Canon EOS 60D Ergonomic Review

CAMERA ERGONOMICS

Ergonomic evaluation of the Canon EOS 60D

Not bad but not excellent

Author  AndrewS  June 2012

Introduction   For many years my cameras of choice were Pentax SLR's starting with the Spotmatic.  But Pentax was slow to embrace autofocus so in 1989 I switched to Canon EOS, starting with the 630.  That was followed by the 10, 50E, 1V  and 33V.  In the digital era, I have owned and used the 20D, 40D, 450D  and currently the 60D with a range of zoom lenses.

Photo 1

User level  Looking at it's price point, specifications and features I rate the 60D as a camera intended for use by photographers at  Level 4 (Expert/Controller, frequent use).  This is not an entry level/snapshooter camera.  Photo 1 shows the 60D basic hold.

Image Quality and Performance   This is an ergonomic review but I will make brief reference to the other two pillars of camera evaluation. Image quality has been exhaustively analysed elsewhere. Suffice to say it is good enough for almost any photographic project. Performance is also very good in all respects except autofocus accuracy. I find that particularly at the wide end of zoom lenses, AF is erratic, sometimes focussing incorrectly even in good light.  I have experienced this problem to some degree with every Canon EOS camera which I have owned.

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

Setup Phasemostly involves selection of menu options. The 60D menus are well laid out and easy to navigate. Submenu options never occupy more than one screen so scrolling down  in search of an option is not required. My Menu takes user allocated options for quick access. This is a much better arrangement than some other cameras which automatically shift recently used items to the My Menu screen. Compared to some other cameras, the 60D's menus are a model of clarity.

Prepare Phase  AF Mode, Drive Mode and Metering Mode are adjusted by the Press Button>Scroll Wheel>View LCD Panel method.   This gets the job done but Set and See Dials/Levers use fewer actions and can be set without having to switch the camera on. Other parameters are adjusted via the Q Menu. This also gets the job done but a more streamlined interface would be possible if each item in the Q Menu could be user set.

Capture Phase       The three main descriptors of ergonomics in this Phase are Holding, Viewing and Operating.

Holding  The 60D is a nice camera to hold. It is a good size for average adult human hands. It has a well shaped handle and thumb rest. It conforms to the hand much better than many smaller DSLR's and Compact System Cameras.

Viewing  Both the eye level viewfinder and the monitor screen are clear and bright, giving an excellent view of the subject. Camera status indicators are clearly visible in either viewing mode. The only downside of the viewing arrangements on this camera are those inherent in the DSLR concept, namely that eye level viewing and monitor (Live) viewing are separate user interfaces with a different AF system and different presentation of camera status data. This arrangement is not bad. However mirrorless (or Sony SLT) cameras offer a seamless segue from eye level to monitor viewing.

Operating  For the Level 4 photographer who wants to take control of camera functions in the Capture Phase, there is a substantial task list to be completed in a few seconds. The specific items on the list will vary somewhat with individual preference, but deliberative practice will typically include the following:

* Hold camera steady with both hands, without changing grip.

* View subject in the viewfinder without interruption, compose, zoom.

* Shift active AF area if required,  or center focus and recompose, or AE + AEL, or AF + AFL.

* Adjust Aperture in A Mode, or Shutter Speed in S Mode, or Program Shift in P mode, or Aperture + Shutter Speed in M Mode.

* Adjust ISO.

* Adjust Exposure Compensation if required.

* AF or MF > AE > Capture.

Let us analyse how the 60D goes about completing this task list.

The left hand is busy supporting the mass of the lens plus zooming and manual focussing if required.

The right thumb has to play an important part in gripping the camera but also has carriage of three Capture Phase tasks.

1. Start/lock AF with the AF-ON button. This button is just about perfectly placed on the 60D, making back button AF start/lock a smooth operation.  I would prefer the button to be slightly more prominent to make it easier to operate without having to flex the interphalangeal joint, but it works well enough as is.

