In many ways, the advantages of monochrome sensors are very similar to traditional monochrome film: image noise is lower at equivalent ISO speeds, and resolution is higher. Such improvements in image quality can be critical when shooting video that might later be used for stills in print advertisements.
There is always the possibility to overlooking monochrome cameras while seeking an imaging solution due to the availability of various new cameras with improved low light performance, vivid color, and sharp contrast. However, monochrome cameras have high light sensitivity, generate sharper images with superior resolution, and output smaller file sizes, making them suitable for a number of applications.
Advantages of Monochrome Cameras
Unlike a color image sensor, a monochrome image sensor does not use a color filter array (CFA), which is an optical band pass filter. The lack of CFA allows for more number of photons to reach the sensor’s photosensitive surface, thus rendering it more sensitivity to light or higher quantum efficiency. Moreover, IR cut filters are usually present in color cameras to avoid infrared light from producing color aberrations. The absence of these filters would allow the red, green, and blue pixels to react with different near infrared (NIR) wavelengths, thus producing inaccurate and strange colors.
Conversely, the lack of the CFA and IR cut filter enables every pixel of a monochrome sensor to detect a broader light spectrum, thereby significantly improving the overall performance of the camera in low lighting conditions. Hence, additional enhancements can be observed at higher wavelengths, especially above 650nm, where the NIR region begins. Cameras featuring CFAs have to interpolate the color data that is filtered out by the optical filters using complex demosaicing algorithms. These calculations introduce a margin of error, as the data is interpolated and not quantified.
The added error can be eliminated upon removal of the CFA. This, in turn, helps generate sharper images with a higher effective resolution due to the presence of a measured value in every pixel of a monochrome sensor that is not affected by its neighbors. The reduced size of the monochrome image files can also attributed to the absence of the CFA. There is a threefold reduction in the image size owing to the absence of specific color channel information in the monochrome image data. The bit depth would also be increased because of this size reduction without compromising storage savings, camera permitting.
How well the monochrome sensor is on the OnePlus 8T is, I really can not say, as I have not used it but I highly doubt it is worse than the it's color sensor. said:
Of course it is all moot if one does not know how to properly take photos anyway. One must take in to account all factors, IE subject, location, lighting, focus and range. lol
Last edited: Nov 14, 2020
