Ergonomic logic of the Panasonic Lumix GH5 September 2017

GH5 with PanaLeica 12-60mm f2.8-4

The GH prefix  indicates Panasonic’s top tier Micro Four Thirds model, designed for high capability in stills and/or video recording.

My experience with this line began with the GH2 of 2010. This camera looked very much like a G1/G2 with additional video capability.

The subsequent GH3 and GH4 models had a larger body and continued the theme of increasing video capability while remaining competent stills cameras.

In April 2013 I posted “Ergonomic logic of the GH3”which you can read here.

So now we come to the GH5 which is a step up for both stills and video capability. Compared to the previous models the GH5 is larger, heavier and more capable in every respect.

It is a highly evolved camera for professional use with specifications, features and capabilities unheard of just a few years ago.

This camera’s features, image quality and performance for both stills and video have been exhaustively analysed and reported elsewhere.

This being the Camera Ergonomics blog I will concentrate on an exploration of the ergonomic logic of the GH5.

I have developed a schedule and system for scoring camera ergonomics.

Using this system I give the GH5 a score of 90/100, the highest score of any camera I have yet tested.

Concept

Panasonic has clearly conceived the GH5 as a high performing all purpose device for still and video capture suitable for the professional or ambitious enthusiast user.

They have succeeded in achieving this. The list of this camera’s specifications, features and capabilities is extraordinary.

Given a suitable selection of lenses there are very few photographic tasks which this camera cannot carry out with distinction.

Picture quality is so good that you have to seriously wonder about the relevance of cameras with a larger sensor.

Performance with still or video is excellent.

Is there anything this camera cannot do well ?

I think not but for low light sport/action work I suspect that a professional full frame DSLR with very expensive glass would probably be more capable.

I expect that in a few years with further development of Panasonic’s DFD continuous AF system and addition of some super tele lenses that even this advantage might become negligible.

Mockup camera, same size as GH5.    I made the mockup several years ago. It is this size because it enables a very good fit for the adult human hand with ergonomically optimal layout and controls.
This picture shows the comfortable position of the fingers allowing the thumb and forefinger to move freely to operate the controls.  The third finger of the right hand is tucked away under the overhang of the inverted L shaped handle.
The picture shows the quad control set around the shutter button and thumb stick just to the left of the thumb but within easy reach.  The AF-on button is hidden by the ball of  the thumb Canon style.
The Focus mode lever has gone allowing the thumb stick to come closer to the thumb and easier to reach. Focus mode would be allocated to the Q Menu or a Fn button.

Size 

In the early days of the Micro Four Thirds system Panasonic and Olympus strongly promoted the fact that mirorless cameras could be made smaller than DSLRs because

a)  they do not need a mirror box so the flangeback distance can be reduced.

b) they do not need a pentaprism.

This is still true but over the years even mirrorless models have grown.

As it happens the width and height  of a camera are determined by the dimensions of the monitor and viewfinder. 

The body has to accommodate all the stuff in a modern camera including battery, electronics and circuit boards, sensor, shutter, in body image stabiliser and heat sinks.

This will determine the bulk of the body regardless of the flange back distance.  The focal plane mark on the top plate of the Gh5 is closer to the front of the body than the back.

Electronic viewfinders have also grown. The viewfinder in the GH5 is probably the best I have ever seen regardless of type but the big, bright view you get requires a big viewfinder, eyepiece optics and eyecup.

So the GH5 is the biggest M43 camera ever but is still compact for a professional level model.

Significantly it is just the right size to provide a full five finger grip for an average adult size hand.

Samsung NX-1 showing the function buttons to the right of the shutter button and control dial. I call this a quad control set. The function of the buttons should be user assignable which is not the case here.  By the way, this picture shows some obvious ergonomic mistakes elsewhere on the top of the camera.  The LCD panel is redundant. It is just taking up some of the most valuable real estate on the camera for information which can be seen in the viewfinder or monitor. The rear dial is in the wrong place. The GH5 gets it right.

Shape, handle and configuration

The shape of most current high end cameras has been greatly influenced by the Canon T90 of 1986.

This camera has a substantial handle with the shutter button forward on the top of the handle and a control dial just behind the shutter button.

Current Canon DSLRs and the GH3,4 5 have this arrangement.

