Canon SX1 IS

	Color
	Product Tour	Page 3 of 16	Noise

Color Accuracy (14.44)

As usual, Canon did well in our color accuracy testing, posting a higher score than any of the other cameras in our comparison group. It was interesting that the most accurate color mode overall wasn't the default setting, but the Lighter Skin choice from the My Colors lineup of alternative settings. The default did have the most accurate color saturation results, at a near-perfect 100.10 percent, but while Lighter Skin was marginally undersaturated at 98.61%, it also produced the most accurate color values, particularly in the light skin patch (no surprise there) but also with light and dark blues and magenta.  Click here for more on how we test color

The chart below illustrates the color values produced by each of the comparison cameras in its most accurate mode. The ideal values from the X-Rite ColorChecker chart are shown in the left column. The labels here are the X-Rite patch names.

	Camera Color Comparisons
	Ideal	Canon SX1	Nikon P90	Olympus SP-590UZ	Sony HX1
Dark Skin
Light Skin
Blue Sky
	Ideal	Canon SX1	Nikon P90	Olympus SP-590UZ	Sony HX1
Foliage
Blue Flower
Bluish Green
	Ideal	Canon SX1	Nikon P90	Olympus SP-590UZ	Sony HX1
Orange
Purplish Blue
Moderate Red
	Ideal	Canon SX1	Nikon P90	Olympus SP-590UZ	Sony HX1
Purple
Yellow Green
Orange Yellow
	Ideal	Canon SX1	Nikon P90	Olympus SP-590UZ	Sony HX1
Blue
Green
Red
	Ideal	Canon SX1	Nikon P90	Olympus SP-590UZ	Sony HX1
Yellow
Magenta
Cyan

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.

Color Performance Score Comparison		Compare the Canon SX1 to the Nikon P90
		Compare the Canon SX1 to the Olympus SP-590UZ
		Compare the Canon SX1 to the Sony HX1

As shown in the graph above, the Canon SX1 delivered significantly higher color precision than its rivals.

Color Modes (5.00)

The My Colors feature provides a wide range of color reproduction style options while shooting. You can choose from Vivid, Neutral, Sepia, Black and White, Positive Film (producing Kodacolor-style high-intensity reds, greens and blues) Lighter Skin Tone, Darker Skin Tone, Vivid Red, Vivid Green and Vivid Blue. If none of these produces the effect you're after, the Custom Color option lets you manually adjust contrast, saturation, sharpness, red, green, blue and skin tone levels. What makes all of this a bit more manageable is the fact that any settings changes you make to color modes are reflected live on-screen, which cuts down on nasty surprises.

Nikon P90	Olympus SP-590UZ	Sony HX1
See how the competition stacked up against the Canon SX1