Panasonic GX8 Ergonomic evaluation and score

GX8 showing handle and rear dial, Mode Dial and EC dial beneath. The vertical front of the handle has ergonomic consequences.

This evaluation and score follows my standard format and protocolwhich you can read about here.

For more in depth discussion about camera ergonomics the 'Discovering Camera Ergonomics' page is a good place to start.

Introduction  The GX8 is a flat top ILC with the EVF at the top left corner as viewed by the user.

I have no idea why Panasonic’s product development team decided on a flat top for this camera but a hump top for most other Lumix G series cameras.  I would guess the reasons are about style because the flat top has no functional or operational advantage over the hump top.

Whatever the reason, a flat top does restrict the designer’s UIM (user interface module) options for the top plate.  A consequence of this is the absence of an inbuilt flash on the GX8.

On a hump top the EVF, hot shoe and built in flash all occupy the same horizontal space, freeing up space on either side for other UIMs.

When my wife first looked at the GX8 she immediately exclaimed just one word  “Retrograde”. 

With regard to the ergonomics, I think she got that right. 

However some users have reported they are very happy with the GX8 user experience.

GX8 from below. The cursor buttons on the control panel have raised outer edges which works well. But the Disp button is prone to accidental bumping. The handle shape is unusual and in my view ergonomically suboptimal. Other Panasonic cameras in the same size range have very different and in my view much more user friendly handles.
And see that strap lug ? That thing digs into my hand every time I pick up the camera. Low profile, handle type strap lugs are much more user friendly.

Setup Phase   GX8 menus, Q Menu and Fn button task allocations are largely identical to other current model enthusiast level ILCs and FLCs.

As such they are complex but quite functional and easy enough to use after a learning curve for Panasonic novices.

However I think it is time Panasonic reviewed its top tier menu system to create more coherent grouping of like items several of which are scattered about at present. For instance all the items relating to flash, focus, metering, display etc, etc.. could be better grouped for a more user friendly interface.

Setup Phase Score   10/15

Prepare Phase   This is very similar to other current model Panasonic enthusiast level cameras. 

There is a Mode Dial, Q Menu which can be allocated to any button, and Fn buttons aplenty.

I deducted a point because there is no Drive Mode dial, which lost out to the Exposure Compensation dial in the contest for top plate real estate.  

The principle here is that set and see dials are optimal for Prepare Phase tasks because you can see and change the values while looking at the top of the camera.

But Set and see  dials are inappropriate for  Capture Phase tasks because they are invisible when looking through the viewfinder.

However some users say they really like having the Exposure Compensation dial on the top plate.

Prepare Phase Score  12/15

In this photo I have rotated my right wrist forward. This has enabled the thumb to bear onto the dials. But the wrist is  uncomfortable. Younger, more flexible beings may wonder what I am talking about.

Capture Phase:

Holding   The lens axis is 53mm from the left side. The G7 lens axis is 45mm from the left side. The GX8 is 8mm wider than the G7 but has only 1mm more space on the right side of the lens mount. If the lens axis had been further to the left, like you see on a Sony A6000 there would have been more space for a larger, more secure handle.

The GX8 handle is of suboptimal size and shape.

It is not wide enough for a fully realised parallel type and not deep enough to be a fully functional projecting type.

There is no indent for the third finger on the front. There should be such an indent to prevent the third finger riding up too close to the index finger and obstructing operation of the front dial. In addition the indent allows the mass of the right side of the camera to rest on the strong third finger for stability and support.

The lower right corner at the rear is insufficiently rounded for comfort. There is no hint of inverted L shape so the shutter button is forced further to the right (as viewed by the user) than is optimal. This in turn forces the palm of the hand away from the camera body, weakening the grip.

I am intrigued that the same corporation which produced the G7’s well shaped handle could  simultaneously conceive the very different and suboptimal handle of the GX8. 

I can only assume that the difference is due to styling considerations.

Flat tops often have a flat front as well. Fuji proclaims this as a desirable feature of their X-Pro/XT designs. I have no idea what is desirable about it.  There is a brisk trade in accessory handles suggesting the “flat front” style is an antiquarian affectation, found wanting when people actually decide to use their camera..

Maybe the designers of the GX8 wanted to retain something of  the flat front style without  going as far as Fuji or Olympus in this endeavour.

The thumb support is  adequate but not reassuring.