2. Shift active AF area. This task is allocated to the 8 Way Controller. To engage with the 8 Way Controller the thumb has to drop down 50 mm from base hold position. In order to do this  the right hand has to release it's grip on the camera, forcing the left hand to take the full mass of the camera and disrupting the Capture Phase work flow.  It is also difficult to reliably hit the exact spot on the controller required to select intermediate AF sensor positions.

Photo 2

3. Exposure Compensation is allocated to the rear/lower scroll wheel, access to which requires the same actions as described above.

These arrangements for shifting active AF area and Exposure Compensation get the job done. Ergonomically the process is not bad but it could be upgraded to excellent with some minor changes to the user interface.

This camera has plenty of space for a JOG Lever, the optimum location for which is indicated by the white X in Photo 2.  The existing buttons would have to be slightly relocated.   The thumb has only to move 12 mm to the left, by side to side movement at the carpo metacarpal joint to engage with and operate the JOG Lever. This is the ideal user interface for shifting active AF point. The JOG Lever can also make itself useful for scrolling around items in Setup, Prepare and Review Phases of use.

Exposure Compensation can be moved up to the index finger's operational zone, as described below.

Photo 3

Now let us examine the role of the right index finger in Capture Phase.     On the 60D  the index finger operates the Shutter Release Button, the Mode Dependent Scroll Wheel and the ISO button.  The layout is shown in Photo 3.   But there are several ergonomic problems with this arrangement.

* The horizontal distance from the center of the Shutter Release Button to the center of the ISO button is 27 mm. This is a stretch too far for many people whose metacarpo phalangeal joint may have just average flexibility for side to side movement.

* ISO is a Primary Exposure Parameter, which should be easily adjustable in the Capture Phase of use. But the ISO button is in the middle of a row of identically shaped (apart from a tiny little nipple on the ISO button) and sized buttons, the other three of which are allocated to Prepare Phase actions.

Photo 4

* The consequence of these arrangements is that when using this camera I cannot reliably find  the ISO button by touch. My hands are 69 years old, like the rest of me, but they are in good working order, free from arthritis and degenerative disorders. If I can't do it, there will be plenty of other people in the same situation. As a result adjusting ISO goes back to being a Prepare Phase action, requiring the camera to be lowered from the eye and the ISO button located by sight. This is not the end of the world, it just means that the process of making photos has to be interrupted to change ISO. Ergonomically, it's not bad but not optimal either.

This camera has plenty of space to fit a much more efficient layout of User Interface Modules for use by the right index finger. One option is the Quad Module system which could be implemented in any of several different ways, but one which fits the projecting handle design of the 60D is shown in Photo 4.  This system allows the index finger to rapidly control the primary exposure parameters (Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO), the secondary exposure parameter (Exposure Compensation), AF if desired, AE and Capture, all with minimal physical movement, without disrupting view or grip. There is a division of labour between the thumb and index finger with the  thumb having control of AF if desired and focus area position.

Photo 5

I like to use the sports car analogy when thinking about camera ergonomics. For optimum speed and accuracy of operation without the driver having to think about each separate action, the accelerator, brake and clutch pedals have to be at the same height and close to each other, but not too close.

The UIM's in Photo 4  are placed with a similar concept in mind. They are at the same height so the finger can move directly from one to the other and they are close, but not too close. I spent a lot of time relocating UIM's on mockups to arrive at the disposition shown here. The horizontal distance from the center of the Shutter Release Button to the center of either the ISO or EV Buttons is 21 mm, an easy reach for most people. These two buttons  have a different shape and feel so they are easily located by touch. In a working camera their functions should be user selectable from a wide range of options.  There are plenty of photographers who would want to use these buttons for different purposes.

Photo 5  shows another version of the Quad Module system on a Sony camera. In this case we see a good  idea poorly executed, with excessive distance between the Scroll Wheel and the other Modules which are also at a different height and in a different plane.

Photo 6

Photo 6  shows another version of the Quad Module system on a mockup with Parallel Handle,  with the UIM's laid out in a fashion which suits the handle design.

