Chris63 Loc: Central WI

I have no issues with the color rendition in my Canon G7X II (JPEG only).
In my opinion colors, as they come out of the camera, are true to reality.

I understand that different manufacturers use different algorithms to generate/retain color in JPEG.

Are some of them better (i.e. more true to life) than the others? I am not after tweaking colors in post-prod. I'd like them true out of the camera.

Any recommendations for the most faithful one overall?

Quixdraw Loc: x

Films rendered colors differently, many of us see colors differently. That doesn't take into account monitors, printers, etc. What I like, you might hate. This Is one you need to wrestle with on your own! Only you can say.

Fotoartist Loc: Detroit, Michigan

I rely on Nikon. In terms of White Balance, 98% of the time I go with the color temperature as picked by Auto White balance in my Nikons. What does that tell you?

Quixdraw Loc: x

I go with Nikon as well, but that is us! Others prefer what they see elsewhere. Who knows what the OP sees.

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

Back in film days it seemed that one film was best for certain shades. Nikon was know for the way it handled red, Fuji was a favorite for outdoors shots where blues and greens were predominate, Agfa was a favorite of a lot of portrait photographers for the way it handled skin tones. Now there are some software packages that will allow you to tweak your files to emulate these differences in film variations. A lot of people seem to feel Fuji does the best out of the camera color. This is true only when shooting jpegs though since RAW shots will contain all the information and how you want a shot to look will have to be "pulled" out of the entirety of the information presented. A good friend for a while was shooting with Nikon, Olympus, and Fuji cameras and raved about the colors he got from the Fuji. He loved the images but hated the camera. He did not find it tracked well and was useless when shooting moving subjects. He ended up using Olympus for his main camera but kept the Nikon also because he liked the menu system and the colors out of the camera came close to the Fuji, just not quite as good. That was his take and I have had others tell me that also. I have never shot with Fuji but am satisfied with what I get from Nikon.

Bill_de Loc: US

Many people tweak the default settings, in camera. So, unless you are set on only using defaults, it really doesn't matter much what camera you use.

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Ysarex Loc: St. Louis

Then set a custom WB on the camera before you take the photo.
The next step for even more accurate results would be to create and use a custom input profile but that's typically going to send you to post processing as few cameras will allow you to upload your own profile.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

You are relying on JPEGs only, which most definitely are not "true to reality," since the internal algorithms apply processing to produce an image that the camera manufacturer thinks is "perfect." Canon will not be identical to Nikon, Fuji, Olympus, etc, etc, etc.

That being said, Fujifilm allegedly has the best color rendition for their JPEGs. I wouldn't know, I only shoot RAW images on my Fuji XT-4 or my Nikon D850.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Plus - Since everyone's eyes (and mind) perceive color differently, what IS reality???

A calibrated monitor you say? But what if my eyes don't see the "reality" the way the monitor displays it.
I wonder if anyone's 'calibrated monitor' looks funky to them.

And - Everyone intrinsically thinks that if they see a certain color a certain way, everyone else will see it that way also. Now think about two, three, four, five, plus colors in an image...
Possible, but highly improbable.
Just HOW different between people? We'll never know.

Gene51 Loc: Yonkers, NY, now in LSD (LowerSlowerDelaware)

There are always differences between mfgrs, and even between models from any given mfgr. None are accurate ie true to life right out of the box. I use an Xrite ColorChecker Passport to build a profile for the camera when accuracy (color fidelity) is important. The process is based on the raw capture, and the result is color neutrality - regardless of camera brand or model. I have used it when employing a second shooter with a different camera from mine and I need to have the results look as if it were from a single camera when they are presented to the client.

E.L.. Shapiro Loc: Ottawa, Ontario Canada

"The best colour rendition" is subjective- some like it warm, some lie it cool and some lie it neutral. Aside from significant shifts and extreme biases, who is to tell? To what standards would you base your assessments? Neutral white and blacks, any particular muting or exaggeration of specific colours? There are also many variables such as exposure, colour temperature of the light sources, and more.

Surely there are differences from one camera's make and model to another as to colour rendition and various lenses may have unique colour responses of their own. Without having access to a wide variety of cameras and lenses and performing laboratory-grade tests on each wonder high controlled conditions with the use of precise instrumentation, again who could tell. Under practical and everyday shoot circumstances under a wide scope of conditions, it's all personal perception, taste. and artistic judgement as to the colour rendition's appropriateness to the scene or subject.

As others have alluded to in the film era,photograher selected transparency films, colour-wise, as to their "palette". Certain films had particular biases, could mute or exaggerate certain colours and other properties such as contrast and saturation were also considered. In a digital camera, you are confined to whatever the engineering of the sensor and system has to offer and the final disposition of colour balance, rendition saturation, brightness and contrast are tweaked, altered or perfected as the photographer's taste and perception in post-processing.

Colour-negative films also have certain biases and unique colour characteristics, but again, the final colour balance and rendition are finalized in printing.

Straight out of the camera? So, how do you view your images? Do you print or just enjoy them on a screen? Whatever tasks place from the time the image leaves the camera and goes to the screen or the printer also influences the colour rendition. Is everything perfectly calibrated? I am not a big fan of super-manipulative and complex post-processing, except for special effects, but I can not imagine how anyone who is critical about colour rendition can do with ANY post-processing. Sample post-processing gives the photographer full control over colour balance, contrast, saturation, contrast and brightness. Those are all the essential properties of colour rendition.

I have used a wide variety of cameras and lenses over the past nearly 60 years. I have found by practical experience, not by exhaustive testing, that most modern lenses, especially nowadays are high corrected for the aberrations that can affect colour rendition. I have used cameras made by Hasselblad, Canon, Nikon and a few others and have never found a colour rendition that I could not easily correct or customize. In the digital age, cameras and even cell-phone cameras are being improved, as to colour accuracy, by leaps and bounds seemingly on a monthly basis.

I don't like bragging, but when I ran an analog/chemical colour lab in my studio, I could see colour variations to a .005 filtration. I did custom printing for years and drove some of my technicians to drink!

Bridges Loc: Memphis, Charleston SC, now Nazareth PA

Reading all that explanation makes me want to drink! LOL, no, you are right on. Color is subjective to the individual and there are so many variables that come in to play there is no pat answer. Unless you have a high end color corrector (the kind that corrects screen color and printer color -- not the cheaper units that correct only the monitor), you will get variations from one batch of files to another. As you pointed out, even lenses will change the color of a shot. Just look at the lenses you have -- some have a golden hue, others a green or blue tint. The multi-coatings of various lenses will create a slight shift in color.

MDI Mainer

Best out-of-camera default I've seen is from Fuji.

billnikon Loc: Pennsylvania/Ohio/Florida/Maui/Oregon/Vermont

In todays digital world color comes primarily from the processing engines of the camera, that said, many times lens manufactures have slight differences in color.
I have always liked the expeed processors in Nikon camera's. And, like others have stated, I leave it on auto white balance and have always been satisfied with the results.
It really comes down to personal preference.