Panasonic Lumix G80/85 Review Part 2 Ergonomics

G85 with Lumix 12-60mm lens

I have a history with Panasonic Lumix G cameras since the groundbreaking G1 of 2008.

Prior to buying the G1 I had been using Canon SLR and DSLR cameras for several years. These cameras had a long development history behind them, arising in particular from the T90 of 1986.  

They felt comfortable if a bit heavy to hold and most of the primary controls worked decently well.

When out and about with the Canon EOS 20D or 40D I gave little thought to ergonomic considerations.  In retrospect I would say these cameras left plenty of room for improvement to the controls and user interface generally. But they got the basics pretty much right.

The G1 was my wake up call to the world of ergonomics and the camera which taught me a great deal about the ways in which users interact with cameras eventually leading to the creation of this blog and my method of evaluating and scoring a camera’s  ergonomic characteristics.

You can read all about this in great detail in several places on this blog however my “Discovering Camera Ergonomics” page is one place to start.

Warning—this contains much detailed discussion of ergonomic concepts.

My understanding of camera ergonomics may challenge some readers’ preconceived ideas. So be it.

The G1 taught me that cameras do not scale up or down.

A moment’s thought should tell us this is obvious given that the hands which use the device stay the same size.

The G1 is styled just like a smaller version of the L10 which was a DSLR using the Four Thirds sensor.

A shape, layout and controls which apparently worked well enough for the L10 (I never owned one) did not work at all well for the G1.

There were many other problems.

Panasonic put the control dial on the front of the upper part of the handle where it was covered by the third finger with the camera held normally. So to work the dial the right hand had to release grip on the handle, drop down to give the index finger space to work the dial then move back up to normal position.

The projecting handle with the shutter button on the front is a style which works reasonably well on larger bodies but on the smaller G1 this arrangement put the right index finger nowhere near the shutter button when the handle was held securely.

The 4-Way pad was of the “5 flat buttons” type which was very difficult to locate and operate by feel.

I later got a Samsung NX10 which utilised the “Rocking saucer” type of 4-Way controller which I discovered was much easier to operate by feel.

The G2 used the same body as the G1.

With the G3 Panasonic actually managed to produce a device with worse ergonomics than the G1.  

They took away the proper handle, relocated the shutter button back onto the top of the body, and moved the control dial to the rear but buried it so deep it could only be operated with the tip of the right thumb. This required the right hand to be removed from its normal position to flex the interphalangeal joints of the thumb to dig in and work that dial.

For a time I used Samsung NX cameras which in their original body shape had many nice ergonomic features and taught be a lot about what works, what does not work and why.

The G5 (no G4) returned to a more workable body shape with a reasonable handle and controls which were easier to operate. But the rear dial got shunted way over to the right side into a somewhat awkward location.

The G6 had the same body as the G5.

The G7 was the first of the G series in which Panasonic managed to get most of the ergonomics right. 

It is a proper twin dial design with most of the controls well located and easy to operate. Except of course that dreadful flat 4-Way module.

An so we come to the G8 which in their wisdom Panasonic’s whimsical naming team decided to call the G80 or G85, or possibly something else in Mauritania.

Presumably they are trying to align the various model levels with a numerical system although what that system might be does not seem terribly evident. Canon gives their top DSLR models a single number designation, their entry level models a quadruple digit number.

In their fixed lens models Panasonic gives the top models a four digit number (FZ1000, FZ2000) and the lower echelons a two digit number (FZ70, FZ80 TZ90).

But in the micro Four Thirds ILCs the top models have only one digit in the number (GH4, GH5).

Go figure. Actually I think all this folderol with the numbers is harmful to Panasonic’s marketing effort as nobody (obviously including the folks at Panasonic)  is altogether sure what all the model designations mean so those selling and buying cameras cannot tell what model fits where in the scheme of things, assuming there is such a scheme.

Anyway whatever it may be called the G80/85 is the clear successor to the G7 and other G cameras before it.

Although the G80 looks superficially the same as the G7 the body is actually all new.

The G80 is slightly wider and higher than the G7. The handle is fatter with less depth. There is a bit more space on the control panel for buttons. Everything has had a subtle rework.

The result is the best G camera yet. It is comfortable and stable to hold. The front and rear dials can be operated in landscape or portrait orientation with minimal disruption to the grip with the right hand. All the dials turn the optimal way for “value up”.

Here are the details: scoring is in accordance with my usual schedule which you can read about here.

Setup Phase

The G80 uses the standard Panasonic menu system which has been in place for several years. The layout and graphical user interface are very nice. The menus are easy to navigate.

There is no [My Menu]

The Custom Menu needs to be divided into subfolders which are meaningful to photographers to make navigation more coherent.

