FZ1000 Ergonomics Part 4 Operating

In practiced hands The FZ1000 operates quickly and efficiently making it very suitable for street and candid photography.

 

The task list for a practiced user operating a well specified camera such as the FZ1000  is:

While continuously looking through the EVF and without shifting grip on the camera with either hand,

* Adjust primary exposure parameters, Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO.

* Adjust secondary exposure parameters, Exposure Compensation, Program Shift, AE Lock, White Balance.

* Adjust primary framing and focus parameters, Zoom, Initiate/lock Autofocus, Manual Focus.

* Adjust secondary Focus parameters, Change position and size of AF Box, manual over ride AF, AF Lock, AF in MF.

Of course not all these tasks need to be carried out with every exposure but it should be possible to do so if required.

This may appear to be a daunting list but the FZ1000 is able to carry out most of those tasks while in the process of making pictures and without shifting grip.

The only caveats are:

* The right thumb has to drop down to the cursor buttons  to change position of  the  AF box, which does briefly disrupt grip.  I prefer a JOG lever for this purpose, located near the position of the AF/AE-L button. My mockups have this feature which I think could work well in practice.

* If the AF/AE-L button is being used for AF-ON it is in an awkward  place if the camera is held in landscape orientation, requiring a stretch across to reach it.  Several complaints have appeared on user forums about this.  I prefer the standard Canon location for an AF-ON button, which on this camera would be in the valley between the rear dial and the Focus Mode lever, just under the distal phalanx of the thumb.

These are minor issues. Overall the camera is a pleasure to operate. User interface modules are well designed and well positioned. Buttons are not pressed accidentally but are easy to find by feel when required.

The cursor buttons  (4 way controller) have the desirable "rocking saucer" design with raised edges, which is easy to locate and operate by feel. 

The other 5 buttons on the back of the camera are easy to locate and operate by feel. The playback button has a depressed top so it can be identified by feel. This is a good idea which could  to advantage be made even more explicit with more obvious differences between the various buttons.

There are no buttons to the right of the 4 way controller (cursor buttons). The G6 has buttons there which are forever being inadvertently activated. So that problem has been eliminated. There are also no buttons in the thumb support. That is a problem with the Disp button of the GH3/4 which is awkwardly placed. 

The Focus/Zoom lever on the lens barrel is easy to locate and operate by feel.

Summary  Panasonic appears to have put considerable thought into the user interface of this camera. The designers appear to have learned from experience with previous model M43 and superzoom cameras. The resulting control layout is both efficient and a pleasure to operate.