Pentax Monochrome

Leica M11 and Q. But it looks very like the current Sony sensor whose architecture is used in the latest A7rx and, bigger, in the Fuji and Hasselblad 100Mp cameras. So presumably available at a price…
Leica contracts their sensors for the Monochroms. The sensors in the M11 series seem to be colour and mono versions of the Sony IMX455, but even the colour one is not the off-the-shelf version and there is no off-the-shelf monochrom(e) version of that sensor.

The Sony STARVIS IMX571BQR-J sensor in the regular/colour Pentax K-3iii was already offered in an off-the-shelf monochrome version, the STARVIS IMX571BLR-J, so it was relatively simple for Pentax to make the K-3iii Monochrome. There is no pre-existing monochrome version of the sensors in the GRIII or the K-1 sensor, so we probably won’t get a monochrome version of those cameras. Ricoh has seemed reticent to order special sensors, maybe due to the initial cost and uncertainty about sales. But the K-3 iii Monochrome has sold unexpectedly well, so maybe they will think about it. But maybe not.
 
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