How to take color photos with a black and white camera (Video by 8-bit guy)

**ThomSirveaux** · 08-08-2018, 09:09 AM - **1 Like**

So, I follow the 8-bit guy pretty religiously, due in large part to my love of retro computing, but he has some amazing videos on how to go about getting color photos from a B&W source, and this is his new video on the subject:

You Tube

**acoufap** · 08-08-2018, 09:47 AM

Originally posted by ThomSirveaux

So, I follow the 8-bit guy pretty religiously, due in large part to my love of retro computing, but he has some amazing videos on how to go about getting color photos from a B&W source, and this is his new video on the subject:

Color Photos from a Black and White Camera - YouTube

Thanks for sharing! Nice Video that shows on what principles our modern digital cameras with bayer sensors work. And I learned that with Leica and Phase One Monochrome cameras we could also produce color photos.

Excalibor · 08-08-2018, 09:59 AM

That's way cool. I love learning new stuff like this!

Thanks for sharing!

**BigMackCam** · 08-08-2018, 10:56 AM

Leica M-Monochrom users rejoice... Colour photography is within your reach!!

Seriously, this is an excellent video - thanks for posting. That vintage three-colour projector is very impressive for the era!

aitrus3 · 08-08-2018, 12:27 PM - **4 Likes**

Same process goes into most serious astrophography photographs. In fact, that would be the best place to buy an RGB filter set.
Everything produced by the Hubble space telescope is done this way but with filters that are even more narrow. Having them so narrow allows the scientists to determine what types of gases are present in that object.
Eg. The bubble nebula I believe was shot at 656nm (Hydrogen Alpha) 502nm (oxygen III) and 658nm (Nitrogen II)
The resulting black and white images produce a colour image like this:

**ThomSirveaux** · 08-08-2018, 04:21 PM - **1 Like**

Originally posted by aitrus3

Same process goes into most serious astrophography photographs. In fact, that would be the best place to buy an RGB filter set.
Everything produced by the Hubble space telescope is done this way but with filters that are even more narrow. Having them so narrow allows the scientists to determine what types of gases are present in that object.
Eg. The bubble nebula I believe was shot at 656nm (Hydrogen Alpha) 502nm (oxygen III) and 658nm (Nitrogen II)
The resulting black and white images produce a colour image like this:

Your edit makes it look like some cosmic force just waiting out in the galaxy... I love it.

aitrus3 · 08-08-2018, 06:46 PM - **2 Likes**

Originally posted by ThomSirveaux

Your edit makes it look like some cosmic force just waiting out in the galaxy... I love it.

Thanks! Above was my first of three attempts and below was my last attempt, and I got it close enough to NASA's version.
I realized that they also take a little bit of artistic liberty with these things to make them a bit more appealing to the eye. In this case, they added two layers of hydrogen to the image and mapped one to green and the other to blue.

08-08-2018, 12:27 PM - 4 Likes	#5
aitrus3 Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Kamloops B.C. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,432	Same process goes into most serious astrophography photographs. In fact, that would be the best place to buy an RGB filter set. Everything produced by the Hubble space telescope is done this way but with filters that are even more narrow. Having them so narrow allows the scientists to determine what types of gases are present in that object. Eg. The bubble nebula I believe was shot at 656nm (Hydrogen Alpha) 502nm (oxygen III) and 658nm (Nitrogen II) The resulting black and white images produce a colour image like this: Last edited by aitrus3; 08-08-2018 at 12:51 PM.

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08-08-2018, 09:47 AM	#2
acoufap Site Supporter Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Munich, Germany Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 4,190	Originally posted by ThomSirveaux So, I follow the 8-bit guy pretty religiously, due in large part to my love of retro computing, but he has some amazing videos on how to go about getting color photos from a B&W source, and this is his new video on the subject: Color Photos from a Black and White Camera - YouTube Thanks for sharing! Nice Video that shows on what principles our modern digital cameras with bayer sensors work. And I learned that with Leica and Phase One Monochrome cameras we could also produce color photos.

08-08-2018, 09:59 AM	#3
Excalibor Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2018 Posts: 353	That's way cool. I love learning new stuff like this! Thanks for sharing!

08-08-2018, 10:56 AM	#4
BigMackCam Digitiser of Film Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: North East of England Posts: 20,680	Leica M-Monochrom users rejoice... Colour photography is within your reach!! Seriously, this is an excellent video - thanks for posting. That vintage three-colour projector is very impressive for the era!

08-08-2018, 04:21 PM - 1 Like	#6
ThomSirveaux Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2018 Posts: 607 Original Poster	Originally posted by aitrus3 Same process goes into most serious astrophography photographs. In fact, that would be the best place to buy an RGB filter set. Everything produced by the Hubble space telescope is done this way but with filters that are even more narrow. Having them so narrow allows the scientists to determine what types of gases are present in that object. Eg. The bubble nebula I believe was shot at 656nm (Hydrogen Alpha) 502nm (oxygen III) and 658nm (Nitrogen II) The resulting black and white images produce a colour image like this: Your edit makes it look like some cosmic force just waiting out in the galaxy... I love it.

08-08-2018, 06:46 PM - 2 Likes	#7
aitrus3 Pentaxian Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Kamloops B.C. Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 1,432	Originally posted by ThomSirveaux Your edit makes it look like some cosmic force just waiting out in the galaxy... I love it. Thanks! Above was my first of three attempts and below was my last attempt, and I got it close enough to NASA's version. I realized that they also take a little bit of artistic liberty with these things to make them a bit more appealing to the eye. In this case, they added two layers of hydrogen to the image and mapped one to green and the other to blue.