B&W photos on for sale items.

campy51 · Jan 23, 2019

Why do we post color photos for old film camera and lenses that are for sale? I have sold many cameras and lenses over the years and never thought about posting in B&W until I converted a Kodak Medalist II to B&W and to me it makes the camera more interesting. Anyone else feel the same?

campy51 · Jan 23, 2019

I can't seem to upload my image for some reason.

Fixed

BrianShaw · Jan 23, 2019

Great question... but I never thought about it and doubt it matters... except in the artistic sense.

Brendan Quirk · Jan 23, 2019

Great picture of the medalist, though!

ic-racer · Jan 23, 2019

I'd want to see a color picture of something I'm buying.

campy51 · Jan 23, 2019

ic-racer said:
I'd want to see a color picture of something I'm buying.

But most cameras are black and chrome

abruzzi · Jan 23, 2019

But corrosion, dirt, and other blemishes are probably easier to see and identify in a color photo.

Oren Grad · Jan 23, 2019

What abruzzi said. Posting in B&W doesn't make an item "more interesting", it just makes it more difficult to evaluate.

RalphLambrecht · Jan 24, 2019

campy51 said:
Why do we post color photos for old film camera and lenses that are for sale? I have sold many cameras and lenses over the years and never thought about posting in B&W until I converted a Kodak Medalist II to B&W and to me it makes the camera more interesting. Anyone else feel the same?
View attachment 215701

product photography in color seem to strengthen the claim of reality.

Dan Daniel · Jan 24, 2019

Best thing to do is photograph on a neutral background. Start with a white, gray, or black. Put camera on it. With the right lighting and processing you'll get a B&W effect but things like rust, the color on the Medalist focus dial, etc. will show up. Seems Japanese sellers on Ebay have this down, for example-
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_fr...der&_sacat=0&LH_TitleDesc=0&_odkw=canon+p+ltm

MattKing · Jan 24, 2019

Colour information is useful, but I'd rather see a sharp and detailed black and white image than a poor colour one.

darkroommike · Jan 24, 2019

There's this, most folks shoot d-word photos for items for sale with a phone of d-word camera and don't convert the images to black and white, just an added step in Photoshop. The least amount of data manipulation and editing is the correct amount in items for sale.

Oren Grad · Jan 24, 2019

darkroommike said:
The least amount of data manipulation and editing is the correct amount in items for sale.

The correct amount is whatever it takes to show the item, and any flaws it has, most clearly. Default settings for in-camera JPGs or for raw processing in Photoshop often don't.

campy51 · Jan 24, 2019

Here it is in color. Maybe it's the table it's on but I think it's boring.

BradS · Jan 24, 2019

campy51 said:
....<snip>.... it makes the camera more interesting. Anyone else feel the same?

Absolutely.

There are a few sellers on eBay that post photo gear for sale and use b&w photos in their listings. I Like it.

abruzzi · Jan 24, 2019

as a buyer, I already know what I want. "exciting" or "boring" are part of the process for me. What sells a product to me is a plethora of clearly visible, well exposed photos of the item from all angles, and clear explicit quotes in the listing that detail the condition. For example the description "lens in excellent condition" is less actionable than "no haze, no fungus, no separation", in the event that I am unhappy with the purchase. Maybe some people get excited by a pretty picture of a camera but unless it is for a collector to put on a shelf, I expect that most buyers of a 70 year old camera like the Medalist already know what it is, know that it uses 620 film, so will need to be modified or require re-rolling film, will want to know if the shutter is accurate, and film advance has no issues, and will partly use the visual condition of the item as a proxy to guess at some of the answers if not explicitly states in the advertisement.

Additionally they may wonder (as I would) if the B&W images are trying to hide something. Especially on eBay, I am hyper-sensitive to certain things that I associate with scams. If someone lists an item as-is, haven't tested, I assume it is because they have tested it and it doesn't work, but rather than saying it doesn't work, they leave enough ambiguity that a few people will pay more hoping to get lucky. I'd see B&W photos in the same way.

Dan Daniel · Jan 24, 2019

campy51 said:
Here it is in color. Maybe it's the table it's on but I think it's boring.

No maybe about it. It IS the table it is on. Do not use strong colors, especially yellow or blue because they are on the main white balance axis and will lead to confused rendering of color in other areas without more processing than most sale photos are worth. You don't want shaded areas being too blue or other areas having the wrong color reflected off of them.

Of course for atmosphere and art, go for it. Check out Paul Strand and Walker Evans for some classic photos of tools.

B&W photos on for sale items.

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