Originally Posted by
GrumpyDiver
Interesting thoughts Dave, although I reached the opposite conclusion on the GX7, I would categorize it having relatively poor ergonomics, but better than the other mFT bodies I looked at. Have taken over 12,000 shots with it over the past couple of months, my opinion has not improved at all.
The main issue with the camera is its small size, which means that the camera designers had very limited real estate to work with when positioning the buttons and other controls. I tend to be a shooter who likes to change settings without taking my eyes off the viewfinder. In theory, the Q-menu button, I should be able to do that. Unfortuately, the low profile buttons do not allow for good repeatable landmarking of the controls through tactile means. I don't have particularly large hands, but still found the camera body so small that I could not shoot the way I do with my DSLR.
I also found that it was all too easy to accidentally change the camera settings. The location of the controls and the detents in the three wheels are rather marginal.
One of the most annoying features was that the viewfinder would go black after two successive shots. I am not really a burst style shooter, but the overall response while clearing the buffer meant having to wait for the viewfinder to come on again. Again, not desireable performance.
I would find the positioning of the viewfinder great, if I didn't wear glasses. It sitting off to the very left means that the shooters nose clears the camera body quite nicely. Unfortunately, if one wears glasses, the viewfinder is much more difficult to use, especially in bright light.
Battery life, by the way is terrible. I was regularly running through two or three batteries a day.
Will I continue to use this camera; of course; but only if small size and low weight are the primary consideration (as they were on our recent trip to South Asia). My full-frame DLSR will remain my camera of choice for just about everything else.
I guess my conclusion is that the camera's small size is its greatest weakness.