ein> I can see having a B&W mode that basically ignored the bayer grid,
ein> but I can't see any reason to make a B&W-only DSLR for the trivial
ein> savings or the theoretical increase in quality given the ever-decreasing
ein> price and ever-increasing quality of DSLRs. I notice that the foveon
The detail advantage of a "non-bayered" sensor vs. "bayered" sensor
would about 2x, I think (I mean, the 3MP foveon was roughly equivalent
to about 6MP bayer CFA sensor). The 6MP sensor from Sony is quite
cheap by now, quite cheaper than their new 12MP aps format sensor ;-)
Of course the camera would be a niche product. But as cosina has shown
us, they can sell niche products quite well - the Epson-Cosina RD1
would be prime application for B&W sensor. Increased resolution would
benefit these Leica lenses a lot, 1-2 stop more basic sensitivity
would be beneficial for a rangefinder as well... And in rangefinder,
it could be justified more than in a SLR.
Unfortunately, Sony's OEM pages don't list the ICX413AQ (the colour
sensor used) nor any monochrome version. It seems it's now a "secret".
So we don't know if they actually made a monochrome variant (probably
denoted as ICX413AL, as their other sensors' nomenclature suggests) or
not.
Also, we don't know the colour characteristics of sillicon used,
perhaps it would need some spectrum correcting filter anyway.
Just dreaming...
fra