Summary  I have been using Canon's mid range SLR's and DSLR's for many years. Apart from chronic autofocus accuracy problems they have all functioned reasonably well. The thing which I am not seeing is evolving improvements to the user interface, in other words, ergonomics. There are changes, the monitors grow and acquire swivel. The buttons move around, mostly to allow the larger monitors. But the process of controlling the camera in Capture Mode has not improved.   In fact, in some respects such as the loss of the JOG lever, it has gone backwards.

If Canon revised the user interface of the 60D in the ways which I have suggested the experience of operating this camera could  improve from "Not Bad" to "Excellent". There would be no cost penalty. Good ergonomics costs no more than poor ergonomics. Poorly located UIM's cost just as much as well located ones.

The Curious Case of Samsung i-Function

CAMERA ERGONOMICS

The Curious Case of Samsung  i-Function

If  i-Function is the answer, what was the question ?

Author AndrewS  June 2012

Background   In January 2010, Samsung introduced the company's first compact system camera, the NX10.  I used the NX10, then a mild upgrade, the NX11,  for the next two years. It is a decent little camera with a user friendly human machine interface (HMI).  However the NX10/11 needed an upgrade to  image quality, performance and  EVF  to keep up with it's CSC competitors. Instead, it got Samsung i-Function.

What is it ?      i-Function is activated by pressing a button on the barrel of the lens.  This brings up a unique interactive window on the monitor or EVF.   This consists of a broad ribbon of data across the lower quarter of the frame, completely obscuring the standard  display of shutter speed, aperture and exposure compensation status beneath the image area.  The button may have to be pressed up to 5 times to scroll between functions available. When the desired function has been reached, adjustments are made by turning the focus ring on the lens. A half press on the shutter button confirms the setting and returns the camera to normal shooting mode.

What can it do ?   On the NX11, i-Fn can alter several Capture Phase parameters. These are the  primary exposure variables (ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture) and  the secondary exposure variables Exposure Compensation and White Balance. Selection of Scene Modes, a Prepare Phase function, can also be allocated to i-Fn. 

Note that Samsung cameras with i-Function allow all these imaging parameters to be adjusted in traditional digital camera fashion, using the buttons on the top and rear of the body together with the mode dependent scroll wheel behind the shutter release button. On my NX11, i-Fn cannot be completely disabled although the ability to adjust ISO and White Balance by i-Fn can switched off  via the main menu.

Photo 1, Prepare Phase UIM's

User and reviewer response  Some users reported negative reactions to i-Fn, others said they really liked it. Several reviewers reported positively about i-Fn. I have not seen a published systematic ergonomic analysis of  i-Fn, so here it is.

Principles of Lens Based User Interface Modules (UIM)   Buttons and levers on the barrel of a lens are appropriate for Prepare Phase adjustments when the user is not taking photos. The camera can be held in one hand while the other hand operates buttons and levers on the lens barrel after locating them visually. Typical parameters for adjustment this way would  include Focus Limiter, AF/MF, Stabiliser O/I and Stabiliser Mode. Buttons and levers are difficult to locate by feel and become impossible to find when the camera is rotated to  portrait (vertical) orientation. Some users prefer underhand, others overhand grip on the lens.  Buttons which might be reasonably accessible with one of these grips become difficult to locate with the other.

Photo 2 Standard Data Display

If lens based adjustments are required in Capture Phase the UIM's  must be located by feel.  In this case,  circumferential collars or rings work best.   If these have an appropriately tactile surface profile, they  can be operated by the fingers of the left hand in landscape or portrait orientation, using "hand under" or "hand over" grip. Typical Capture Phase tasks allocated to lens based modules include manual focus and zoom.

Ergonomic analysis of one task, i-Fn versus Scroll Wheel

First, here is the sequence of actions required to adjust Aperture using the Scroll Wheel.  Neither the right or left hand is required to shift grip or move in any way during this brief action sequence.

1. Move the right index finger 13 mm back from the shutter  release button to engage with the Scroll Wheel.

2. Turn the Scroll Wheel while watching Aperture and Shutter Speed readouts in the data strip below the image.

Photo 3, i-Fn Data Display

3. Return index finger to shutter release button and press to capture.

Now here is the sequence required to adjust Aperture using i-Function.

