That's it: my Em1.2 is gone before I destroy it.

Tommi K1 wrote:

Still waiting someone to show what would be more logical menu and explain why it is so....

Let's just review some of the "charming" aspects of Olympus menus:

- On the first page alone there's much to discuss. The FIRST available option leads to format and erase all. Seriously, WTFF? It's risky, and these things don't warrant a prime position like that. And then we have Mysets, Picture Mode, "disintegrating diamond", aspect ratio and digital teleconverter. I really, really want to see your justification for this mess of unrelated things.

- Then, on the second page, is the stuff that people might care about: drive mode, stabilization, bracketing, flash exp. comp... and remote flash control? Multiple exposures? These are things rarely used by most people! Is it so hard to group multiple exposure under the drive mode menu? Or RC mode and compensation under a general item called "Flash"? I mean, it's the freakin' second page of the menu, and while I cannot adjust the actual, honest-to-dog exposure, or flash mode, or curtain priority, I can turn the commander on (even on cameras without a built-in flash). Extremely logical 

- Why does a heart mean "silent shutter"? And a diamond "anti-shock"? Why is EFCS conflated with shutter delay (both use the same hieroglyph)? Why is it called "S-IS 1" instead of something rational like "Mode 1"? Why are there "one fish" and "two fishes" for WB?

- What's the whole point of the "Playback Menu"? Olympus decided to give the most useless options a whole tab to themselves, even when there aren't enough items to fill a page, while instead burying all of the good stuff. You really mean to tell me that this page didn't deserve to be stuck in one of the "gears" tabs?

- Please tell me how am I supposed to realize that "gears" are everything from flash to anti-shock to dial turning direction to metering mode!? You realize that one of these things is far more important than the other two, right? And that "wrench" are... language, time, date and display settings? WTFF?

I could continue all day. As a primarily Sony shooter, I have learned to live with their also-absurd menu structure, but that doesn't mean that I'll say their interface is good. Yes, I can find everything quite quickly in there, but I also realize that anyone unfamiliar with the camera will struggle. This just doesn't happen as much with Canon or Panasonic or Pentax cameras, which have a far more rational approach.

It's quite easy to pinpoint what the problem is: Olympus menus were designed by the engineers, who know their product intimately, and make full use of all the available physical controls. I'm sure that one or more of the Oly defenders will yell that there's buttons and dials for all of this, but that's the thing - when I use an unfamiliar camera, if I can't find the controls directly on the body, I'll go into the menu. Olympus' warped logic is not at all meant for that kind of behavior, however - the menus are a dog's breakfast of beginners' and experts' settings with no ground in between for experienced photographers that come from different backgrounds, or even Olympus shooters trying to learn more advanced techniques. This last group, in particular, has no other option but to sit down and study carefully about whatever they're wanting to experiment with, because a wrong turn in the "gears" maze can mean a ton of frustration and lost shooting opportunities.

Grab a Panasonic, and what do your find? The first tab are photo settings, in order of importance. The second tab are video settings. They don't care if there's redundancy between the two tabs, because at different moments a video or stills shooter might need to alter the same item, but try to access it from the respective tab.  The actual, sophisticated camera customization options come later. But the thing is that, if one needs to change WB or metering or stabilization, and there aren't clearly-labelled buttons for it, it's a simple matter of going into the menu and looking for the relevant option. With Canon cameras it's equally simple. This approach can seem "ass-backwards" to the person that has been using Olympus digital stuff since the time of the dinosaurs, but the truth is that the cameras are immensely customizable, and so the people who need the menu the most (i.e. people unfamiliar with the product) are denied proper access to it in favor of diehards that: a) would readily adapt to changes, because they're, well, diehards; and b) don't need to use the menu, because they have the have their camera set up already!

Where in blazes is the logic in that?