Why is the native picture (fig 1) in grayscale? or more generally why is black and white the default of signal processing? Is it just because black and white are two opposites that can be easily discerned?
The various "raw" camera image formats kind of work like this, they include the voltages converted to some numerical range and what each "pixels" represents for a specific camera sensor setup.
The books, while geared toward Nikon cameras, are generally applicable. And packed with high-quality illustrations and an almost obsessive uber-nerd level of detail. He’s very much an engineer and photographer. When he says “complete guide”, he means it.
The section on image sensors, read-outs, and ISO/dual gain/S&R, etc. is particularly interesting—-and should be baseline knowledge for anyone who’s seriously interested in photography.
[0] https://zsystemuser.com/z-system-books/complete-guide-to-the...