Which renders better images, set DSLRs to shoot B&W files or shoot RAW and convert liles to B&W images?

21limited · Apr 9, 2025

I’d love to try it with Pentax’s pixel shift.
Pixel Shift, move the fliters ov the sensor and take 4 photos creating a direct measurement of each colour an luminance at each pixel site as opposed to a Bayer interpretation) of each pixel site, that combines the 4 images to give you a true RGB+ luminance reading from each pixel site.

This gives you both truer colours, and about 100 lw/ph more resolution.

2018-05-Ice-out-Pixel-shift3 by Norm Head, on Flickr

Converted to B&W it should give you a true B&W image with no Bayer inaccuracies, by just using luminance values and thorwing away the other 3/4s of the information. However as noted above, when you do that you reduce colour contrast, something I almost always shoot for.
However the fact remains, you are throwing out the whoel RGB information set.

In an 8-bit JPG, yes. But what about 12- and 14-bit raw files?

8, 12, 14 vs 16-Bit Depth: What Do You Really Need?!

“Bit depth” is one of those terms we’ve all run into, but very few photographers truly understand. Photoshop offers 8, 16, and 32-bit file formats.

petapixel.com

8 bit is simply not enough for radical editing.

But the kicker here for me is, Pentax makes dedicated black and white DLSR, and compared to converted colour images, they are noticeably superior, and that will come from eliminating the RGB channels and using a every pixel for luminance, instead of 3 out of 4 for colour. I wouldn’t buy one, but if you’re a serious B&W enthusiast, you might want to look into it.

21limited · Apr 16, 2025

Using an 8-bit RGB color model with 256 possible values for each component means there are 256 shades of gray (256 x 256 x 256 combinations where R = G = B).

How many shades are in gray?

Gray is an incredibly versatile color with many different shades and hues. But just how many different shades of gray are there? The answer may surprise you. Defining Shades of Gray To understand how many

www.colorwithleo.com

Most commercial CMYK printing uses 8 bits per channel, allowing for 256 possible values per channel. This means there are potentially 256 shades of gray printable in CMYK. However, the dithering used to simulate shades with ink dots further limits the perceivable shades of gray in print to around 50-100 shades.

Unlike traditional cameras, the PENTAX K-3 Mark III Monochrome is tailored specifically for monochrome photography. Featuring a monochrome sensor, it eliminates the color filter array. Each photosite captures the full spectrum of photons, from violet to red, resulting in higher base sensitivity and delayed onset of digital noise.
Additionally, with only one type of photosite, the source of moiré is limited to the photosites themselves, which operate at the highest frequency of any equivalent color sensor. This makes moiré much rarer, requiring extreme lens resolution and ideal subject conditions to manifest. A monochrome sensor significantly reduces this issue compared to converting color sensor images.

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With dedicated image processing and the removal of extraneous color data, this camera delivers sharp, detailed images. Artifacts and digital noise are minimized even in challenging conditions, ensuring consistent image quality across the ISO range.

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Enhancing Forms and Textures
Without the influence of color, black-and-white photography highlights details, textures, and shapes. The PENTAX K-3 Mark III Monochrome excels at revealing these elements with exceptional precision.