Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
Camera user interfaces, the good, the bad and the ugly
#20
Quote:Olympus, on the other hand, I can, having shot with an E-M10 1 and 2, E-M 5 II, and still owning a Pen F and an E-M1 II. Their menus are very extensive, but do make sense when you get the feel for them. The only reason that stuff is hard to find at times is because there is so much, and generally you don't use all of it in equal measure.
 

You must be the only user who thinks Olympus menus are logical, well organized, and make sense. Olympus cameras are great, but menus are the recurrent complaints of a lot of experienced people who have shot with many systems (Dpreview, Thom Hogan, Nasim Mansurov, etc.).

 

Just to illustrate my point, here are two examples quoted from http://m43blog.dthorpe.net/2015/06/10/mi...u-matters/ comparing Panasonic and Olympus menus:

 

1) Custom settings

One of the best features of digital cameras is the ability store often used settings for instant recall.  Both camera work this the same way. Go to the shooting mode you want to use, aperture priority, manual, whatever. Go through the menus setting everything as you want it. Brilliant! You now have a digital camera that works for you. Ok, lets save that so that it can be instantly recalled.

 

Panasonic

Go to the Custom Menu and choose Cust. Set Mem. There, select C1 for example and OK to confirm it. Now, when you set C1 on the mode dial, you summon up – surprise, surprise! – the settings you just set.

 

Olympus

Set everything as you want it, same as the Panasonic. So far, so good. Now, go to Shooting Menu 1. Select Reset/Myset. Now MySet1, Set and Yes. Now go to Custom Menu section B, Button/Dial/Lever, then Mode Dial Function where you can set MySet1 to any mode dial function except a custom one, since there isn’t any such thing. So find a mode like Art that you won’t use and put it there. In future, to recall your custom setting 1, set the mode dial to Art. Now I don’t know who thought of that but I can tell you that I won’t be hiring him to design my new house. He can argue as long as he likes that labelling the back door  ‘front’ because you can walk through the house to the front door is perfectly logical, I’m not buying it.

 

2) Setting the file quality

 

Panasonic

Rec Menu, Quality.

 

Olympus

Shooting Menu 1 and then this image :

 

[Image: 35460721675_53515bd808_s.jpg]

 

Now I can’t tell what that symbol means. It looks a bit like one of those little guys that the Space Invaders used to kill. Or was it one of the Space Invaders themselves? Or a radio telescope? Maybe an Anglo-Saxon warrior’s helmet that came off his head after he was slain? Maybe it sets the camera to Shotgun Mode where pressing the button peppers an uncooperative  subject with buckshot? I’d have liked that for sessions with one or two of the footballers I’ve had the misfortune to have to photograph. Whatever it is, how does it mean ‘record mode to take pictures or movies’ as the Info button informs you? Couldn’t you just print ‘Quality’ there in place of the icon? Why wouldn’t you? There’s more but I think I’ve made my point.
--Florent

Flickr gallery
  


Messages In This Thread
Camera user interfaces, the good, the bad and the ugly - by thxbb12 - 06-22-2017, 07:37 AM

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread:
1 Guest(s)