Review: Canon G1X and Color Accent Mode

I had the Canon G1X for a week to review, but I only had 2 real days of shooting. We were getting low angle sun and lots of shadows caused by tall downtown buildings. I waited around until late afternoon to get more even lighting in the shadows, but the lighting was dark and gray and boring. That’s when I decided to use Canon’s wonderful color accent mode.

Most manufacturers have pre-programmed colors (red, blue, green, orange, yellow, etc.). Canon allows you to capture whatever color you see, with the ability to increase or decrease color sensitivity.  My favorite is grabbing Coca-Cola red with +5 sensitivity, which picks up almost all reds, oranges, yellows and most skin tones, but everything else becomes monochromatic. 

Shooting through glass is fun. People often don’t notice me taking pictures through a window. Also, I like seeing the street image behind me sandwiched onto the image via the glass surface.

 Another window shot. Sword play. Again, nobody noticed me. You can make out my hands and the outline of the camera. I like how the hardwood floors’ vertical lines give a sense of depth to the image.

 Hanging out on Granville street, I thought I would try and get some moving action. Just enough blur to give a sense of motion. 

I thought I would show how the G1X performs at 28mm wide open (F2.8). You do get decent bokeh, but you do have to switch to macro mode to get this close. 

Overall I enjoyed shooting with the Canon G1X. I find Canon’s user interface the most reasonable and easy to maneuver, The large sensor size is great for post editing, as you can crop 50% of the image and still have a decent resolution image in the end. I didn’t have a chance to play with RAW images; but I found the JPEGs pretty good, although a little bit too sharp and punchy for my taste. 


In the end, it’s all about the images and my ability as a photographer to get the shot, and I can say that the Canon G1X can get the job done. Autofocus is adequate for a street style photographer, or anyone who’s on vacation and shooting mostly wide angle environment type images (scenery with some people in foreground). If you shoot sports or kids, this camera isn’t for you. Stick to a DSLR and prime lens, or some of the newer mirrorless cameras. As mentioned in my earlier review, a good photographer works around the weaknesses of any camera they use, and not upgrade every time the latest and greatest comes out (which seems to happen every 6 months these days!!). The G1X can take amazing images (sensor size larger than M43, a bit smaller than APS-C) for those willing to work within it’s limits.


I thank Gastown Photo for allowing me to borrow this camera for a week so I could do my review.