---
title: "Mono vs Color Cameras for Astrophotography"
canonical: https://stackingstarlight.com/advanced/mono-vs-color
description: "Mono vs one-shot-color cameras: resolution, sensitivity, and workflow trade-offs, and which suits you."
---

# Mono vs Color Cameras for Astrophotography

> Mono vs one-shot-color cameras: resolution, sensitivity, and workflow trade-offs, and which suits you.

**Monochrome** sensors have no Bayer mask, so every pixel records every photon at full resolution and efficiency; you capture through external R/G/B or narrowband filters and combine channels in processing — maximum quality and flexibility (essential for serious narrowband), but more gear (filter wheel) and more time. **One-shot-color (OSC)** captures all colors at once via the Bayer mask — far simpler and faster per target, ideal for limited clear nights and broadband or dual-narrowband work, at some cost in resolution/sensitivity. Choose OSC for simplicity, mono for ultimate control.

---

Source: [https://stackingstarlight.com/advanced/mono-vs-color](https://stackingstarlight.com/advanced/mono-vs-color) · Part of [Stacking Starlight](https://stackingstarlight.com) by Michael Kalika.

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