Definitely color can be seen. Since M42 appears to be the topic, I can certainly see green with hues of pink with my 14".
-------------------- Celestron C6 f/5 by Vixen with Polaris GEM
14" Tscope dob f/4.7 with Argo Navis
80mm Nighthawk on Eq 2
Celestron C-4 f/10 GEM
Sky Scout