Black and white conversion of Dslr?

[JJChan]

BW
I know where you're coming from. Having seen and played with the files from Leica MM, I was keen to try to hack a Nikon by chipping off the RGB array. Have lined up a dental drill and fraises...

I bought a D200 for US$10 which apart from high shot count was immaculate ready for surgery but having reshot CCD for a while am less keen. I'm worried the trade offs (short sightedness, maybe difficult processing and chance of bricking) for slightly better tones and texture and accutance may not be worth it.

I'll be keen to hear what you do

JJ

[Erik Lund]

Maxmax just proved it can be done, I don't think they will do that for you for a small sum,,, and the images are better than the stock Canon but still far off

[Bruno Schroder]

They have a Sony A6000 at 2000$ and some Canon under 3000$ but the D800 is over 6000$.

[Gary]

A F3 and a bucket of Tri-X?

[Erik Lund]

  Your right a used Nikon F6 is only 700 US$ Even then you would get a lot of Tri-X to shoot... 

[BW]

Thats the ultimate solution but my washing room is not the best darkroom, after the kids started using it to store all their sports gear Sorry Erik I haven't had time to read the article you linked to, but I`m not certain that I will understand all the the technical details either. Maxmax seem like a option to investigate further. They seem to have some kind way around the firmware problem.

[Shane]

I have spent 10 years *^&%ing around trying to work with B&W IR 830nm RAW and process without interpolation and, in the process, looked closely at the Leica Monochrom DNG file. I have read Erwins article and there are some statements that require further evidence. For one, download a Leica Monochrom DNG (Monochrom output file type) and drop it into Rawdigger - there is only one channel. How does Erwin come up with 3 channels? If you have created a luminance only sensor (no Bayer array so no colour data) why on earth would you need to create three channels, it seems a pointless exercise. It is possible that the firmware, for the most part, behaves as if the Bayer is still there because you would only need to turn off the interpolation in the firmware (rather than rewrite the firmware just for the Monochrom) to create LCD jpg display. This would still result in 1 channel since you only have luminance data.

If anyone finds otherwise please let me know. Got to go, off to Yellowstone, will check back in 2 weeks.

[BW]

For those interested in this subject, I got answers from maxmax about why its hard to convert Nikon DSLRS.
"I haven't tried converting a Nikon DF yet.  The Nikon DLSR's are hard to convert because

- they use a very strong epoxy holding the coverglass to the ceramic package
- some newer sensors are copper based which can't be currently converted to monochrome because the copper can't be exposed to oxygen

I haven converted the Nikon D7000, but the D7100 and up use copper based sensors."

 I asked if I should go with monochrome only or UV-VIS-IR monochrome, option. He recommended the last option for broadest range of use. He also recommended trying one of the converted Canon bodies they offer. Apparently the canons are so lousy built that they practically fall apart with less effort (joke, big red irony flag)

[bjornthun]

Sony explicitly states that they use copper wiring in their new sensor in the recently launched Sony A6300 APS-C mirrorless camera. They do this to increase performance, readout speed etc. One must expect that copper wiring will be the new norm for sensors going forward.

[Erik Lund]

I just happened to find this thread on Andrea and Bjørns other site,,,

http://www.ultravioletphotography.com/content/index.php/topic/758-sony-nex-5n-monochrom-conversion-results/

Did not read the whole thread,,,

[BW]

Thanks Erik! I'll look into it.

[David H. Hartman]

I've read the complete thread and I'm not understanding. If there isn't much to gain in terms of noise, dynamic range, resolution & acutance then why not simply set the picture control to monochrome, probably add a yellow filter and start shooting. This would change the mindset of the photographer like loading a roll of B&W film instead of color. When one is shooting RAW the rest can be taken care of the rest in post. One can apply a different B&W contrast filter of any color in camera or after the fact. One can change the H&D curve of the "film" as one would with Zone System development of B&W film. I can remember an interview with Ansel Adams where he spoke of the coming digital revelation like Moses looking into the promised land from Mount Abarim. One can even change their mind and render the image in color. Why give up all this flexibility for little gain?

I get IR and UV conversions. I would find a true B&W dSLR quite interesting if it offered a significant advantage. I'm surprised the Leica M has a Bayer filter though I never investigate the camera seriously due to lack of funds to start a second system. So I'm wondering why not shoot monochrome with a color dSLR? I guess I'm missing something.

Dave

[Erik Lund]

The Leica M Monochrom doesn't have a Bayer filter,,,

But yes I agree, just remove the colors in Photoshop,,,

[BW]

Surely, the best and most flexible solution is to develop the color RAW-file with a dedicated BW RAW-developer. Buying a F100 or F6 is also a nice alternative. The Leica MM had some really nice files to work with but wasnt flexible enough for my kind of photography

[Erik Lund]

I just posted this in the Pentax K1 thread;

I wonder if their: Pixel Shift Resolution System can produce a short-cut route to amazing B&W images,,,

Reinforced with the SR (Shake Reduction) mechanism, the K-1’s Pixel Shift Resolution System* captures four images of the same scene by shifting the image sensor by a single pixel for each image, then synthesizes them into a single