There aren’t a lot of things that post-production can’t do for photographers these days. But why should you need to do it to the colors? In the pandemic, we felt that we wanted to stop staring at screens and have fun shooting no matter what. So we’re rounding up some of the best cameras with great colors. Best of all, we’ve tested all of these ourselves. We think you’ll enjoy them.
View this article with minimal banner ads in our app for iOS, iPad, and Android. Get no banner ads for $24.99/year.
Table of Contents
How We Chose These Cameras with Great Colors
Here’s how we chose the best cameras with great colors:
- We tested all of these cameras ourselves. You can see our full reviews in each section of this round up.
- What do we mean by cameras with great colors? Well, we didn’t have to do much to the colors when editing these photos from these cameras.
- With Fujifilm, you’re best off using the film simulations.
- With Sony, use Tamron lenses to get the best colors.
- With Canon cameras, we think you should go for the Fine Detail setting.
- Typically, cameras with great colors have high megapixel counts. This lets them have a lot more color depth.
Fujifilm GFX 100S
Pros
- The build quality is much better than the GFX100
- Weather sealing
- The new IBIS system is excellent
- Good autofocus in good light
- More detail in images than anyone could ever want
- Great performance up to ISO 6400
- The film sims are great as always. Nostalgic Neg is a nice inclusion
- Nice grip and a well-placed thumb rest round out great ergonomics
- Excellent price point for a ‘more than Full-frame’ camera (it’s $5,999)
Cons
- Still no touchscreen menu system
- Mediocre battery life
- 400MP Hi-Res image mode is meh
- While the EVF is nice, it’s a step back from the GFX100
How are the Colors?
In our review, we state:
“If there is one thing Fujifilm knows how to do, it’s making nice JPEG files. Despite this camera using a Bayer sensor instead of X-Trans, the Fujifilm simulations look as good as ever. Playing with RAW files is nice, but sometimes just shooting JPEG is fun. If you want to do that, just know that you’ll get great images, with stunning colors all the time. The GFX100S also comes with a new film simulation; Nostalgic Negative. This film sim tries to recreate a look from 70s film stocks. Oranges, yellows, and reds take on a unique look, and overall images become much warmer. It’s a nice look that many will enjoy. Of course, this is all subjective as everyone has different tastes. Still, it’s nice that you have these options baked right into the camera.”
Canon EOS R5
Pros
- Well built
- Excellent battery life
- So intuitive for a Canon shooter
- Feels very good in the hand
- Image stabilization is pretty much second to none
- Wonderful menu systems
- Excellent details
- Weather sealed
- Reliable
- Canon’s Mobile App connection setup is as simple as ever
- Doesn’t overheat with short clips
- Wifi sending of full HD video is pretty fast
- High ISO RAW files hold a fair amount of data. There’s great dynamic range and colors, but the noise is a bit painful.
- Wireless RAW file transmission with Capture One 22
Cons
- The joystick is in an odd spot
- In some ways feels like an old 60D, but it’s totally not
- I personally feel the magnification button is in an odd spot
- Can’t transfer 8K video via Wifi
- 4K movie clips shorter than 30 seconds take a while to send, and then ultimately don’t end up on your phone
- High ISO Raw files above 12,800 tend to get a bit messy
- The price is a bit high at $3,899
How are the Colors?
In our review, we state:
“It was only when editing these RAW files that I started to remember how beautiful Canon’s colors can be. With my Canon EOS R, I don’t edit all that much. But the RAW files from the Canon EOS R5 remind me of the Canon 5D Mk II in some ways. If you make the white balance nice and warm, human skin looks radiant. Editing the color channels lets you create even more vivid colors. It’s why I fell in love with Canon many years ago. And with this, I feel like I’ve got a true successor to what I used to own.”
Sony a1
Pros
- Sony’s a1 shows that stacked sensors are the future
- Detail rich images with great dynamic range
- Excellent ergonomics (the best Sony camera to date)
- The a1 features the new touchscreen menu system
- Fantastic overall autofocus performance
- 30 frames per second with the electronic shutter with virtually no rolling shutter or banding issues
- 1/400th mechanical shutter speed with compatible TTL flashes and triggers
- Sony’s 9.44 million dot EVF is a work of art
- Excellent build quality
- Good battery life
- 8K video
- Excellent performance with CFexpress A cards
Cons
- It has the same old 1.44 million dot LCD
- The LCD is not fully articulating
- Bird AF is a work in progress
- Multi Shot mode is inconsistent
- Autofocus suffers a little in very low light situations
- It’s $6,499
How are the Colors?
In our review, we state:
“The image quality overall is excellent. Images are detail-rich, and you can crop to your heart’s content and still have images filled with small details. The colors are great. You’ll see this in the JPEGs that the camera produces. RAW files are also pretty fantastic. The fact that you can rattle off 30 frames per second and get 50MP images that are as good as these are is impressive.”
The Phoblographer’s various product round-up features are done in-house. Our philosophy is simple: you wouldn’t get a Wagyu beef steak review from a lifelong vegetarian. And you wouldn’t get photography advice from someone who doesn’t touch the product. We only recommend gear that we’ve fully reviewed. If you’re wondering why your favorite product didn’t make the cut, there’s a chance it’s on another list. If we haven’t reviewed it, we won’t recommend it. This method keeps our lists packed with industry-leading knowledge. Some of our stories include affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission.
