White Balance and Colour
Image: The default colour and contrast settings of the G12 produce good images straight from the camera
Owners of Canon EOS DSLRs will be pleased to learn that the colours produced by the PowerShot G12 look remarkably similar to those rendered by the EOS models. It is likely that the G12 will spend much of its time in AWB mode, and I found that in most lighting conditions this produced pleasing results.
However, when shooting under tungsten lighting, the AWB leaves quite a strong orange colour cast. Switching to the tungsten setting completely removes this colour cast, though – so much so that when photographing a scene with white walls and a tungsten lamp, I had to double-check that I hadn’t taken the image in black & white.
Taking a custom white balance reading is obviously just as clinical. Instead, I found that best results are achieved by adjusting the default tungsten white balance setting to add a hint of amber back into the image.
Like the Canon EOS 60D (tested AP 23 October), I found that even in standard mode the colours produced by the G12 are quite saturated, with green grass still looking good even in the dull light of an overcast day.
Even punchier colours can be gained by switching the My Colours setting to vivid, but if more realistic colours are required, switching the camera to its neutral colour setting will be a better option. For the most part, the G12 can be happily left in its AWB and standard colour settings, and produce JPEG images that are suitable for printing and digital display straight from the camera.
