D800 Monochrome Conversion

[bobfriedman]

Well.. I just received my D800 monochrome conversion from MAXMAX.com, the following image was using D65 lighting, scene referred WB, BG38 filter. Using DarkTable software, turning Demosaic off.  Some image leveling and minor contrast adjustment.

Nikon D800 ,Carl Zeiss Apo Sonnar T* f/2 135mm on Tripod
1/8s f/5.6 at 135.0mm iso250

[JJChan]

Bob
I'm really interested in this having destroyed an old D200 trying to strip the Bayer layer

How long did it take?
How much did it cost?
Any drawbacks on the functioning of the D800? Metering? AF?

[Akira]

Monochrome conversion?  How is it possible based on a Bayer sensor?

[Erik Lund]

Interesting, looking forward to more images

[Akira]

Okay, now I've read the corresponding page on Maxmax.

https://maxmax.com/maincamerapage/monochrome-cameras

I didn't know that was ever possible! 

[John Geerts]

Interesting. 

Thanks for the link, Akira.

[bobfriedman]

another... true 36Mpx now.

Nikon D800 ,Carl Zeiss ZF2 / ZE / Zx Apo Sonnar T* f2 135mm
1/3s f/8.0 at 135.0mm iso100

[bobfriedman]

How long did it take?
How much did it cost?
Any drawbacks on the functioning of the D800? Metering? AF?

I didn't attempt this myself at all.. MAXMAX.com as i mentioned in the first post performed the conversion.  D800 functions fine.. i use live view for exposure and take that measurement to perform preset WB to level the channels. Since this is a BG-38 filtered version (replaced the UV/IR cut filter with BG-38 glass) this will pass UV.. and i am wondering why there is a slight increase in the blue channel - except the D800 WB algorithm coefficients are designed for color inputs.

[Andrew]

So nice collection of single malts....

[bobfriedman]

So nice collection of single malts....

thank you.

[paul_k]

Maybe I've become spoiled by using Tri-X for (literally) decades as my preferred high ISO BW film because of the deep(er) blacks and higher contrasts compared to other high ISO BW films like Agfapan 400 or Ilford HP4 (and I'm not even talking about the later Kodak TMax and T400CN)

But I think a much more powerful BW conversion of D800 NEFS, with full capture of blacks, whites and gray tone should be possible, even when only using the 'outdated' Nikon NX2.4.6 software

Enclosed image shot with daylight only, NEF processed as stated above in NX2.4.6, converted in B/W with the BW filter option and fined tuned using the b/w color filter options (the old fashioned way i.e. yellow filter for higher contrast, red filter for 'darker' blues and 'lighter' reds, green filter for better grey tones)

[bobfriedman]

so in addition to full monochrome.. there is no bayer CFA layer or microlenses.. there is no need to demosaic and you can realize the full 36 Mpx of the sensor.  these images were incredibly sharp right out of the camera with increased shadow detail... of course, you need a raw processor that will process these images.. DarkTable or AccuRaw Monochrome are two that i have tried.

[Anthony]

I like a man who knows a fine whisky glass.

[bobfriedman]

I like a man who knows a fine whisky glass.

thank you.. again.

this image i processed a little lighter.. maybe too much.

[bobfriedman]

maybe this is better.  i have to get out and take some real images..

Nikon D800 Monochrome Conversion ,Zeiss APO Sonnar T* f/2 135mm
1/3s f/5.6 at 135.0mm iso100