I should say that notwithstanding my critical analysis, some users report they are quite happy with the GX8 handle and related controls.

Holding Score  12/20

In this photo I have rotated my right wrist back for comfort. But my thumb cannot work the dials (A) and my middle finger has ridden up the handle (B) obstructing the index finger from working the front dial.

Viewing   Viewing arrangements on the GX8 are excellent, similar to other recent enthusiast level Panasonic cameras. Some reviewers have made much of the high magnification level of the EVF. Indeed the GX8 EVF is large, sharp and clear, but the default contrast is very high.

I had to set brightness +5 and Contrast -6 to achieve an image preview which looked reasonably natural to me.

I usually find top left viewfinders allow excessive backlight into my viewing eye, however the GX8 has a substantial (albeit sharp edged)  eyecup which keeps most of the stray light out.

The monitor is of the optimal fully articulated type and is excellent. It also largely makes the swing up EVF redundant for those times when low level shooting is required.  I guess it could be useful in full sun when the monitor is hard to see.

The EVF and monitor have all the goodies expected in an advanced MILC, like zebras, frame lines and almost anything else you might like up there. Both can be configured to viewfinder style or monitor style.

Viewing Score 18/20

Operating    The GX8 can be operated by a novice easily enough on the iA setting but also has a full suite of controls for the enthusiast/expert user who would be the most likely customer for this camera.

All the elements for good control are present but several of them do not function as well as they should and could and do on other cameras.

Let’s start with the Exposure Compensation dial.

I have written before on this blog that EC dials on modern digital cameras are an inappropriate use of valuable camera real estate and this one is no different.

Some users disagree with me about that.  My position is based on ergonomic analysis as below:

Exposure compensation is a secondary exposure parameter which is set in Capture Phase of use. On the GX8 the most effective way to preview the amount of EC required is to use the Zebras.

This is done while looking through the EVF at which time the dedicated EC dial is invisible.

Therefore the dedicated, Set-and-see EC dial is redundant. It is not required. The G7 and other cameras use the front or rear dial or a front lever for EC which is a more efficient use of scarce UIM resources. The GX8 has three dials for Capture Phase adjustments when two is enough and is more efficient.  The front and rear dials have the same functions in P,A,S Modes.

The place taken by the EC dial could have been more usefully allocated to a dial for Prepare Phase adjustments. The Drive Mode dial found on other Panasonic cameras would be the front running candidate. 

This is not a matter of personal preference. It is about ergonomic efficiency.

Setting Drive Mode in Prepare Phase is most efficiently performed with a Set-and-see dial. On the GX8 you have to press a Fn button or the Q Menu button and enter a Drive Mode menu.

Adjusting EC in Capture Phase would be most efficiently performed with (in the case of the GX8)  the front or rear dial, either of which is easier to reach and turn while operating the camera.

To reach and turn the EC dial the user has to push against the rather stiff resistance of the EC dial which is required to prevent it being moved accidentally while turning the Mode Dial. Despite this I several times did accidentally move the Mode Dial while turning the EC dial.

Notice there is a space clear of any UIMs below and behind the EC dial. That, I suppose, is because any button there would be accidentally pressed every time the EC dial is operated with the thumb. 

Get a GX8 in hand and you will immediately see what I mean.

So we have a piece of high value camera real estate wasted, all because of that EC dial.

In addition the Focus Mode lever is pushed off to the left, where it is more difficult to reach than the same lever on the FZ1000, FZ300 or G7, each of which is closer to the right thumb.

The AF/AE-L button is in the Focus mode lever on most Panasonic cameras, this being the logical place for it. But that button has to move elsewhere on the GX8 and you find it on the upper rear surface of the thumb support.

While I am on the subject of buttons I estimate that I accidentally bump the Disp button about 50% of times I pick up and/or carry the powered on camera.  The ease with which this button can be accidentally pressed is due to its position close to the right side of the control panel. Panasonic had this problem with the G5/6 and several other cameras.

But they figured out how to fix that particular problem by creating a little vertical ridge at the right edge of the control panel, as seen on the G7. This prevents the right side buttons from being accidentally pressed but still allows them to be operated as required.  A more prominent version of the same thing can be seen on the FZ300 and FZ1000. I can hold, carry and operate those cameras all day and never press a button inadvertently but the controls are easy to use when required.

