Comment by throwanem
1 day ago
There probably still isn't a good way to get that kind of dynamic range entirely in the digital domain. Oh, I'm sure the shortfall today is smaller, say maybe four or five stops versus probably eight or twelve back then. Nonetheless, I've done enough work in monochrome to recognize an occasional need to work around the same limitations he was, even though very few of my subjects are as demanding.
I wish a good monochrome digital camera didn't cost a small fortune. And I'm too scared to try to remove the Bayer grid from a "color" CCD.
Seems that, without the color/Bayer thing, you could get an extra stop or two for low-light.
I had a crazy notion to make a camera around an astronomical CCD (often monochrome) but they're not cheap either — at least one with a good pixel count.
I've had the same journey, and opted instead for a Sigma Foveon camera.
Comparisons and advantages: https://www.photigy.com/school/sigma-foveon-sensor-review-dp...
For black and white photography, the best high-end camera seemed to be the Leica M Monochrom (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_M_Monochrom), but to my mind, it's trounced by the Foveon:
https://youtu.be/OODMWXX_N7A
https://www.stevehuffphoto.com/2013/01/14/quick-comparison-l...
THIS is the photo that really sold it for me:
https://www.fredmiranda.com/forum/topic/1806915/0&year=2023#...
That's from a modified DP1m, but the SD Quattro H has an easily-removable IR filter and a huge sensor.
I've replaced my D5300's viewfinder focusing screen a couple of times, back before I outgrew the need for focusing aids. I also wouldn't try debayering its sensor! But that sort of thing is what cheap beater bodies off your friendly local camera store's used counter, or eBay, were made for. Pixel count isn't everything, and how better to find out whether the depth of your interest would reward serious investment, than to see whether and how soon it outgrows unserious? Indeed, my own entire interest in photography has developed just so, out of a simple annoyance at having begun to discover what a 2016 phone camera couldn't do.
I like that idea. I should start watching eBay.
You would also remove the microlenses, which increase sensitivity.