[image-processing] Converting RGB to grayscale/intensity

When converting from RGB to grayscale, it is said that specific weights to channels R, G, and B ought to be applied. These weights are: 0.2989, 0.5870, 0.1140.

It is said that the reason for this is different human perception/sensibility towards these three colors. Sometimes it is also said these are the values used to compute NTSC signal.

However, I didn't find a good reference for this on the web. What is the source of these values?

See also these previous questions: here and here.

Check out the Color FAQ for information on this. These values come from the standardization of RGB values that we use in our displays. Actually, according to the Color FAQ, the values you are using are outdated, as they are the values used for the original NTSC standard and not modern monitors.

Heres some code in c to convert rgb to grayscale. The real weighting used for rgb to grayscale conversion is 0.3R+0.6G+0.11B. these weights arent absolutely critical so you can play with them. I have made them 0.25R+ 0.5G+0.25B. It produces a slightly darker image.

NOTE: The following code assumes xRGB 32bit pixel format

unsigned int *pntrBWImage=(unsigned int*)..data pointer..;  //assumes 4*width*height bytes with 32 bits i.e. 4 bytes per pixel
unsigned int fourBytes;
        unsigned char r,g,b;
        for (int index=0;index<width*height;index++)
        {
            fourBytes=pntrBWImage[index];//caches 4 bytes at a time
            r=(fourBytes>>16);
            g=(fourBytes>>8);
            b=fourBytes;

            I_Out[index] = (r >>2)+ (g>>1) + (b>>2); //This runs in 0.00065s on my pc and produces slightly darker results
            //I_Out[index]=((unsigned int)(r+g+b))/3;     //This runs in 0.0011s on my pc and produces a pure average
        }

These values vary from person to person, especially for people who are colorblind.

I found that this publication referenced in an answer to a previous similar question. It is very helpful:

http://cadik.posvete.cz/color_to_gray_evaluation/

It shows 'tons' of different methods to generate grayscale images with different outcomes!

Here's a paper on how these numbers (or similar ones) were derived:

https://web.archive.org/web/20160303201512/http://www.cis.rit.edu/mcsl/research/broadbent/CIE1931_RGB.pdf

is all this really necessary, human perception and CRT vs LCD will vary, but the R G B intensity does not, Why not L = (R + G + B)/3 and set the new RGB to L, L, L?

What is the source of these values?

The "source" of the coefficients posted are the NTSC specifications which can be seen in Rec601 and Characteristics of Television.

The "ultimate source" are the CIE circa 1931 experiments on human color perception. The spectral response of human vision is not uniform. Experiments led to weighting of tristimulus values based on perception. Our L, M, and S cones¹ are sensitive to the light wavelengths we identify as "Red", "Green", and "Blue" (respectively), which is where the tristimulus primary colors are derived.²

The linear light³ spectral weightings for sRGB (and Rec709) are:

R_lin * 0.2126 + G_lin * 0.7152 + B_lin * 0.0722 = Y

These are specific to the sRGB and Rec709 colorspaces, which are intended to represent computer monitors (sRGB) or HDTV monitors (Rec709), and are detailed in the ITU documents for Rec709 and also BT.2380-2 (10/2018)

FOOTNOTES (1) Cones are the color detecting cells of the eye's retina.
(2) However, the chosen tristimulus wavelengths are NOT at the "peak" of each cone type - instead tristimulus values are chosen such that they stimulate on particular cone type substantially more than another, i.e. separation of stimulus.
(3) You need to linearize your sRGB values before applying the coefficients. I discuss this in another answer here.