Which brand has delivers best User Experience and why?

I genuinely found the original iPods with the stupid wheel one of the most ridiculous input designs ever. A music player needs to do like 6 things. Forward/back a track, play, pause and volume up/down. That's like 6 buttons that could easily fit in the space the silly scroll wheel took up.

I guess the fact I voted Fuji shows what I value in UI though.

Your statistics will hardly be representative regarding the brand.

There are a 100 times more Cannikon users that Olympus, Pentax or Fuji users - not to speak of brands like Leica or Hasselblad.

For this reason we should expect a 100 times more responses to these brands than to the other ones. If not they may be worse than the small brands - maybe.

I like the option for votings on dpreview - but I fear that your thread won't add much information.

Best regards

Holger

TN Args said:

localnomad said:

.... it does seem to me that the camera brands have missed a trick in not applying today's UX (User Experience) design lessons to their own industry.

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I tend to agree with the OP here.

Modern cameras are high-tech digital tools, yet the software and the communications is generally pathetic by the standards of today. Even the buttons and dials are c.1960. Here are a few opportunities missed:-

• Why aren't all buttons, dials, and their labels fully illuminated? Want to put the flash on at night? (grope, fumble). Want to put a lens on at night? Where's the dot? (grope, fumble). Tripod socket? (umm). No to mention all the buttons. Hardly any cameras have this -- and those ones only partially. Imagine if 'hardly any' cars had the speedo, radio, GPS etc light up at night?
• The labels on or beside buttons could be replaced with panel displays that actually say what it does. Especially handy when customising the buttons. If this is too hard, at least have all buttons hold-press for a display somewhere on the camera to indicate what the button does and what it is set to at present.
• Endless 'Custom Activities' where the user can set an unlimited number of complete settings profiles (not just C1, C2, C3) and name them (along with proper descriptions that could include all the key settings), and they can all appear on the back screen like a Quick Screen or a scrolling list. You can organise them in any order and assign favourites or ratings.
• Full camera control from smart devices --any smart devices that the user owns -- including operation, activity programming and creating and saving new in-camera datasets, and monitoring.
• Communications. Every camera user -- ever -- wants to get his or her images off the camera and into other devices. Cameras should be seamlessly, invisibly and in real time transfering images to whatever devices the user has in proximity, according to preset user instruction sets. Interruptions (like taking the camera away to do some photography) should be seamless and instantaneous with no loss of data, and seamless resumption when the communicatons are restored. What is this "remove camera card and insert in a card reader" stuff? Really?

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That's a pretty good list Args, I agree with all of it. One thing that befuddles me is how Nikon has gone to this 10 pin connector for a corded shutter release. In the front of the camera. Away from you. Why isn't it a more simple connection in the side? Where the rest of the connections are?

"User experience" is some kind of marketing-speak and has nothing to do with photography.

I buy a camera to take photographs, not for a "user experience" I buy a specific model which has the specifications I need, not a brand.

localnomad said:

I think its fair to say the iPod delivered a new level of usability for portable music devices and likewise the iPhone for portable computing devices (yes it is also a phone). Apple has never built an interchangeable lens camera and I'm not suggesting they start now. But it does seem to me that the camera brands have missed a trick in not applying today's UX (User Experience) design lessons to their own industry.

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If by the above you mean failed to remove all physical controls from cameras and turning them into touchscreen interfaces - please, no.

That would be a horrible UX for the target groups for these cameras,

You do know that UX design is very much dependent on the target group, right?

Regards, Mike

Is this thread supposed to make us argue?

MarshallG said:

Is this thread supposed to make us argue?

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It's a DPR thread - you're right at least half the time if you just assume so...

Regards, Mike

D Cox said:

"User experience" is some kind of marketing-speak and has nothing to do with photography.

I buy a camera to take photographs, not for a "user experience" I buy a specific model which has the specifications I need, not a brand.

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I would have said for many people it has quite a lot to do with photography.

Sure, when I was taking photos for others I used what got the job done, but atm I do photography for my own enjoyment. For me the experience of using the camera has as big an impact on my enjoyment of the hobby as the end product does. Unless you're a paid pro you don't need any of those specifications, they simply enable you to enjoy the hobby more.

I've shot Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, and currently shoot a Sony. Canon by a landslide wins the user interface award.

localnomad said:

I think its fair to say the iPod delivered a new level of usability for portable music devices and likewise the iPhone for portable computing devices (yes it is also a phone). Apple has never built an interchangeable lens camera and I'm not suggesting they start now. But it does seem to me that the camera brands have missed a trick in not applying today's UX (User Experience) design lessons to their own industry.

So to my question - Which camera* brand delivers the best user experience and why?

*[digital, interchangeable lens cameras]

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You don't want an Apple camera. For me a dedicated interchangeable lens camera is all about getting direct access to controls and the finest detail of configuration. Apple's UI is all about taking away direct access and detailed control. For an advanced user Apple's UI is limiting and restrictive not helpful. Its one of the key reasons I prefer Android and Linux over iOS and MacOS.

Thanks for all the answers and votes folks! very interesting.

I think one test of usability is how fast a total beginner learns about manual exposure and how to control the interplay of DoF, motion blur, grain, and image brightness.

Assuming they have access to the manual, youtube, a helpful friend, the camera itself is still going to play a part in the speed of the learning curve.

Holger Bargen said:

There are a 100 times more Cannikon users that Olympus, Pentax or Fuji users - not to speak of brands like Leica or Hasselblad.

For this reason we should expect a 100 times more responses to these brands than to the other ones. If not they may be worse than the small brands - maybe.

