Quesiton about raw file shot in B/W mode

My Canon 40d has an option to shoot in B/W mode, with or without a filter (red, green, etc.) applied. When I view on my camera, they show as monochromatic images. However, when I convert to DNG and open in photoshop, these are color images, which I can of course then convert to B/W using many different methods.
This makes me assume that these are actually shot as color images and my camera is just showing me a desaturated image.
Is this true, and how are these otherwise different than shooting in a color mode. And if they are different--not just desaturated--how are they different?
Best, David.

>This makes me assume that these are actually shot as color images and my camera is just showing me a desaturated image.
You are correct.
>Is this true,
Yes, it is.
> and how are these otherwise different than shooting in a color mode.
They are NOT different at all. They are indeed color images. They are identical. The B&W shooting mode merely adds a tag in Metadata to alert the camera manufacturer's software that you wish to have them converted to black and white in post-processing.
Both Adobe Camera Raw and the DNG Comverter ignore or cannot read the proprietary tag.
>And if they are different--not just desaturated--how are they different?
Again, the metadata tag is the only difference. They are really full color raw files that can be converted either way: as color or as grayscale images.

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sdefr0ghsf wrote:
Further to my above reply, I have just discovered this on the web:
Why Adobe doesn't touch proprietary raw files
Touching the bits of raw image formats that aren't publicly documented well (or at all) seems like a bad idea, bound to end in tears. Microsoft is advising customers not to edit metadata using Vista, saying,
Microsoft has received reports of compatibility issues with Nikon NEF files after installing version 1.0 of Nikon's raw codec posted in January. Tagging the raw files through Windows Vista or the Microsoft Photo Info tool after the codec is installed appears to cause these files to become unreadable in other applications, such as Adobe Photoshop. [Via]
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Posted by John Nack at 01:47 AM on February 12, 2007
You will note this this was posed on Feb 12th 2007 and that it appears to still be an issue. Oh dear.
Sure would be nice to see the link to where you got this.
This refers to problems using Microsoft software and Vista, not Adobe software and Vista. I believe it is saying that Adobe properly handles both .nef and .dng files. I have no idea how this quote relates to this thread at all.

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Are they not simply non-compressed, higher bit depth, bitmap files?
And if they are, then perhaps the issue with respect to poor "conversions" in Aperture has to do with lack of auto processing. When you open a RAW file in ACR it automatically makes adjustments. This doesn't happen in Aperture.

And RAW files are mostly shot using Bayer sensors - instead of each pixel sensing RGB, each pixel only senses one colour, with there being twice as many green sensors as red or blue.
http://www.chez.com/hyffont/pages/Photos/PhotoEng/Theory/Sensoreng.html
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To make it even more complex, some manufacturers encrypt some of the data, such as white balance info for the Nikon D2X. The RAW format is not just different from manufacturer to manufacturer but from model to model - a .CR2 from a Canon 20D is different from the .CR2 from a Canon 350D, even though they are the same generation and resolution.
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http://helpx.adobe.com/creative-suite/kb/camera-raw-plug-supported-cameras.html
http://helpx.adobe.com/x-productkb/global/camera-raw-compatible-applications.html
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ByMichael R. Tomkins, The Imaging Resource
(Wednesday, April 20, 2005 - 02:16 EDT)
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Opening RAW files in CS5

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I think part of the problem is that there's a purist mentality about RAW files. One should always shoot them - and then keep them forever- after all- they're your negatives!
But what about event photography? Or weddings, as you pointed out? It makes no sense to burden your workflow & backup system with 4GB of RAW files of people grinning into the camera. Once the adjustments have been made, the RAW files are just a ball & chain on your data management. And let's not forget, once you really know what you're doing, your jpegs should be good most of the time anyway.
I want RAW files as a safety net for errors in exposure and white balance. Once I know I have good photos, I don't need the safety net anymore- at least not at the price of all that hard disk space and transfer time for online backup. Of course, for my fine art stuff and important documentary work, I'll always keep the RAWs permanently. But not for routine parties/events.
You put your finger on the problem with re-importing jpegs as a solution. You lose your metadata- rankings/album memberships, etc. This is no solution!
What I want is simple, and it would be immediately useful to countless photographers:
1) Let me batch-delete RAW files when the jpegs are ok.
2) Let me do adjustments on my RAW file, render out a high-quality jpeg, and make the jpeg my new master.
Whoever does this first - Aperture or Lightroom - that's the product I'll use.

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I want to add I'm using a MAC.
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Quesiton about raw file shot in B/W mode

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