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This is What Real Black and White Filming looks like: Digital Bolex’s D16M

Apr 9, 2014 by Maaz Khan 1 Comment

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MG_2008

Amidst all the noise generated by the NAB Show in the past two days already – with 4K Cameras making the headlines on every photography blog out there, or with companies like Blackmagic flooring audiences with how much they’re evolving the technology of cinema – There’s quite a few cool announcements that get lost in the middle. One of them is from Digital Bolex, and it’s a monochrome camera (based off the original D16) called the D16M.

So the idea of a monochrome camera may seem a bit unnecessary at first thought; we have grayscale layovers guaranteed for us through software editing after all, don’t we?

MG_2016

To understand why exactly monochrome cameras are useful, look at the advantages that come from a monochrome-based camera. When you have a monochrome sensor at the foundation of your camera, it doesn’t need to go through a debayering process – that is, it doesn’t need to apply a color layer over the images captured from the camera, as color-based cameras have to do. This aspect ultimately helps the camera retain a higher sensitivity to light, which Digital Bolex points out “[preserves] the full dynamic range of the sensor”. Textures come out more vividly and contrasts come out more well-defined.

Granted, that doesn’t mean that this camera isn’t for everyone. This is a camera for those that have a specific set of preferences for the way they film. It’s for people that have specific visions and niches; not too many people go in depth with filming in monochrome considering how easy it is to apply a black-and-white effect today with the click of a mouse.

Below are the specs, straight from Digital Bolex’s website:

  • Kodak native monochrome sensor
  • Same resolution options as D16: Super 16mm (2K), 16mm (HD), and Super 8 (720p)
  • No OLPF filter to further maximize fine details
  • ISO 100, 200, 400, 800
  • 500GB Hard Drive

According to the website, the camera’s already on sale today for $4000 at the company’s official store, so check it out! I’ve never heard of someone making the purchase for a camera that is so limited in how it can film, so I want to hear the thoughts of people who feel that this camera is right up their alley. What do you guys think? Would you shell out the four grand for a camera that delivers in its monochrome imagery?

[D16M via Digital Bolex]

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Filed Under: Gear, news Tagged With: black and white, cinema, d16, d16m, digital bolex, Gear Announcement, monochrome, nab 2014, nab show

Maaz Khan: from diyphotography.net

About Maaz Khan

Maaz Khan started off teaching himself photography with a disposable Kodak camera he got for his 7th birthday. His main weapons of choice are now the 5D Mark II, and an LG G2 when mobility calls.

You can find some of his work at his website, twitter Twitter @drcon and Instagam @maazcon

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