Mono-poll

[xenohip]

The thread regarding tanking camera sales got me thinking about monochrome cameras again... maybe some manufacturer would be selling (quite) a few more cameras if only that manufacturer could see fit to offer a reasonably priced monochrome camera.

So it's time for a new poll!

Which camera would you most like to see offered in an affordable monochrome version?

Considering that the sensor processing should be easier than for a bayer camera, for the purpose of this poll please assume that the monochrome version would be offered at the same or lower price than the color version.

I've thrown in a few options for each manufacturer-- please specify your exact choice (and why, if you are so inclined).

 

[xenohip]

Heh! Scratch that, not (quite) a few more cameras, but a couple more cameras-- one to me and one to the person who wants a monochrome GR!!

Seriously though, a native monochrome camera captures ~3 times as much light as a similar bayer sensor camera. Images at ISO 2500 native monochrome should be about the same quality as ISO 800 bayer converted to monochrome.

You all serious photographers don't do any available light captures converted to monochrome, where you wish you weren't throwing away 2/3 of that available light every exposure?!?

I'll put my vote in for micro4/3. The cameras seem reasonably good, the lens selection seems more than good, and the native monochrome advantage might be most relevant in this case. E.g. a modest m4/3 camera moves up to the quality level of a fairly high end full frame.

 

[Darthfeeble]

Voted for the Fuji bunch. Would making it a mono only mean the X-Trans filter array would be gone? If so, how would that mean yet another Camera Raw update?

 

[sojournerphoto]

I'd love to see a Fuji XP2 with a Mono sensor, but they tried it and concluded that the acros and Mono conversions were 'just as good'. Ultimately, there probably aren't enough people interested to make it worth their while.

Camera raw already processes leica Mono files and treats as 'no demosaicing'. It would be a small update only required I think.

 

[user237428934]

I don't need a camera that only captures a b/w image. What do I vote?

 

[k__43]

Sony A7 for the sensor size

 

[xenohip]

I don't need a camera that only captures a b/w image. What do I vote?

The implications of this poll, in the unlikely event that there should ever be any of real significance, are in no way intended to have any influence on the range of choice of color shooters.

 

[xenohip]

I'd love to see a Fuji XP2 with a Mono sensor, but they tried it and concluded that the acros and Mono conversions were 'just as good'. Ultimately, there probably aren't enough people interested to make it worth their while.

The 'just as good' or 'good enough' argument is always there. Taken a small step further it leads to the conclusion that we should all be using iPhones (well, many people are).

One of the primary advantages of dedicated cameras is their ability to generate persuasive images in less than ideal light. A native monochrome camera significantly extends this advantage.

It seems odd that any manufacturer, let alone virtually an entire industry, would handicap a primary advantage so severely, particularly in the face of declining sales.

 

[Spanik]

The Sigma doesn't have a Bayer filter, in a way it is a monochrome one. Just like in the film days you can have ortho or pan film, this is like a pan sensor. But it has other factors voting against it.

 

[xenohip]

The Sigma doesn't have a Bayer filter, in a way it is a monochrome one. Just like in the film days you can have ortho or pan film, this is like a pan sensor. But it has other factors voting against it.

My hat is off to Sigma! Not least of which for the fact that they came out with a fixed lens camera w/ 75mm equiv focal length.

But the technical tour-de-force carried out to record color information at each pixel was not without trade-offs, as you suggest.

For me personally, I just don't want the color, and don't want the trade-offs.

 

[Stuart John]

Well I voted for the fujis, I would like an x100 monochome but to be honest I'm happy to use SFXpro.

 

[narsuitus]

I prefer the black & white and infrared images from my Fuji .

I have configured my micro 4/3 Olympus to use as a dedicated black & white camera.

I voted for the Olympus.

 

[Cyriljay]

I vote for Fuji 🙂