Originally posted by photoptimist Honestly, today's advanced digital cameras are so complex, I don't see how anyone can claim to really know what EVERY feature of the camera can do especially when it comes to all the possible lenses and accessories.
But if i can't pick it up and find the basic features I know use on a regular basis intuitively that's a disadvantage. I don't need every feature to be intuitive. In fact many I expect to memorize. Format a K-1, 6 left , two up after pressing the menu button. But in AV mode, I want things to be as close as possible to the operation of a film camera as possible.
This is what I want, AV mode, I want set my ISO when I pick up the camera, set my f-stop before putting the camera to my eye and adjust the +/- EV setting. I want those feature available without going into the menus, from dials and button I can reach , using muscle memory only, without taking my eye out of the viewfinder.
If it doesn't meet that basic standard, I don't care what it is. I'm not buying it. My Pentax XG-1 Mirrorless with EVF does not meet those standards, but I probably paid less than what it cost to manufacture it, so I' suffer with it from time to time. Honestly, the menu diving on the XG-1 to set the +/- EV is truly irritating, and if I haven't used the camera for a while, I may even forget how to do it and have to go on a menu exploration extravaganza. When you're out in a buggy field doing a few flower images, that is really irritating.
You definitely can't assume all cameras are equal in this regard.