Discovering Camera Ergonomics Part 1 Introduction and Definitions

Five current model cameras each with a Panasonic LUMIX logo. Yet they represent a variety of ergonomic themes. You can see there are flat tops and hump tops, different handle types and different control types with the LX100 on the right having a 'traditional' layout (improved in this case by the addition of a custom handle), the GX8 with the silver top having a hybrid control system and the others having a modern control layout with Mode Dial and Control Dial(s). Some of these arrangements work better than others as I will detail in this 10 part series. 

This is the first  of a new 10 part series of posts titled ‘Discovering Ergonomics’ consisting of a distillation of ideas and concepts which I have developed over the last five years. Most of the material has already been published on this blog. However I have gathered up and summarised my findings into a more condensed and easily accessible form.

Ergonomics  is defined by Wikipedia as:

The study of designing equipment and devices that fit the human body, its movements and its cognitive abilities.

Thus we can talk about ergonomics as a type of study or applied science.

The word ergonomics is also used to describe characteristics of a device which are intended to maximise productivity.

Thus a camera can be evaluated as to how well it  ‘fits the human body, its movements and cognitive capabilities’.

Ergonomics is an important part of the overall user experience.  A camera might have good picture quality but if it has poor ergonomics it is likely to stay at home not making any pictures at all.

I have been studying and writing about camera ergonomics for the last five years.

I evaluate cameras  with reference to four sets of characteristics:

1. Specifications, features and target user group.  It is easy for reviewers and prospective buyers to compare specifications and features.  In fact many reviews are little more than a regurgitation of the manufacturer's posted specifications.

2. Picture quality.  There are now ways to evaluate image quality which enjoy reasonably wide acceptance. The basic underpinning of these is the signal to noise ratio which can be measured.

3. Performance.  Performance is easy to measure. Items typically measured include shot to shot time with JPG or RAW capture, focus acquisition time, zoom speed time, OIS (VR, IS)  effectiveness, AF accuracy in single shot and continuous modes, burst frame rate, follow focus ability with moving subjects, EVF blackout time, buffer capacity, write to card time…..and so forth.

4. Ergonomics.  This is by far the most difficult aspect of camera capability to characterise, describe and measure.

I believe this is because the way forward to better picture quality and performance is fairly straightforward conceptually (for instance, less noise, faster processing) even though the technological challenges are considerable.

The pathway to better ergonomics has the opposite characteristics. It is conceptually complex and poorly understood by camera makers (as evident by the atrocious user experience provided by some cameras) but presents no particular technological challenge. It is just as easy to put a dial in the right place as the wrong place.

But  camera makers have a great deal of difficulty figuring out where that right place might be. The evidence for this is the many different locations where control dials can be found on modern cameras.

It appears to me that they are not making good use of applied functional anatomy in their design processes.

They are mostly good at solving technological problems**  but manage conceptual challenges very poorly, often seeming oblivious to the possibility that their cameras might be really frustrating buggers of things to use.  

I say this because they often churn out successive models with the same egregious fault, be it an incomprehensible menu system, absence of a viewfinder, an awkwardly located control dial or some other frustrating impediment to a satisfying user experience.

All the camera makers seem to me like travellers unaware of  their destination. Therefore they are always lost. They do not know which way to go and would not recognise their destination even if they accidentally fetched up there.

(** Not always though. For instance the Canon G5X needs a little rest after each RAW shot and the Nikon P7800 a recuperative siesta.) 

The study of camera ergonomics lacks a framework of concepts, principles, language and specifications.

The word ‘ergonomics’ often appears in user reports and professional reviews of cameras.

But nowhere do the authors of these reports and reviews explain what they mean by the word ‘ergonomics’.

My work seeks to provide a framework on which such meaning can be constructed, leading to a method for evaluating and scoring a camera’s ergonomics.

I work on the principle that ‘What you don’t count, doesn’t count’.  

I have discovered that it is possible to write an ergonomic specification for each phase of camera use such that a camera can be evaluated and scored with respect to specific capabilities.

In this series of ten posts titled “Discovering Ergonomics” I will describe how I do this.

Before going further I need to raise some issues which might affect the reader’s engagement with the material.

Communication modalities      Using a camera involves holding, viewing and operating, which is a tactile experience.

This series of posts of necessity uses words and pictures, presenting the reader with a very different type of experience.

I therefore urge the reader to supplement his or her reading with thoughtful handling of any camera(s)  to which they may have access.

Personal experience of the reader  Every reader will come to this material from some kind of background, unknown to me. This will I suppose, often involve familiarity with some kind of camera(s) and ideas derived from experience about what works well in cameras.   

Inevitably one is likely to like/dislike or agree/disagree with the material which I present.

I just ask the reader to keep an open mind while reading and accept the possibility of new discoveries.

Experience of the writer  I am an amateur photographer who has been using cameras for 62 years. 

In that time I have used almost every type of camera available to consumers.

I am independent.

I have no affiliation with any organisation which makes, markets or sells photographic equipment. I buy equipment new at retail prices for testing and sell it on eBay when testing is completed.

I have no partisan leanings towards or away from any brand or manufacturer. I have tried them all.