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