I’ve spent the better part of the last fifteen years reviewing photo gear here at PCMag. In that time, I’ve tried everything from beginner-friendly compacts, such as the $69.95 Camp Snap Screen-Free Digital, to the most expensive gear you can find, like the $51,990 Phase One IQ4 150MP medium-format system. I started taking pictures as a hobby and creative outlet, but these days, picking up a camera usually feels more like work than fun, even when I’m off the clock.
After years of fence sitting about buying a black-and-white digital camera, I treated myself to a Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome in early 2024. (Credit: Jim Fisher)
But there’s one type of camera that always brings me joy. I perk up whenever a monochrome sensor cam comes in for review. Black-and-white cameras have subtle but real advantages over color models, and, perhaps more importantly, urge me to change my approach to photography. It’s more important to search out scenes that play with light and texture than ones with striking colors. So after I returned my Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome ($2,199.95) review loaner, I decided to treat myself to one of my own.
My Favorite Monochrome Digital Cameras
Here’s why I couldn’t resist the Pentax, what life behind a monochrome sensor is really like, and why going black-and-white might just make you forget color ever existed.
Why Not Just Get a Color Camera?
I had my reasons for wanting a monochrome camera, both practical and emotional. I tend to have a pragmatic outlook on photography, and can point to a few technical advantages.
Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome / HD DA 20-40mm F2.8-4 Limited lens (Credit: Jim Fisher)
First, it’s important to understand how digital cameras work. Their CMOS sensors are monochrome by design—the silicon records only luminosity, the intensity of light, not its color. Because of this, most cameras use a Color Filter Array (CFA) to capture color photos. The CFA is a repeating pattern of red, green, and blue filters that sit on top of the photo-sensitive silicon and cut out different wavelengths of light. The camera’s processor takes the data from the sensor and turns it into a photo using a process called demosaicing. Because of the filter, the camera doesn’t actually see light at every pixel; anything missing is interpolated from data from surrounding pixels. Because of this, monochrome cameras capture sharper images and do a better job reproducing textures versus ones with a color chip—you’ll need to zoom in to see the difference, but it’s there.
Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome / HD DA 150-450mm lens (Credit: Jim Fisher)
The CFA doesn’t just cut out some detail; it also halves the amount of light transmission. Using photo lingo, that’s a full f-stop difference. The practical result is that monochrome cameras are better in low light—they show less noise and have a higher ISO ceiling versus color contemporaries. This also means that they leave more room to recover detail in the shadows, effectively giving them a broader dynamic range. They show a smoother gradation between light and shadow, resulting in what I like to describe as richer tonality.
Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome / SMC 85mm F1.8 lens (Credit: Jim Fisher)
I place more value on dynamic range and tonality than resolution. Color cameras have more than enough pixels to make big, crisp prints that hold up to close scrutiny, and personally, I’m more likely to view images on a screen than make a print. On the other hand, I love the ability to open shadows when I want a look with lifted blacks or low contrast, or to crush shadows for a high-contrast edit.
Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome / HD DA 20-40mm F2.8-4 Limited lens (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Of course, there are practical downsides too. When I convert a color image to monochrome in Lightroom Classic or Nik Silver Efex Pro, I can add a virtual color balance filter to change how bright certain colors render. With a monochrome camera, I’m back to using red, yellow, orange, blue, or green lens filters to adjust the luminosity of the color channels. One monochrome camera, the Ricoh GR IV Monochrome, includes a clever in-lens red filter that toggles on and off with a button. Red filters are a favorite for landscape photography because they darken blue skies to add dramatic contrast, especially in scenes with white, puffy clouds. However, with other black-and-white cameras, you need to buy filters. Because of this, I ended up buying some yellow and orange filters in various thread sizes to use with the lenses I have for the K-3 III Monochrome.
Leica M Monochrom (Typ 246) / Summilux 50mm F1.4 ASPH. lens (left), Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome / HD DA 150-450mm lens (right) (Credit: Jim Fisher)
I also have to be very careful not to overexpose photos with a monochrome camera. With a color chip, the nature of the CFA lets you recover information in overblown highlights. But with a monochrome chip, once a pixel is overexposed, there’s no way to reduce exposure, even when shooting in 14-bit Raw. Because of this, nearly every monochrome camera includes a Highlight Priority metering mode. This type of metering calculates exposure so bright parts of a photo don’t get overexposed, but tends to underexpose scenes that include both bright highlights and deep shadows. To get the best images out of any monochrome camera, it is crucial to use Raw capture and take the time to process your images.
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Two images from the Leica Q3 Monochrom (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Photography is a technical endeavor for sure, but it’s also an artistic pursuit. I’ll play on one of my favorite Yogi Berra lines here: Choosing a monochrome digital camera is 90% mental, the other half is technical. When I pick up a monochrome camera, I know that I’m taking black-and-white photos and only black-and-white photos. That’s not the case with a color camera, where I can always press a couple of buttons or twist a dial to switch between color and black-and-white capture.
Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome / HD DA 20-40mm F2.8-4 Limited lens (Credit: Jim Fisher)
The change in mindset is important to me. My instinct is to look for an interesting scene, subject, or composition first, and often lean on a wide aperture and shallow depth of field to highlight a subject. When I’m carrying a black-and-white camera, I am more apt to look for interesting plays of light and shadow and to go for a broader depth of field. I can’t quite put a finger on why I lean into deeper focus in black-and-white photography, but I’m sure I’m influenced at least in part by Gregg Toland’s deep-focus cinematography in Citizen Kane, a film I watch annually. His camera work and lighting influence my monochrome photography.
Not All Monochrome Cameras Are Ridiculously Expensive
Leica’s Monochrom cameras are beautiful, but too expensive for most photographers to afford (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Why did I wait so long to get a monochrome camera? It came down to timing and cost. For the former, I decided to purchase the Leica M (Typ 240), a color digital camera, when it was released in 2013. I attended the Photokina conference, where it was announced, got some early hands on time with it, and put in a preorder as soon as I returned home from Cologne. At the time, I was able to handle its $7,000 price by selling off some gear and cutting back on other expenses. A few years later, the Monochrom (Typ 246) debuted, and I thought about selling the Typ 240 to get it. But at the same time, my 10-year-old Honda Civic was on its last legs, so I made the adult decision and spent my money on a CR-V (which, like my Typ 240, is still going strong.)
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For a long time, a Leica was the only off-the-shelf option for black-and-white photography. Leica has always been an expensive brand, but in recent years, its prices have risen considerably, and by the time the M10 Monochrom came out, I was priced out of the market. I’m a fan of buying used to save money, but since monochrome cameras are made in fewer numbers and their owners tend to hold onto them, they aren’t as plentiful, and have higher resale value than color digitals. I toyed with the idea of getting an aftermarket converted camera from Llewllyn Data Processing (MaxMax), a company that specializes in infrared and monochrome conversions, a few times, but never followed through. I was happy enough with the week or two I got to spend with other black-and-white cameras that came out along the way. Leica has released several, including the original M Monochrom, M Monochrom (Typ 246), M10 Monochrom, M11 Monochrom, Q2 Monochrom, and Q3 Monochrom—I was lucky enough to test each and every one along the way.
Leica M Monochrom / Summilux 50mm F1.4 ASPH. lens (Credit: Jim Fisher)
Ricoh shook up the market with the K-3 III Monochrome. It debuted at a fraction of the price of a Leica M or Q Monochrom, and set a new expectation for just how much a black-and-white sensor camera should cost. For me, it was an easy decision to get it—the price was right, the pictures I made during my review wowed me, and I already had a full set of Pentax K-mount lenses. I have my dad to thank for the last point; he used Pentax cameras during his time as a commercial photographer back in the ’80s, and he gave me all his gear when I took up photography. I picked up a few of my own in the years when the K10D was my daily driver. It’s a tougher sell for photogs who don’t have a stash of K lenses.
Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome / HD DA 20-40mm F2.8-4 Limited lens (Credit: Jim Fisher)
And now that the GR IV Monochrome is available, photographers who don’t use a Pentax system can jump in without having to set aside extra money for a lens. I think that’s one of the big reasons the camera has hit a nerve with the zeitgeist, frequently showing up in search trends. The GR series is what I describe as a cult camera, one with a devoted following, but it went more mainstream after TikTok influencers discovered the GR III. I’m happy that more people are discovering the joy of using a GR because it’s long been a personal favorite of mine.
Is a Monochrome Camera Right for You?
I’ve laid out my reasons for buying a black-and-white camera. After two years, my only real regret is not using it as often as I’d like. I love using it for cemetery photography, one of my personal passions, and was glad to have it when my wife and I welcomed a rescued tuxedo cat into our home. I could be compelled to trade the K-3 III Monochrome out for a full-frame mirrorless monochrome if one ever comes to market at a reasonable price, simply because I’d like an excuse to use some of my antique M-mount lenses more often, but for now, I’ve got no plans of letting the Pentax go.
Two images from the Pentax K-3 Mark III Monochrome and SMC 31mm F1.8 lens (Credit: Jim Fisher)
It’s really up to you to decide if a monochrome digital camera is the right choice for your photography. I won’t blame you if you think it’s silly—if so, stick with a camera that can capture both color and black-and-white images. But if you think you’ll like a digital black-and-white camera, you probably will.
About Our Expert
Jim Fisher
Principal Writer, Cameras
Experience
Images, and the devices that capture them, are my focus. I’ve covered cameras at PCMag for the past 14 years, which has given me a front row seat for the changeover from DSLRs to mirrorless cameras, the smartphone camera revolution, and the emergence of drones for aerial imaging. I have extensive experience with every major mirrorless and SLR system, and am also comfortable using point-and-shoot and action cameras. As a Part 107 Certified drone pilot, I’m licensed to fly unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for commercial and editorial purposes, and am knowledgeable about federal rules and regulations regarding drones.
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