EBME Forums Forums Maintenance Technical Assistance Colour or black and white chip technology?

So we all know that black and white ccd's on videoendoscopes produce better imagery than their colour chip cousins.The question is, where to next? fujinon has moved to colour, Pentax is spending more on color research than B/W and Olympus is running with both. Depending on the country you reside in Olympus for example has made a marketing decision to supply the states with colour, africa and europe with both and I think the east with both as well.
Personally I think colour chip will advance to a stage where B/w will become obsolete. If you compare the Pentax EPK 1000c (colour)to the Olympus CV 230 (B/W)you will see that the quality of the images are similar. The fact that it is full screen also carries a hefty punch.
The price difference however is almost worlds apart.
The oly 260 system however is a beast all on its own. with its HDTV signal and super high res tft lcd monitor blows the competition apart.
For the price I can get a full colour system with 4 or 5 scopes from the competition!!!
Makes you think doesnt it??
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I have to agree that B/W technology will eventually dissapear. In our Hospital we mainly have Olympus scopes and equipment. The surgeons prefer them - but I am not convinced that there is a great deal of difference clinically. The main argument is not to do with the image quality, but more do with the operational use of the equipment/scopes. Comments??

We too have massive price differences between Olympus and everyone else. (Fujinon, Pentax, etc)
But I can't seem to change their minds. The service contracts are also more expensive than the competition.

I have similar findings. The ccd's on most of the flexible videoscopes are from one or two manufactures. The difference is through the processing and refining of the signal. So to the untrained eye all the images are similar. Those with more experience would probally spot the difference.
Mechanically speaking there is definitely a difference. If you know what the inside of a scope looks like you will clearly see the difference. The design, layout, machining and materials used on Olympus are far superior. This is one of the reasons why we pay the high prices that we do.
Colonscopy's are all to do with feel, and this is why most like the olympus. none of the opposition have been able to bring out a torque adjustable scope that can compare.
Pentax have introduced the FK2 colonoscope which is shorter and stiffer than the conventional and is enjoyed by most that were usedto regular colonoscopes.
A far as the pricing is concerned, our friends at Keymed have to put bread on their table and so the extra high pricing.
If they are owned by olympus,I dont understand why the pricing should differ between european countries????????
Perhaps they want more than one side buttered...