14 DAY TRIAL // Black and White image sensors are not that common in today's digital cameras, but one model worth mentioning is the Leica Monochrom, a compact system camera that features a full-frame 18MP CCD sensor that comes without the Bayer Color array filter.
What this means is that the sensor is more sensitive to light and can produce sharper images than conventional color image sensors. Although this sounds interesting, the sensor also has its drawbacks. With the image captured only on one channel (vs red, green, blue channels on Bayer sensors), highlights in overexposed images cannot be recovered, unlike color sensors that might retain extended data in any of the three channels.
In addition to that, the sensor also provides an increased Dynamic Range and higher ISO results. According to SonyAlphaRumors, Sony is preparing a new digital camera that will feature a newly developed monochrome sensor. The camera will be launched within a year, but no additional details have been disclosed at the moment.