The older, pre T90 shape  had a flat front, sometimes with a mini handle with  the shutter button in the top/rear position on top of the body.

Some current model cameras still have some version of this layout. These include several prosumer models from Fujifilm (X-T series and X-Pro series), most Olympus M43 models and most compacts.

Some people say they like the style of the mini handle/shutter button top/rear layout but I have done much work with mockups which demonstrates that the modern shutter forward on handle layout has many ergonomic advantages.

In summary these are:

* Much more secure grip on the camera without undue muscle tension. This is particularly so if the handle  has an inverted L shape with an overhang under which the third finger of the right hand can tuck for security. This also puts the shutter button in the optimal position where the right index finger wants to find it.  The GH5 has a variant of the inverted L type handle with a small but effective overhang.

* Much more space on the top plate of the right side of the camera. This in turn allows for inclusion of more controls, more effectively disposed where the fingers want to find them.

* More separation between the right index finger and thumb. This allows for greater freedom of lateral movement by both these fingers. This freedom of movement permits easier, more streamlined operation of controls for the thumb and index finger. In fact the camera can be driven by these two fingers most of the time without having to shift grip with either hand.

This is a mockup of the right side of a camera with mini handle and top rear shutter button position. This is the "traditional" style. There are numerous problems. You have to hold the thing tight or it will fall. Unlike the mockup above or the GH5 there is nothing under which the middle finger of the right hand can tuck itself.  The fingers are close together which limits their ability to move side to side in the service of operating controls. This restricts the designers and users options for control systems.

Thumb support and rear dial

I have done considerable work with mockups over the last few years exploring various options for thumb rest and rear dial configuration.

In summary I have found that the optimum configuration which works best in harmony with the functional anatomy of the hand, fingers and thumb is the one used in the GH5.

The rear dial is embedded in the upper section of a substantial thumb rest.

The right thumb can easily operate the dial simply by swinging to the right, without having to bend and without disrupting the user’s hold on the device.

The thumb can also swing to the left to operate the thumb stick (a.k.a. Joystick) and back button focus (AF/AE-L button on a Panasonic) without the need to move any other finger and without disrupting grip.

Together the handle, shutter button position, front dial position, thumb support, rear dial, thumb stick and back button focus allow the experienced user to operate the GH5 in a very streamlined, efficient fashion using the smallest possible number of low complexity actions.

The front and rear dials are optimally positioned, project just the right amount and have sharp teeth which makes them easy to feel and operate.

You really have to use the camera for a while to appreciate all this.

Thumb stick and back button AF

At last a Panasonic camera gets a thumb stick. I live in hope that some day real soon please Panasonic every camera will have one of these.

The thumb stick is easily the most efficient way to move the active AF area.

It does have to be in the optimal position and have optimal operating characteristics.

The thumb stick on the GH5 is well positioned, has the right haptic characteristics and works as I expect it to. Move the stick left/right/up/down to change position, push it in to recenter the AF box.

All good.

By the way I have had some feedback from one reader on this blog who opined that the touch screen is preferable to the thumb stick for moving AF area.

I suspect that when people get accustomed to the process of using the thumb stick they will fully appreciate its value.

Mode Dial + Control dials or aperture ring/shutter speed ring/EC dial ?

There is a band of fervent supporters of the notion that grafting an aperture ring+shutter speed dial+exposure compensation dial onto a modern  digital camera is a wonderful thing and the only kind of configuration that real photographers should use.

Some of these supporters are rudely intolerant of any alternative view about camera control systems.

Fortunately most photographers who actually use their cameras as opposed to arguing about things on user forums have realised that the mode dial+twin control dials configuration provides the most streamlined user experience permitting all camera operation tasks to be carried out with the fewest, least complex actions.

Setup Phase of use

The menu system on the GH5 has had a big overhaul with positive effect. The graphical user interface is as good as it gets. The submenu layout is easy to read and navigate. The Custom Menu now has five submenus grouped in ways which make sense to a photographer, namely Exposure, Focus, Operation, Monitor/Display, Lens and others.

There is now a My Menu which can be populated with user selected items.

Every camera should have a My Menu.

So, although the GH5 is a very advanced camera with a huge number of options they are all easy enough to navigate.

