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HR2008-03
2008.10.31 Tamura
The digital camera I have purchased 2 years ago has been the latest one at that time. However, compare to the digital camera we always use in our office, I have not been able to take clear photos with my digital camera. Those I get are blurred photos or photos that have blown-out highlights, which have been given me a bit of disappointment. The price and the function of it should have been good...
Playing around the digital camera to look for some ways to take clear photos, I have found icons and numbers on the LCD monitor. Now, I know the result will change subtly, when I change the shooting mode. However, those icons are numbers are new to people like me who have switched from instant camera to digital camera...I then wonder "how much do all people who use digital camera understand what these icons are for?", and decide to send out questionnaires.
I have asked to our staff who are not usability specialist, as well as their family and friends to cooperate on answering the questions in the form of questionnaire.
In this research, we call the status display used in LCD monitor of digital camera as icon, and have selected 18 icons, which are used, from multiple digital cameras. We ask the respondents to write the name of those icon, as well as explanation on how to use them and the effect they give. If either the name or explanation is right, we determine that the person is recognizing the meaning of the icon. Of course, we ask them to respond not by using the manual or internet.
Selected 18 icons
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44 men and women from 20's to 60's have responded to our questionnaire.
The number of each age, as well as the ratio of male and female are shown below.
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The ratio of male and female on each age
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By calculate the percentage of correct answers for each icon, we have listed the icons from the ones that have high percentage of correct answer, in graph.
First, let's look at the icons which have high percentage of correct answers.
The one with the highest percentage of correct answer is battery level indicator. Since we start to see more rechargeable electrical appliances like cell phone or portable music player, we think it is becoming a more familiar icon.
Image stabilizer, which comes to the 2nd , is a word we hear a lot from TV commercial of digital camera. The function seems to be of growing interest. Also they maybe are comfortable with the image of the icon
The night scene in the 3rd is a function every digital cameras certainly have, which you can select the shooting scene. The function itself is very known, and the image of the icon is not an uncomfortable one.
The 4th is suppressed flash, the flash. Flash itself is well known to many people, but the icon may unexpectedly be unknown. In addition, because we set the icon of suppressed flash, it may have made it more difficult for the respondents to answer.
We expect the icon of zoom out in the 11th to be higher. Because you will think zoom out is the icon you see in pair with zoom in, if we list both icons, we may get more correct answers.
Well, what about those worst 5(18th to 14th)? The icons with the least answers from users are white balance, photometry, and internal memory.
White balance is the icon with the most blank answers. First of all, white balance may not be a well-known function. Also because we even not see a word "fluorescent" in the answers, the icon may not look like fluorescent either.
Next to the white balance with many blank answers is photometry.
Digital camera with installed internal memory is not yet become common. Even it is a digital camera which internal memory is installed,this icon will not be displayed if insert memory card, so there may be not enough opportunity for the users to see the icon.
The next lower grades are the icons of quality mode and F-number. Because those icons are number and alphabet, if you do not know the function, it may be difficult to guess from the icons.
It seems that the icons of functions you can change the setting in auto mode have higher percentage of correct answers, where the icons of function you change the setting in manual mode have lower percentage in answers.
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"Avoid having shiny face" (respondent says it means that the function will control the face shine from sebum) |
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"Finish" (Maybe the image of it is "it's time to finish") |
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"12 photos of medium size are photographable" (I can understand this). |
There were icons in digital camera, which users did not understand.
The reasons are, for example, they do not understand the icon because they do not know the function, or by contrast, the design of icon is difficult to understand, so it is difficult to know what function it indicates of.
When think how to proceed from here, we can do the similar research to this one with cell phone or PC, other than digital camera, or ask users to draw icons that suit to the functions.
Created in 2008.11.28
