Canon PowerShot G1 X Digital Camera Review

Color

We're disappointed by the color accuracy of the G1 X. This camera returned an error value of 4.15, very high for the above-$500 price range. Some yellows were so far off they turned green, meaning human subjects won't appear as lifelike in shots recorded with this camera. Light blues were also significantly darker than ideal, but at least saturation was nearly perfect. More on how we test color.

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.

The G12 also had poor color accuracy, making this result all the more disappointing. We were really hoping Canon would fix one of the few major problems we identified with the G12, but it doesn't look like this will be the case.

Color Modes

The G1 X comes with a variety of color modes, with mainstays like Vivid and Neutral, as well as specifics like Vivid Green and Positive Film. The most accurate mode is always a wildcard with Canon cameras. In this case Vivid Red is the closest. Neutral, surprisingly, is inaccurate and drastically undersaturated. We used the Vivid Red mode for the remainder of our testing.

White Balance

Automatic white balance with fine manual adjustment is supported, and a decent selection of presets have been programmed in, including two fluorescent modes, a flash mode, and a mode for use with an underwater enclosure. Two one-touch custom white balance slots are available.