How Digital Cameras See Color: The Bayer Filter
DefinitionThe mosaic of red, green, and blue acting as your camera's eye.
1The Simple Explanation
Camera sensors only count light (black and white). A Bayer filter puts colored glasses over each pixel—one Red, one Blue, and two Greens. The computer then guesses the full color picture.
2Technical Deep Dive
The pattern is 50% Green, 25% Red, 25% Blue (mimicking the human eye's sensitivity to green). The process of interpolating the full colors from this mosaic is called 'Demosaicing'.
Common Misconceptions
Myth: A 20MP camera captures 20 million red, green, and blue pixels. Fact: It captures 20 million single values, and math creates the rest.