1. Release the left hand from normal operating position, search by feel for the i-Fn button with the left thumb. Note  this button is much more difficult to find in Portrait orientation and requires an awkward position of the left hand.

2. Press the i-Fn button 1-5 times depending on the number of functions allocated to i-Fn and the order in which they appear on the information ribbon.

3. Move the left hand again (some lenses require more movement than others) until the focus ring is located by feel.

4. Move the focus ring while observing the readings on the data ribbon. Note that when changing any parameter by i-Fn the standard data display of Aperture, Shutter Speed and Exposure Compensation status, is obscured, preventing observation of the effect of changing one parameter on the others. Note also the i-Fn display presents a completely different cognitive experience (the appearance of a horizontally moving ribbon) to the standard data readout (Aperture and Shutter Speed readouts stay in one place, changing in value, with a coloured background indicating the currently active parameter).   Either arrangement works but switching back and forth between the two is disorienting.

Photo 4A Normal Hold

5. Half press the shutter release button to confirm the setting and return to normal operating mode.

Summary of action analysis  I could describe the steps required to alter each of the variable parameters able to be changed using i-Function, but there is little to be gained by so doing. The process is very similar for each. Adjustment of ISO and WB the standard way  requires a button press before rotating the Scroll Wheel.

Photo 4B Thumb on i-Fn

Conclusion  In every case, when compared to the standard operating method, adjusting a parameter with i-Function takes longer, requires more steps, requires more finger movements and obscures camera status data during the process.

All of which leads to the obvious question:  What was Samsung trying to achieve with i-Function ? As a consumer, I have no idea what Samsung's product development team were thinking.  However perhaps we can get a clue from the way i-Function is used in Samsung's promotional and marketing material.

These quotes from Samsung website material on 1 June 2012 are representative:  "Touch one button.  Change everything".  "The i-Function lens just made conventional cameras obsolete".  "One step control of Shutter Speed (Aperture, WB ...etc)".

Photo 4C Rotate Focus Ring

Clearly the marketing people want you to believe that i-Function is a wonderful new thing which somehow changes everything and makes conventional cameras obsolete.

One of the claims made for i-Fn is incorrect as to fact.  That is the "One Step Control" claim. I suppose one could have a futile debate about the precise definition of a "Step", but on my evaluation the minimum required for an i-Fn adjustment is 3 steps, with several requiring more.

Photo 4D Vertical hold

My guess is that Samsung marketing wanted a unique selling proposition (USP) for the NX series and somehow came up with the i-Function idea.  Unique it may be and selling point it may be but when subjected to ergonomic analysis it becomes very clear that if the camera is used for the purpose of making photographs (as opposed to just experimenting with the controls) then  i-Fn adds nothing useful to the user experience.

Photographs

Photo 1, Prepare Phase UIM's   This shows a set of  switches on the barrel of a lens. They operate functions required in the Prepare Phase of use. Zoom and Focus in the Capture Phase are operated by wide circumferential rings. This lens is a good example of optimal UIM design and location.

Photo 2, Standard Display This shows the well designed, easy to read, standard  Samsung data display. Here Aperture is showing as active. When altered the effect on Shutter Speed is immediately apparent.

Photo 3, i-Fn data display  This obscures the standard display and prevents the operator from monitoring Shutter Speed while Aperture is changed. In addition it presents a cognitive experience which is completely different from the standard display and a distraction from the process of making photographs.

Photos 4 A-C  This sequence of three photos shows the process of using i-Fn with the 50-200 mm lens.  4A shows the left hand in standard "Hand Under" position.  4B shows that in order to activate i-Fn the left thumb has to move back 40 mm to find the I-Fn button. The button has a low vertical profile to prevent accidental activation but this makes it difficult to locate by feel.  4C shows that in order to change a setting the left hand must now move forward 65 mm to reach the focus ring.

I actually prefer the "Hand Over" grip with this lens which makes using i-Function almost impossible.

Photo 4 D Shows the camera in portrait orientation with the i-Fn button out of sight, difficult to reach with any finger and therefore almost impossible to use.