-
"I’m not sure how many more menu
systems my brain can absorb."
—My friend D.M., on his latest new camera
-
Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site.
(To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below.)
Featured Comments from:
Bruce Alan Greene: "I shoot movies for a living and that means working with many different cameras that I don't own. And with it, learning many menus. I now understand why the Arri Alexa is the most popular. It's not just that the image quality is good, it's that it has the simplest menu with the fewest choices and 'features.' And the most commonly used features are directly accessible via a little LCD on the side of the camera (Frame rate, Color Temp, ISO). I think some still camera manufacturer should study their philosophy. :-) "
Dave Jenkins: "Me either. I made the switch to digital cameras in 2003, and it seems I’ve done nothing since but learn software and menus. My internal hard drive is about maxed out."
Speed: "In the early days of the personal computer we had a saying. Nobody wants the computer to do more than five or six things. But everybody wants it to do a different five or six things. It is the same with cameras. And reviewers who dive deeply into the menus and complain loudly that some obscure feature possibly useful to a handful of photographers is missing don't help."
Rod Thompson: "Working in a camera retail environment, I have to admit, it more about learning camera (singular), than photography (global) these days. I defy anyone to have a real working field knowledge of every camera system out there unless they make it their obsession. We run field trips that often boil down to extended menu exploration to get needed functions operational."
Bear.: "My problem is that even if I RTFM, the FM is not written in any language I am capable of understanding. For example: 'To store setting select menu options: AP - K2 (d1) - C1.' WTF!? Fortunately, I don't change cameras enough for it to make a difference. I use trial and error and hope I don't lose the settings I finally decide on when I turn the danged thing off, leave them there, and hope for the best."
hil: "Gave up too. Leica M-D now. Easy-peasy."
As I'm always sayin', just sayin'!
Made me laugh, I have to say.
Posted by: Mike Johnston | Wednesday, 09 October 2019 at 11:54 PM
Is a camera without menus actually possible any more? Maybe if it's manual focus and only shot RAW - has Leica ever been tempted to try? I wouldn't like to guess if it is 'do-able', but one can dream...
Posted by: Andrew Sheppard | Thursday, 10 October 2019 at 07:25 AM
I literally just got rid of my whole m43 system as I was going crazy switching back and forth between that and my Sony. Menus were only part of it, with button layout, differences in autofocus and other aspects adding to the confusion.
Posted by: Eli Burakian | Thursday, 10 October 2019 at 10:09 AM
Leica's recent control patent, found at leicarumors https://leicarumors.com/2019/10/09/leicas-patent-for-a-gui-based-controls.aspx/
Do you really need more than this?
Posted by: c.d.embrey | Thursday, 10 October 2019 at 10:25 AM
Huh! Menu system!!
It’s interesting how ever since I was a kid, a menu was that list of possible meals one could have when served specifically, but not always, in a restaurant. How things have changed!
Just sayin’!
Fred
Posted by: Fred Haynes | Thursday, 10 October 2019 at 11:49 AM
Does the phrase, "It's good enough for me", exist in anyone else's vocabulary, or am I the only one?
With best regards,
Stephen
Posted by: Stephen S. Mack | Thursday, 10 October 2019 at 12:22 PM
Here's my thought: Some smart people ought to work with the camera companies on menu systems....and have them be like an app that you can download. The menu system creators could create different ones even for a single manufacturer.
Of course, I'd also love to be able to customize my menu system....
Posted by: Tex Andrews | Thursday, 10 October 2019 at 12:29 PM
Just one more.
Posted by: KeithB | Thursday, 10 October 2019 at 01:36 PM
The irony is that many of those menus are part of the attempt to make the camera more automated and, er, simpler to use...
I shoot and edit in raw partly because I can't be bothered to learn all the in-camera image settings. Well, that's not the only reason, but you get what I mean.
I also lost count of all the AF combinations on my D800, and never bothered using more than two of them.
Is automation really 'automatic' if you have to reconfigure it all the time for it to work?
Posted by: Steve Jacob | Friday, 11 October 2019 at 11:10 PM