Part of the problem on the GX8 is the monitor which covers 96mm measured from the left side of the body. That is 5mm more than the FZ1000 monitor which covers 91mm. I have no idea why the GX8 monitor assembly is wider than that of the FZ1000 but whatever the reason the effect is to steal 5mm from the control panel on the right side of the camera. With an extra 5mm a more user friendly control panel could have been designed to prevent button bumping.

Before I leave the subject of buttons I must deal with the Fn 7  button.  That’s the secret one which lives on the front of the body between the lens mount and the handle.

There are two very basic rules of buttons:

1. Make sure the button is easy to locate and operate by feel, especially if it is invisible while the user is working the camera or if it performs Capture Phase functions.

2. Make sure the button will not be bumped inadvertently.

Fn 7 fails on both counts.

It sits flush with the surface of the body so is almost impossible to locate by feel.

Yet it is located in a position where it gets bumped accidentally by the third finger of the right hand with great frequency. This has been reported on user forums.

It is therefore a useless button. The only thing to do is assign to it an equally useless function which will not alter useful camera settings. I assigned [Flash mode] to Fn 7 which does nothing since the camera lacks a built in flash.

Moving right along we come to the Rear Dial.  This is serviceable but could have been better designed.  The curious thing is that I have on my desk right now four current model cameras from Panasonic, each with a different design of rear dial but each presumably intended for operation by the same humans with the same hands.

My rating of these cameras for ease of rear dial use is FZ1000 (best) followed by FZ300, G7 then GX8 last.

Explanation:

From the basic “hold” position the right thumb can most easily move from side to side by articulation at the carpo-metacarpal joint. Some flexion at the interphalangeal joint is also possible without disrupting grip on the camera.

When the camera is brought from chest level up to the eye, the right wrist can be either tilted forward to maintain grip on the handle or allowed to rotate back for more comfort.

This has the effect of pulling the thumb down the rear of the camera and away from a high set rear dial. People with very flexible joints might wonder what I am talking about but for the rest of us this is a significant ergonomic issue.

Of the cameras in my list above, the one with the lowest (meaning least vertical height above the base of the camera) rear dial has the best rating.

The rear dial of the FZ1000 is optimally placed embedded in the upper part of the thumb support. 

Even when the thumb is pulled down when the camera is raised to the eye the thumb can easily move to the right and operate the dial.

The rear dial of the GX8 is further up the camera and also further forward in relation to the thumb basic hold position. The consequence of this is that while the rear dial can be operated easily by the right thumb with the camera at about chest level, when the camera is raised to the eye the user has a choice, either:

a) Rotate the right hand backward on the camera to achieve a comfortable wrist position and allow the right elbow to tuck in to the side of the chest for stability. In this case the thumb is pulled down relative to the rear dial (and the EC dial) and cannot operate either dial directly. In order to operate either dial the right hand must do a little hitch up of about 15-20mm (depending on the original position) in order to operate the dials. This is not the end of the world but is ergonomically suboptimal and entirely avoidable with a better design.

b) Users with a very flexible wrist joint may be able to maintain a “thumb high” grip and stay in contact with the top dials. But even for these lucky people the lower, more rearward rear dial position will be more comfortable and efficient.

The odd thing is that the rear dial on the GX8 has the same function as the front dial in P, A and S Modes so you don’t need to use it most of the time at all. So it is a partly redundant dial.

The FZ1000 is only 3mm wider than the GX8 and the top plate of the camera is the same height (measured at the base of the FZ1000 Mode Dial) but the FZ1000 has a more efficient user interface.

The 4 way controller or Cursor buttons in Panasonic language, works well. At a glance the module looks just like that on the G7 but the detail design on the GX8 is better. Each of the crescent shaped buttons is raised at the outer edge for easier location and operation by feel.  The “rocking saucer” module on the FZ1000 is better again, easier to locate by feel.

I really don’t understand why Panasonic does not standardise on the FZ1000 cursor button design but 

I suspect it is some kind of styling or heritage issue.

Operating Score  14/25

Review Phase

There are no problems in Review Phase. Captured images can be viewed quickly. Zoom in is efficient. The user can easily scroll from one image to the next at the same position on the frame and same zoom level.

Review Phase Score 5/5

Total Score 71/100

Comment:  I have read several positive reports and reviews about the GX8 user interface and ease of operation. I am less enthusiastic for reasons detailed above.

My suggestion: try before you buy.