The GH5 has both a My Menu and sensible subfolders in the Custom menu so I guess this will trickle down in due course.

Setup score 11/15

Prepare Phase

Prepare Phase tasks are well managed on the G80. In typical Panasonic fashion there are several programmable Function buttons to which the user can assign functions from a very large selection.

One of the Fn buttons can be set as Q Menu access, and a custom Q Menu can be crafted to the user’s requirements.

There is a main mode dial, drive mode dial and focus mode lever, all easy to reach and operate.

All round a good effort in Prepare Phase.

I gave an extra point to the version with a modified 4-Way controller as most actions in Prepare Phase are easier to carry out.

Prepare Phase score (as supplied) 12/15

Prepare Phase score (modified 4-Way controller) 13/15

Capture Phase, Holding

The camera provides a comfortable, secure hold best suited perhaps to medium sized adult hands but quite suitable for small and large hands also. The shape of the handle and thumb support are well designed.

In addition the controls on and around the handle and thumb support are well located and well designed.

Holding score 18/20

Capture Phase, Viewing

Viewing arrangements are very nice. The EVF is bright, clear and easy to see in all conditions. Key camera data beneath the image preview are easy to see. Other camera data can be overlaid on the image preview or not, as desired.

Both viewfinder and monitor can be configured to appear identical in “viewfinder” or “monitor” style.

All the good stuff is there, grid lines, histogram, zebras, real time indication of under/over exposure, and much more. After using a camera like this for a while I do not understand why some people continue to prefer an optical viewfinder which cannot provide WYSIWYG the way an EVF can.

I did find that I had to set the viewfinder Contrast to -5 and Brightness to -3 for a natural viewing experience.

The high quality monitor is of the optimal fully articulated type which works well in any circumstance.

Overall the camera provides a very good viewing experience.

Viewing score 18/20

Capture Phase, Operating

The front and rear dials can be configured for function and rotation to satisfy various personal preferences. The dials are easy to operate with only very slight disruption to the hold of the right hand on the handle.

The twin dial arrangement on this camera provides the best type of control layout for streamlined operation, configurable to individual preference. There is a fashion going around to put an exposure compensation dial where the rear dial is on the G80. This is not optimal because nothing else can be done with that dial which cannot be used to adjust aperture or shutter speed in manual mode.

The system on the G80 is much better. For instance I have exposure compensation allocated to the rear dial. When I select M on the Mode Dial then rear dial function automatically switches to changing shutter speed, with aperture on the front dial.

Some reviewers say they don’t like this because exposure compensation is not directly available in M Mode.

But it does not need to be.  Any + or – exposure is indicated on the analogue exposure scale where it is easy to see.

Anyway this is a minor quibble.

The only real problem in operation is the flat button 4-Way controller, which is difficult to find and operate by feel.

This is a particular problem for those who, like me, change position of the active AF area using [Direct Focus Area].

Panasonic could easily fix this with a Mk 2 model using the “rocking saucer” type controller from the FZ1000. They have all the required technology right there ready to go.

As indicated in another post I fixed this problem with a shaped construct of Sugru to the 4-Way controller and Disp buttons.

Operating score 17/25

Operating score with modified 4-Way controller 20/25

Review Phase

No problems here. The G80 does all the things I expect it to do in image playback and review.

Review score 5/5

Total score (as supplied) 81/100

Total score (modified)  85/100

Comment

The G80/85 is a mature and sophisticated product with remarkably advanced technical specification.

It has also reached a high level of ergonomic maturity, producing a camera which is a pleasure to use allowing very efficient operation by a practiced user.

How could Panasonic improve the G80 ?

As it stands the G80 scores very well for ergonomics and is a nice camera to use.

It has arrived at the point where further improvement will be via subtle changes to an established control layout which already works well.

However there are some things Panasonic could do easily I think.

1. Replace the 4-Way controller with the rocking saucer module from the FZ1000.

2. This one applies right across the entire Panasonic lineup: Introduce a user configurable, focal length sensitive auto ISO algorithm just like the one Sony uses. The auto ISO algorithm on all current Panasonic models is primitive. On most models including the G80 there is not even a facility to set a user defined minimum shutter speed. This becomes an ergonomic issue when the user has to switch from P or A Mode to S Mode to set a shutter speed slower (or faster in different conditions) than the Auto ISO algorithm will allow.

3. Add  a "My Menu" which  is populated by user selected items.

4. Adopt photographically relevant submenus under the Custom and Rec menus.

(The GH5 has a My Menu and sensibly chosen submenus under the Custom Menu heading, so presumably Panasonic can offer this in other models)