So here’s the question. Should you use a regular digital camera for black and white photography, or would it be better to get one of the few dedicated monochrome cameras with a black and white sensor? These are relatively uncommon and highly specialized cameras that do offer some advantages for high end monochromatic photography, but a mono camera is far from essential. So what else should you look for?
- Articles in this black and white series
- Why photograph in black and white?
- How to shoot in black and white
- What are the best cameras for black and white photography?
Why black and white only cameras exist
There are digital cameras that shoot ONLY in black and white. So what can these do that a regular digital camera can’t?
Monochrome cameras have no color filter array. Every photosite on the sensor captures only the light intensity, not the light color. They do not and cannot capture a color image. But what they do capture is more detail because they don’t use the color interpolation of regular sensors. You can’t change the color mix later to simulate physical black and white filters, but you can use filters on the lens to get the same tone-altering effect you would have got in the old days of black and white analog films.
Right at the top of the tree you have the Phase One XT IQ4 150MP Achromatic camera. This uses a 150MP medium format sensor to produce black and white image quality that is out of this world. The price of the camera is also out of this world too, as you might expect, but for professional commercial and architectural photographers it could prove a sound investment.
Then you have a series of black and white cameras from Leica including, at the time of writing, the Leica M11 Monochrom interchangeable lens rangefinder camera, or the Leica Q2 Monochrom fixed-lens compact camera. These too are expensive cameras, though not at the same level as Phase One’s. These are ideal black and white cameras for enthusiasts and experts who are able and ready to pay the price of these prestige cameras.
At the more affordable end of the scale is the Pentax K-3 III Monochrome, a black and white version of Pentax’s regular K-3 III. I have used this camera and I think it’s pretty good, though I’m not quite satisfied that the sensor’s dynamic range is quite up to the mark, even against a regular color camera.
With black and white cameras you can see the difference in detail rendition at a pixel level, and the sensitivity is improved by the removal of the usual color filter array, which allows more light to strike the individual photosites. However, I do think this only becomes important if you are looking for maximum image quality and clinical precision in your images.
If, like me, you are more concerned with overall impact and aesthetics, then a regular color camera will, I think, do the job fine. Any loss in image quality can be hard to see and you do get the advantage of full color capture and a choice of tonal conversion styles in creating your black and white images.
So if you opt for a regular digital camera, which will be best for black and white?
Are full frame cameras best? Yes and no
The larger sensor of a full frame camera will deliver better image quality, but the difference won’t always be obvious, especially with heavier editing processes, grain effects or other analog-style treatments. Full frame cameras are not always a whole lot larger than smaller-format APS-C or Micro Four Thirds cameras, but while the camera bodies may be a similar size, the lenses do tend to be bigger and heavier. Full frame cameras are the way to go in the pursuit of the best quality, but they do bring a penalty in both weight and cost.
APS-C cameras can deliver excellent black and white images too. The Fujifilm X-T5, X-H2 and X-T50 have 40MP sensors, and you have to go quite a long way up the price scale amongst full frame cameras to beat that kind of resolution.
Megapixels aren’t everything, of course. It’s not often that you will need to print an image large enough to test the resolving power of any mirrorless camera sensor, and even then viewers would have to get right up close with their best reading glasses to see any difference between a 24MP image and a 50MP one, for example.
I use Micro Four Thirds cameras a lot, which have smaller sensors than APS-C and top out at a maximum resolution of 20-25MP. That’s fine for the professional work I do, much of which is published online where 20MP is already too much and my images are downsided for display.
Are ‘retro’ cameras best for black and white?
Technically, it makes no difference whether you have a retro-styled camera or not. But from an artistic, creative and experiential point of view, it’s important that you choose a camera that you like, that fits your hands, that works in the way you expect without the need to keep checking menus and dials – and which helps you ‘get in the groove’. Photography is typically presented as a purely technical exercise, overlooking the fact that image capture is nothing without creative inspiration, visual skill and emotional engagement. How you feel about what you’re doing will dictate your results, and finding the right camera is an essential part of that.
I do like retro cameras. I have an Olympus PEN-F, which is lovely to use, and I dallied for a while with a Fujifilm X-T5 with its wonderful old-style external exposure controls. I also shoot with an ten-year-old Nikon D610 – not a retro camera as such, but one that has a design and build that suits me more than most modern mirrorless cameras. The fact is, I get my best shots with the cameras I enjoy using the most.
Can you use a phone for black and white?
Absolutely! I do this all the time. I find my iPhone’s large display gives me a much better feel for the image composition, helped by the fact I’m composing images on the same device that I often use to look at them. Phones are simple capture tools that don’t get in the way of the image. There are few technicalities, just you and the scene. I also find, by the way, that my iPhone’s Noir filter produces black and white images with perfect tonality for my style, and don’t always require a lot of editing.
A smartphone won’t give you the image quality of a ‘proper’ camera, but as long as you don’t intend to print TOO big and you don’t expect too much from the ultra-wide lenses, the results can be great. They are especially good for unobtrusive street photography, and taking pictures in locations where regular cameras aren’t allowed.
Just use the camera you’ve got!
I assume if you’re reading this book then you already have a camera that you’re probably perfectly happy with. That’s great. Just use that! There’s no specific technical requirement for black and white photography because the real work is done with your eyes and your creative skills and then later in your photo editing software.
