Black & White | San Francisco Pier | Panasonic LX3

When I was a film shooter, I loved using B&W film. There were so many choices regarding the types of film that you could use – Kodak Plus-X, Tri-X, Agfa Delta 3200, Neopan, etc. I enjoy seeing some of my images without the distractions of color. It helps to convey mood and sometimes helps to tell a story. Today, with the advent of digital photography, the B&W choices are really now more akin to “what looks good to you.” You now have all of the tools resting either on your camera or on your computer. Since I recently bought a Panasonic LX3, I thought I would take it along with me and my wife on a short trip to the San Francisco piers.

The LX3 is fairly well known to photographers who appreciate manual controls and the fast and wide angle Leica lens. However, it’s not a camera for everyone, some photographers want more of a zoom range, since the LX3 only has a 2.5x zoom from 24-60mm (in 35mm equivalent), nor does it have a standard viewfinder. Those are of course limitations for some photographers; however, it does have a large, high resolution LCD screen that seemed to be easy to use under most conditions and outside. I even thought that it was a bit bright, so I turned the brightness down. I also appreciate the fast (f/2.0 max) lens with image stabilization that allows you to shoot wide in dark environments with no flash.

As I usually take color photos and later convert them to B&W in post processing, I thought it would be interesting to see how the LX3 did with the built in black and white preset setting. There are two to select from in the camera. One is a standard B&W setting that looks very good, and another more contrasty setting called “Dynamic” that creates a bit more contrast. I decided to use the Dynamic setting along with center-weighted metering with an ISO set to 400. I probably could have used the auto ISO setting with a maximum set to 400, but I didn’t think of it at the time (I was thinking of the old Tri-X settings!)

These photos are caught while we were walking around. As a side note, all of the LX3 “films” can be adjusted to the users preference. I think in the future, I might turn the Dynamic contrast down a bit to get a bit more clarity in the shadows, but then I do like a high contrast B&W image.

So, do you like to shoot in black and white? Do you use the built-in settings in your camera, or do you like to do it all in post processing? Overall, I’m pretty pleased with the effect you get with the built-in settings on the LX3, so I’m sure I’ll use this setting again in the future.

Inside the Ferry Building

Cowgirl Cheese Shop

Getting Barely Buzzed

Caviar, anyone?

Love Peets Coffee

Please Don't Disturb the Meats

Tasty Seafood

A Sign

San Francisco Skyline

A Rainy Reflection