Canon PowerShot A1300 Digital Camera Review

Color

The A1300's color accuracy is actually amazingly good. We recorded an error value of 2.23 in our accuracy test (lower numbers are better here), and to put that in perspective, we recently tested the $3500 Canon 5D Mark III, which scored a 2.15. Saturation is also nearly perfect, coming in at 98.5%. More on how we test color.

For sticklers, the errors that do exist are found in shades of yellow and blue. But that shouldn't detract from this very impressive result. Expect subjects, especially human ones, to be rendered in an accurate and flattering way.

NOTE: Because of the way computer monitors reproduce colors, the images above do not exactly match the originals found on the chart or in the captured images. The chart should be used to judge the relative color shift, not the absolute captured colors.

In relation to other cameras, we notice that the only similar results near this price are achieved by the Canon A2400 IS, a similar model that was announced and released at the same time as the A1300. It's likely these two cameras are using the same sensor and the same image processor, so that explains the similarity in scores here.

White Balance

On the other hand, the A1300's white balance system is a little bit better than the A2400's, especially the automatic algorithm. Like all digital cameras, this one still had problems balancing under incandescent light, otherwise the results were above average. Custom white balance is somewhat less accurate than a few other compacts we've seen, but the problem isn't nearly severe enough to detract from general use.