Multispectral Imaging vs. RGB Imaging

How RGB Cameras Capture Color

An RGB sensor forms color through red, green, and blue filter channels. White balance, color transforms, and ISP processing produce pixels for display or computer vision.

What Multispectral Cameras Capture

A multispectral sensor samples selected bands. Its output generally requires product-specific calibration and reconstruction; raw mosaic values are not calibrated spectral reflectance by themselves.

Spectral Reflectance and Data

Spectral reflectance describes how a material reflects light by wavelength. Materials with similar RGB appearance may differ in other bands, while illumination and surface condition also affect observations.

Selection by Application

Selection should consider target differences, spatial detail, lighting control, frame rate, bandwidth, algorithms, and host resources. RGB suits general imaging, texture, and mature vision pipelines; multispectral helps when additional band information is needed and capture/processing can be controlled.

How RGB and Multispectral Complement Each Other

RGB offers familiar color and texture; multispectral can add band-response information. They may be fused, but field of view, alignment, exposure, and synchronization must be addressed. Combining them does not guarantee better results.