Originally posted by h.butz Cameras are colorblind and only produce shades of grey. They put a colored filter on each of the pixels to break them up into squares of R, G, and B and put those values back together at the expense of resolution. Removing the colored filters makes the camera colorblind again - but, you get a lot more resolution and an extra EV stop in the process.
I had one of the rare 6MP Kodak monochrome cameras a long time ago - probably the only DCS 1m. Superb resolution per pixel. One f-stop more light, no Bayer filters sucking up light and smearing the imagery. A colleague now has a converted Canon 5d in monochrome. Sweet toy for technical photography.
For machine vision monochrome cameras are standard and no questions asked. In photography only Leica shaves sensors to offer monochrome sensors these days.
Happy to learn who will convert Pentax.