Nikon, why no "Monochrome" digital camera?

[Bernard Delley]

sometimes existing cameras can perform tricks you did not expect they could.

I have been using 8x pixel shift on a Z8 for  measurements on a static object lately.
That yields tricolor data on every pixel site. In the green channel it sums up to 16bit data on every one of the 45.4 Mpixels.
For red and blue it sums up to 15bit data on every pixel. Within the limits of the 3 color Bayer filter limitations, you can adjust to your preferred monochrome response in post-
processing.
I find this more appealing than using  32x pixel shift. Which yields again 15 and 16bit values on 4 times as many pixels at half pixel pitch. Mosaic composite images have the potential for better resolution. A 2x2 mosaic would provide better resolution due use of a longer lens and due to less reduction of sharpness by (sequentially) filling a 4x sized sensor.

[ColinM]

The sense of falling into a well of detail you get from an 8 x 10 contact print is something too few people experience.

Thanks Les, i concur.
In the early 1980's, I visited a traditional b&w supplies shop in London to buy some Selenium toner.
For me, it was like going into Aladdin's Den.
In addition to the software, there were some of the most striking & richly toned 10x8 prints I'd ever seen.

"Don't get too depressed said the owner. They're contact prints from a 10 x 8 negative"
(it's possible they were from plates - I was too awestruck to ask)

sometimes existing cameras can perform tricks you did not expect they could.

I have been using 8x pixel shift on a Z8 for  measurements on a static object lately.
......
I find this more appealing than using  32x pixel shift.

Fascinating Bernard.
I may have missed them but can you share any examples?

[Frank Fremerey]

@Macro_Cosmos


enlightening rant. thank you very much

[Bernard Delley]

Fascinating Bernard.
I may have missed them but can you share any examples?

Hi Colin,
for me it was just very useful on using the camera as a recording instrument at tests. Otherwise I just tried take a picture out of my window. Of course the leaves moved slightly giving weird effects. But the the fine detail structure of the wall plaster at the house across showed no color moire, and I did not notice other moire. It is great for static subjects where it may matter, for example taking an image of a big printed map, art or a building. The 45 M tricolor pixels with pixel shift make it feel like medium format or more. And the 182 Mpix wirh 16x or 32x shift may be even better for your purpose.
 there is a link to a beer can shot which impressed me at  https://www.dpreview.com/forums/threads/a-surprise-with-z8-pixel-shift.4752600/

[Macro_Cosmos]

I left my town to meet some friends in Canberra and brought the D800 I converted to monochrome.
At an extreme level, the converted D800 (36MP) produces more real resolution and gives sharper results than my Z8 (45MP).  This is obviously not a fair comparison.
However, the shutter shock ruins any inconsequential detail it gained.  The two end up looking similar.  I tested this with a line chart.
The D800 can see minor imperfections in the 400lp/mm areas due to the chrome deposition process.  The Z8 renders all of this into soft mush.  I wish I can properly capture this.  To do that, I will have to build a relay circuit and put the camera in bulb mode with the mirror forcibly restricted so it cannot move.  Doable, but I am too lazy.  Maybe when I am back to work, I will run some tests and just claim it is for research.

These converted cameras are also painful to use.  The highlights are easily clipped.  Autofocus will not work, and there is no way to calibrate it.  Even if the image is sharply focused in the viewfinder, it will come out back-focused (my specific unit).  I have to mentally compensate for this by deliberately adjusting the focus.
I measured a slight misalignment of the sensor (it was not installed back to be perfectly flat).  This is likely not possible to do perfectly without factory tools.  The best bet is to likely raise an RMA, explain the situation, and send it back to the factory for sensor plane adjustment.

Here are some mediocre snapshots.