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Hi Holger, I agree the polling is far from perfect. Given that Canon, Sony, and Nikon are the biggest sellers, its interesting to see in this admittedly small poll Fujifilm in 3rd place and SONY near the bottom. What does Fuji have that Sony doesn't?

Mike CH said:

localnomad said:

I think its fair to say the iPod delivered a new level of usability for portable music devices and likewise the iPhone for portable computing devices (yes it is also a phone). Apple has never built an interchangeable lens camera and I'm not suggesting they start now. But it does seem to me that the camera brands have missed a trick in not applying today's UX (User Experience) design lessons to their own industry.

Click to expand...

If by the above you mean failed to remove all physical controls from cameras and turning them into touchscreen interfaces - please, no.

That would be a horrible UX for the target groups for these cameras,

You do know that UX design is very much dependent on the target group, right?

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No I certainly didn't mean to imply 'no physical controls'.

I'm interested to hear what others find to be a good user experience. As D Cox flagged the term 'user experience' as marketing speak and I admit its not a term often used by end users. For me UX is everything that goes into making a product easy and enjoyable to use - an evaluation that considers more than just size, weight, and image quality. My own list would include:

• easy (dare I say intuitive?) to understand the controls on first use
• easy to navigate settings - its a big ask but I don't want to get lost in menus
• feedback (I like tactile best) when I change settings
• responsiveness. i.e. quick to turn on. quick to autofocus, quick to shoot
• effortless workflow. On a smartphone I can shoot direct to destination i.e. in a messaging or email app. And my photos are automatically stored in the cloud and on my computer. I'm not aware of any interchangeable lens cameras with today that has 4G and can do this. (sure it would need a big mobile data package but its just not offered)

localnomad said:

localnomad said:

There are a 100 times more Cannikon users that Olympus, Pentax or Fuji users - not to speak of brands like Leica or Hasselblad.

For this reason we should expect a 100 times more responses to these brands than to the other ones. If not they may be worse than the small brands - maybe.

Click to expand...

Hi Holger, I agree the polling is far from perfect. Given that Canon, Sony, and Nikon are the biggest sellers, its interesting to see in this admittedly small poll Fujifilm in 3rd place and SONY near the bottom. What does Fuji have that Sony doesn't?

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These two videos talk about the user experience with Fuji...

Depends on the user.

My daughter just picked up a new in box D5500, used a couple times from a freind for a hundred bucks, with the 18 - 55 kit lens and a 70 - 200.

Her and I went to a ball game together, she brought her D5500 and I brought my D90.

She handed me her camera and asked me about ISO setting. It took me a few minutes to figure something out and then another few to figure out how to change something else.

At that particular moment in time my user experience with a Nikon D5500 sucked.

Give me an afternoon and my complete attention and my user experience would be great once I learned the way everything was laid out.

Point is, all cameras can give the user a great experience once they take the time to learn it.

One of the reasons I keep my D90 is I know it so well I can make changes without even looking at dials or buttons. I've spent a lot of time making my experience the best and I haven't been in the mood to learn a new camera.

Not sure what a camera manufacturer could learn from an iPod or iPad. I really don't want a touch screen on my camera when a simple dial can change my settings almost instantly. I do not want to have to scroll or swipe through menus to change common settings like aperture, shutter, ISO, etc...

liopleurodon said:

I've shot Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, and currently shoot a Sony. Canon by a landslide wins the user interface award.

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I had owned three Canon DSLRs before I got a Fuji.

I now find the Canons frustrating to use.

Unless you use them often enough to retain muscle memory, things just aren't as intuitive.

For example, how do I change ISO on my newer 100D?







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localnomad said:

I think its fair to say the iPod delivered a new level of usability for portable music devices and likewise the iPhone for portable computing devices (yes it is also a phone). Apple has never built an interchangeable lens camera and I'm not suggesting they start now. But it does seem to me that the camera brands have missed a trick in not applying today's UX (User Experience) design lessons to their own industry.

So to my question - Which camera* brand delivers the best user experience and why?

*[digital, interchangeable lens cameras]

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User experience with any camera is a very personal thing. You can't shove a square peg into a round hole. There is no such thing as the best camera or camera system for all people. Your trying to pigeon hole a very complex subject.

And for you, keep using your iPhone for images because that seems to suite you best. I prefer my Nikon (or Canon) DSLRs but I'd still pick a mirrorless camera before a damn smartphone interface for taking images.

PS- I can't vote in this pole.

--
I'm a photo hacker. I use my expensive equipment to destroy anything in front of my camera. This is a special skill that can never be realized by low life photographers. A nurtured skill since the 1970's.

tcg550 said:

Her and I went to a ball game together, she brought her D5500 and I brought my D90.

She handed me her camera and asked me about ISO setting. It took me a few minutes to figure something out and then another few to figure out how to change something else.

At that particular moment in time my user experience with a Nikon D5500 sucked.

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That's the problem I find with owning a couple of different Canon DSLRs as well.

I bet if I handed you this camera, that you would have no problem finding those important things whatsoever...



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https://www.flickr.com/gp/158098310@N03/ja5n6b

Panasonic didn't make any revolution, yet I think their cameras are the most intuitive, straightforward and user-friendly on the market...

kiwi2 said:

For example, how do I change ISO on my newer 100D?

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I feel your pain.

Doux Vide said:

Panasonic didn't make any revolution, yet I think their cameras are the most intuitive, straightforward and user-friendly on the market...

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Hi Doux Vide,

Leaving off Panasonic / Lumix was an oversight - my apologies. Can you put your finger on what it is that makes them intuitive?