Your workflow is so complicated, I wonder why go through all the trouble? Isn't a B&W camera supposed to give good results right out of the camera? Especially at this price?
And this got me thinking: how good is your pp/workflow with a file from another camera? If the end result is similar, well...
IMO, there isn't a digital camera on the planet that gives good finished results right out of the camera ... anymore than any film camera did ... color or B&W.
As mentioned, the MM provides linear files with the potential of being processed to meet the "eye of the beholder" subjectivity when processed. In other words, the idea is to provide a malleable creative tool rather than one that uses some more homogenized notion of what is right.
With that in mind, how complex or simple one's work flow may be is irrelevant IMO ... the end result being the priority.
Personally, I work out of Lightroom 4 using PS6 and Nik Silver Efx Pro as "open-In plug-ins". I find this method gives me the most control because it gives me three programs to influence the outcome, and each has certain processing tools that the other two do not have.
With the LR DNGs, I always "open-in" Photoshop because it provides layers to work with ... so when I select the Nik program under PS Filters, it opens as a layer over the original file.
I do not have a set or "canned" workflow, as each image is different and requires processing by eye ... which is very similar to how I worked in my B&W darkroom for 30+ years.
Since I use this camera for paying work (mostly weddings), I am dealing with hundreds of images at a crack ... however it doesn't take any longer to process MM files to finished form than any color shot. You develop a sort of rhythm after awhile and pretty much know which preset to use for certain lighting conditions, and so on.
Here's a time saving trick I learned some time ago ... and frequently use it as the first step after initially opening the MM DNGs in PS ... go directly to the Gradient Map and select the B&W square ... it'll provide a pretty decent tonal range as a base to work with when you then open the file in Nik Silver Efex.
Another trick I use is to tone the top Nik PS layer with a touch of blue ... this increases the snap with rich blacks without touching the levels. Then slightly lower the opacity of that layer to allow the more neutral tone map original to ever so slightly peek through ... making the lights and mids a bit warmer. It is all very subtile, and often doesn't show on the web, but looks great in print form.
- Marc