A reason for bw cam is sensitivity. No bayer filter means you capture all the photons. There are cameras that are sensitive enough to count photons as well. Whe

A reason for bw cam is sensitivity. No bayer filter means you capture all the photons. There are cameras that are sensitive enough to count photons as well. When I was in the lab we used EMCCD cameras (electron multiplier ccd) that we used to detect very low signals from cells (we wanted to be nice to them, if you hit them with UV light they don't like that). There are all kinds of really great hacks to eke out an extra couple % at this level, if you consider you're counting photons. Back thinned, reverse mounting, high bandwidth multichannel readouts. Most of those trade offs are a thing of the past, but in the 2000s we were hacking the beans off those cameras to get them to do stunts for us. Things are fast good AND cheap now though!