Methods and systems for detecting and compensating for motion depicted in a sequence of frames are disclosed. One example method includes converting video frames to monochrome. Conversion of an image to monochrome includes sampling luminance data of a portion of pixels in the image to identify the image as being of a particular image type, selecting a bit plane of the image based on the identified image type, and converting the image to a monochrome image using the selected bit plane. After conversion of video frames to monochrome, a pixel subset in a monochrome image corresponding to a first frame is compared to candidate matching pixel subsets within a search area of a monochrome image corresponding to a second, consecutive frame. The frames are processed to compensate for perceived motion blur based on the detected inter-frame motion.