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I started this blog in February 2012. I had become frustrated by the poor handling and operating qualities of many cameras on the market.
I noticed that there was much discussion about and measurement of image quality and performance of cameras.
But there was and still is no systematic, widely (or even narrowly) accepted basis for evaluating, comparing and measuring the ergonomic aspect of camera operation.
So I worked on the problem, bought and used cameras and made many mockups of different design.
My self imposed mission and the mission of this bloghas been:
1. To study camera ergonomics and present my findings in a public place open to feedback from any source.
2. To raise awareness of issues relating to ergonomics among camera users, or at least the ones who find their way to this little blog.
3. To develop a taxonomy (the branch of science engaged in description, identification, nomenclature and classification) and language of camera ergonomics.
4. To develop a method of scoring camera ergonomics which is based on sound principles, workable, reasonably easy to utilise and which provides a meaningful comparison between cameras.
I had originally thought to write a book on the subject. Fortunately that did not eventuate. A book is far too static a vehicle for sharing results of an ongoing study, does not generate feedback and would have extremely limited circulation.
The first three items of my mission have been discussed at length on this blog over the last three years to the point that I feel reasonably confident that I have identified a workable schema for understanding camera ergonomics.
Now I want to take the blog further along the pathway to realising mission #4.
Over the last 3 years I have invented several different schemas for measuring and scoring camera ergonomics but discarded most as being too complex.
I had to find a schema which is meaningful and which separates the better performing cameras from the less engaging ones but which is not too complex to implement.
Likes, dislikes and preferences
A substantial part of my quest has been to unravel the nexus between ‘likes’ which are a valid aspect of human experience, and the process of systematic evaluation, which is a different kind of experience resulting from a more analytic engagement with the subject.
The next 3 posts are updated, edited and reposted versions of previous posts in which I present Discussion, Rationale and the Scoring schedule in detail.
The 6 posts which follow present ergonomic scores of cameras which I have used.
All the matters presented including the scores and the basis on which they rest, are contestable of course, that is the nature of discovery.
However my impression is that the scoring system ranks cameras in a meaningful fashion.
