Imaging Source Cameras - Mono vs Colour

[Macavity]

Imaging Source Cameras - Mono vs Colour

At this point in time a "matter of interest" (naive) type question. But, with these low-end mono and colour cameras at about the SAME price: What's the relative PIXEL size? Does it mean, for the say 5 micron (approx guesstimated only!) chip area there is one "uniformly" sensitive monochrome pixel OR four masked 1/2 size (red, blue + 2x green) pixels - Or something else?

Specifically: If I wanted to make a SIMPLE but attractive(!) white light solar image, would I be better off with a B&W camera and just "colour it yellow" in the software post processing. After all, most solar filters are inherently a tad "creative" with colour anyway...

[brianb]

The pixel sizes of the DMK21 & DBK21 are the same. It's the same sensor chip but the DBK has a Bayer filter matrix stuck in front of it. If you're imaging in monochromatic light, only a few of the pixels of a colour camera are effective, so the resolution is less (as well as having reduced sensitivity).

A one-shot colour camera works quite well on planets - until you get ambitious enough to want to image in infra red or ultra violet - but a mono camera is far and away the best tool for solar work. It works very well on the Moon too because the moon is as near monochrome as makes no difference ... RGB imaging of planets with a mono camera is a bit more effective than using a one shot but considerably harder work.

[Macavity]

Thanks Brian - I was hoping you'd take this one on!

Solar & Lunar: Just what I wanted to understand...