Pansonic GX8 Exposure Compensation Dial -- Masterpiece or Kludge ?

This former lunatic asylum is a bit out of the left wing in a photography blog.
In the 19th Century it was thought that this type of architecture would be conducive to recovery from mental illness. It was not. I use this photo as an example of a design chosen for a particular 'style' which did not suit its intended purpose.
The GX8 design appears also to be a 'styling' exercise which is not well suited to its intended purpose.

I recently watched a video review of the Panasonic Lumix GX8 camera, in which the reviewer described the exposure compensation dial on that camera as  “a masterpiece of ergonomics”.

Unfortunately the reviewer did not give his reasoning for this fulsome praise.

In this post I examine the ergonomics of exposure dials and explain why I come to the opposite view, namely that the GX8 exposure dial is an ergonomic kludge.

The word ‘kludge’ has been attributed to Jackson W Granholm (1962) and refers to ‘An ill assorted collection of poorly matching parts forming a distressing whole’, or with reference to a device,  ‘a poorly thought out solution to a problem’.

Three current model Panasonic cameras. On the left G7, in the middle GX8, on the right FZ1000. Each was presumably intended to be used by the same humans with the same hands. Yet each has a quite different control layout. The G7 works very well apart from the badly implemented 4 Way (cursor button) pad. So does the FZ1000. Even though it only has one proper dial the zoom lever around the shutter button can be purposed as an exposure compensation controller.  The GX8 has a mash up of  ill assorted holding and operating controls all presumably in the service of some styling objective. 

Some basic principles and concepts of  camera ergonomics

1. A camera is a hand held device which should be designed to fit the hands which operate it.  An understanding of  the functional anatomy of human hands and fingers is essential for this.

2. There are four phases of camera use: Setup, Prepare, Capture and Review.

3. In each Phase the user has to complete tasks in order to operate the device. This requires actions which can be evaluated for number and complexity.

The exposure compensation dial  is a ‘set-and-see’  module. You look at the dial to change the setting and see the setting right on the dial.

Set-and-see modules work best for Prepare Phase adjustments which are required in the minutes prior to capture while preparing the camera for a new set of conditions.

In Prepare Phase the operator holds the camera down where the dials on top of the body are easily seen and adjusted.  

In Capture Phase the user is looking through the viewfinder at which point any dials or other user interface modules on top of the body are invisible.

Exposure Compensation is a secondary exposure parameter (primary exposure parameters are aperture, shutter speed and ISO sensitivity) which is adjusted in Capture Phase of use, while viewing through the viewfinder.

This is my Mockup #13. I made this before the G7 was released, but by chance it is the same size and there are  similarities in the layout. Considerable thought has been put into this control layout.

In principle  the optimum way to adjust exposure compensation is with the front or rear (as determined by the user) control/command dial in a twin dial configuration. One dial changes aperture or shutter speed depending on the current mode. The other dial can be configured to adjust exposure compensation.

This represents optimum use of the twin dial setup. The user decides the amount of exposure compensation while looking through the viewfinder with reference to zebras, histogram, overall EVF brightness or all three.

The exposure compensation dial is redundant. The space it occupies on top of the camera would better be used by a Drive Mode Dial for Prepare Phase adjustment.

On the GX8  operation of the exposure compensation dial is further compromised by additional  ergonomic problems:

* It is in the wrong place, too far to the left for comfort. The right hand has to do a little hitch up for the thumb to bear onto the EC dial while eye level viewing.

* It is stacked with the main Mode Dial, risking unintentional movement of the Mode Dial when the EC dial is moved.

* The presence of the EC dial forces the Focus Mode lever to be displaced about 20mm to the left of its optimal position, where it cannot be operated by the thumb without changing grip with the right hand.   

* The separate EC dial cannot be configured to reset to zero when the camera is switched off  or the Mode is changed.

Conclusion  The Exposure Compensation Dial on the Panasonic GX8 camera is not a masterpiece of ergonomics. It represents an inappropriate use of a ‘set-and-see’ dial on the top plate and is in addition poorly implemented ergonomically.  It is a kludge.

It is passing strange to me that Panasonic simultaneously released the G7 which makes excellent use of top plate real estate and controls with a well implemented twin dial design which allows efficient and streamlined control of primary and secondary exposure parameters while continuously viewing through the viewfinder and without the redundant Exposure Compensation Dial.

I can only conclude that the shape and control layout of the GX8 were driven by styling considerations. Unfortunately the ergonomics of the device have suffered in the process.