Canon PowerShot SX230 HS Digital Camera Review

Color

Canon tends to be hit or miss when it comes to color accuracy, and the SX230 is a miss for sure. The smallest error value we could achieve was 3.82, quite a bit worse than average, even for a compact camera. Flesh tones were particularly far off, with many shades of yellow turning to green. 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.

For better color accuracy in a travel zoom, try Sony's HX9V, which managed an even better score than Canon's mighty S100 compact.

Color Modes

The most accurate color mode is Neutral, however this setting undersaturates by over 12%. In second place is the My Colors Off mode, however this oversaturates by almost 10%. We can't win.

White Balance

White balance accuracy is great for some applications, but inaccurate for others. Automatic white balance is relatively precise under daylight and fluorescent bulbs, however the camera struggles with tungsten light, as most cameras do. Custom white balance is the opposite: very accurate for tungsten, but relatively far off under daylight and CWF.