Prepare Phase of use

The GH5 is fulsomely endowed with access points by which the user can make adjustments in Prepare phase.

We have Mode Dial, Drive Mode Dial, Focus Mode lever, Q Menu, WB/ISO/+/- buttons and Function buttons. The camera can quickly be configured for any set of conditions.

The learning curve required to make best use of all the available options is steep, but that applies to any pro level camera and some are much less user friendly.

Viewfinder

The GH5 has one of the best EVFs I have ever seen. It makes the argument for optical viewfinders seem increasingly pointless.

Could it be better ?

Of course. Nothing is perfect.

1. The only real standout which needs to be fixed with some urgency is that stupid Disp button. This is in the annoyingly wrong place on the GH3 and GH4 and they put it in the same place on the GH5. 

What on earth were they thinking ?

I bump it every time I pick up the camera. It is located right in the thumb support where accidental activation is inevitable.

Fortunately I believe that the next firmware update will allow the Disp button to be disabled. But that is only a partial fix because you still need the Disp button to return the AF Area to default size with one press.

If  Disp can be disabled and its functions allocated to a Fn button (I would use Fn2) then all will be well.

Update 1 October 2017  Firmware update 2.0

This extensive firmware update is mostly about further enhancing the already remarkable video capability of the GH5.

However there are some little gems useful for still (and video) users.

The Disp button can now be added to the list of functions which can be affected by the [Operation Lock Setting].

Menu/Set > Custom > Operation Lock Setting > Options are Cursor, Joystick, Touch Screen and Disp Button.

I set cursor OFF, Joystick OFF, Touch Screen ON and Disp ON.

Note that ON means the operation lock function is on which means the function itself is off  if operation lock is on. This sounds horribly convoluted but in practice it actually works well.

I allocate the Operation Lock function to Fn6.  

So most of the time I want the touch screen off and the Disp button off to stop it being accidentally activated. 

But if at any time I want to have the touch screen or Disp button active I just press the Fn 6 button. Easy. Press Fn 6 again to lock the operation.

2.  Still  Panasonic does not endow its cameras with a modern, focal length sensitive Auto ISO algorithm.  Am I missing something here ? Surely its just software. The camera knows the focal length of any lens attached to it and should be able to use that to adjust the minimum shutter speed permitted as the focal length changes.

On the GH5 you can set a minimum shutter speed but just one shutter speed regardless of the lens or focal length. 

In 2017 this is ridiculous.

Come on Panasonic,  just copy the Sony system and your users will be happy chappies and lassies.  

Issues for the next version

The GH5 has happily gotten almost everything right from the ergonomic standpoint. However there are a few detail improvements which could be considered for the next iteration which I am guessing will not be anytime soon.

* The thumb stick would be even more useful with 8 way operation. In other words having diagonal movement in addition to the presently available up/down/left/right. It would also be useful if a double press on the stick reverted the AF area box to default size.

* Users with small hands might find that reaching the AF/AE-L button and thumb stick could be a bit of a stretch. One option to rectify this is shown in the mockup photo attached.

* I would like the thumb support to be more prominent with a steeper rise against the thumb for a more secure hold.  If I were keeping the GH5 I would experiment with some Sugru on the thumb side of the thumb rest to provide a more definite block for the thumb just there.

* That’s about it really although you can see on the photo of the mockup my suggestion for a quad control set on the front of the handle. This puts the function buttons on the right side of the shutter button and control dial rather than behind them as is the case now. On my tests with the mockup the quad control set allows the right index finger to locate and operate the function buttons by feel more easily than the present arrangement.

The ill fated Samsung NX-1 had such a quad control set showing that it can be done easily enough.

Summary

Overall I rate the GH5 as an object lesson in how to do it ergonomically.

In my view other camera makers (hullooo…. Sony…and others…...) should look very hard at the GH5 and learn.

By way of example, Sony has just announced one of this year’s most interesting cameras, the RX10(4). In typical Sony style this model appears to have amazing and groundbreaking technology inside but one of the most muddle-headed control arrangements I have ever seen. 

Only the egregiously retro Fujifilm X-T and X-Pro cameras are bigger ergonomic mess-ups.

The RX10(4) is the same size as the GH5 to the nearest millimetre or few. If Sony shamelessly copied the GH5 control layout they would be doing their buyers a power of good.