure.



There are a lot of places that sell black and white film. One place I would recommend is Freestyle Photo Supplies in Los Angeles, California:



http://www.freestylephoto.biz/e_main.php



For your camera, get a rangefinder or SLR 35mm camera. Or you can try a 120 film camera. 120 film can capture amazing detail and you will be completely blown way with it. Get a vintage Twin Lens Reflex camera, like a Yashica A. You can find them on eBay for fairly cheap.



Once you've seen pictures from real black and white film, you will be amazed. My film cameras completely blow away anything I've taken with a digital camera.



You really need to get a camera with completely manual shutter speed and aperture settings, so you will have total control over the picture. And learn how to take pictures with manual exposure. Look up what's called the "Sunny 16 Rule" which is a guideline that will help you take pictures outdoors in different lighting conditions.

Answer 2

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Answer 3

Large format cameras offers the best in B&W photography. Very sharp and gorgeous long tonality. There is no substitute.



Look into something like a Toyo or Calumet 4x5" View Camera and a 150mm lens. That set has recently become extremely affordable.



(If you intend to use a digital camera then please use a FF dSLR such as Nikon D700 or Canon 5D for your conversion and print with at least pigment inks. Real B&W paper such as MPIX Ilford paper is even better.)

Answer 4

You'll probably be best off with a film camera using 35mm film.



If you want to do it in processing, almost any decent camera will take a good enough range of tones to convert to black-and-white. Photoshop and Photoshop Elements both have very good convert-to-greyscale functionality, including a wide variety of looks (newsprint, etc.)

Answer 5

You can turn your digital color photos into black & white by photoshop, acdsee, lightroom, etc. However, the 'fake' black&white are quite different with the real black&white film, if you are a serious photographer, get a film camera would be a better choice for black&white.

Answer 6

4x5" is spot on with his answer. View cameras are the bees knees. It depends on what you are shooting however. 35mm is great for dynamic environments such as sport or children playing. I like medium format because of its added quality over 35mm and added versatility over view cameras for most situations though. Like anything in photography, it is a compromise. My choice is Fuji Neopan Acros 100 with D76 @ stock.



For truly great B&W photography, there is no substitute for film. You will want to also invest in some filters for you film camera when shooting b&w. Low pass filters such as a dark red for dramatic skies and contrasty images, a yellow for a more subtle darkening also lightening foilage and is great for certain skin tones. An orange will split these two filters nicely and would be the one I recommend if you are only going to buy one filter. In black and white, tonality is the only contrast you have, no colour contrast obviously. Certain colours such as red and green my be contrasting to the eye, however on film, they may render as the same tonality. Filters are used to differentiate these tones in black and white photography. Here are some links:



http://www.ephotozine.com/article/Using-coloured-filters-with-black--white-film



http://www.ilfordphoto.com/aboutus/page.asp?n=45



My camera recommendation is a Hasselblad 500cm with a 50 and an 80mm lens. These cameras are the best medium format cameras with the best lenses and are miniscule amount of their original selling price at the moment.

Answer 7

ok then u want information regarding camera >>

u can have cannon digital camera at a prrice of say 8050 rs...

after clicking ur picnics photograph u can simply sit down to ur pc at home...

and open 'adobe phtoshop'

and in that u can open and picture of ur camera ...

suppose if u want that ur parents phtograph color should b black and white then u can press ctrl+alt+shift +u ... ur photograph will b a black and white...

it is very easy... and simple .... u can give ur own size to ur photograph say post card , 4*6,5*7, 8*10 , 10*12 , 12*15 and so on...

try it it the most simple 100% accurate , reliable, quality + money saving...

try it

Answer 8

If you use a digital camera, you can do that with almost any picture editing software.



If you don't want to use a digital camera then I would rent a 120 mm camera, and use B+W film if you can find it anywhere.

Answer 9

If you want to use black and white film, you can use a basic 35mm. Canons are good.



If you want to use a digital you can change color to b&w when editing.

Answer 10

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