Black and White question

+1

It's an odd thing; years ago when b/w pics and films were more common, I used to love b/w prints, but today with everything in colour, I find it much less natural.
Quite often I take a picture with very little colour in it, and find it works better in low colour than pure b/w

Ahoy!

I'm not a PP expert at all BUT I used the Topaz Labs B&W plug-in for Photoshop CS6/CS2 which is simply a brilliant bit of software that only in my distant dreams I could've hoped to have ever achieved anything like as to the results it produced for me. I used the A700 and Sigma AF 17-70 F/2.8 - 4.5 DC Macro lens (correct APS-C format lens type to match the smaller sensor) for the Liverpool B&W images and ask yourself a simple question: would you be happy if your images were the same quality or better using the plug-in CS6 Topaz Labs App(s) - I have them all inc. activation codes), though the A850/A900/A99/A99M2 are all dual format models so they can use FF and APS-C optics, though your A77 is an APS-C model and you're not going to get the full width and range of a FF lens on an APS-C format sensor body so you're capturing 120mm if using an 80mm max focal length FF lens on an APS-C body (this is purely for ease of applying the 1.5x crop-factor for full frame lenses on an APS-C body.

The images referred to can be see on my Fluidr account (linked to Flickr - nicer interface) with camera lens/body on right of posted images incl. location here and here. Others were taken with different camera make/models/types and PP's in CS2 but I can't remember if I was using CS2 at that time, so again, make your own mind up if the following would 'flick your switch' on or off here, here, here, here, and here as examples (good, bad or plain ugly) as they span my camera make/model/types from Panasonic DMZ-FZ3, to Olympus Evolt E500 with 2x lens kit to Sony Alpha A100/A700/A580, Minolta Dynax 7D/5D to Sony A850.