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Kodak and Usability
24 Oct 2003 by Ryan Singer
John Steele Gordon says digital camera makers can learn from George Eastman (founder of Kodak).
Eastman had to convince the public that it could handle what had always been a very complicated technology. He turned the trick with what is universally regarded as one of the greatest slogans in advertising history: You press the button, we do the rest. The new Kodak was a sensation, and George Eastman became fabulously rich …
… Digital photography will never be as easy as Eastman made chemical photography, of course. There is too much you can do with it. But the first company writing software for digital cameras that takes to heart George Eastmans most important idea for how to create a mass marketmake the product easy to usemay find the world beating a path to its door.
The story of how Eastman brought dry-plate photography to the masses is a great read to boot.
4 comments so far (Post a Comment)
24 Oct 2003 | Brad Hurley said...
I think Apple's iPhoto makes digital photography as easy or easier than film. Digital cameras themselves are easy to use for basic point-and-shoot, and iPhoto makes it incredibly easy for people to download, organize, and share their photos.
The only usability issue I have with digital photography is the more advanced features in digital cameras (such as manually adjusting exposure, white balance, etc.). I hardly ever use those features on my little Canon Powershot because none of the menus are intuitive and I don't use the features often enough to remember how to do them without resorting to the user manual.
My very first camera was a Kodak, a Retinette 35 mm. No single-lens reflex, no auto-focus, no built-in light meter. The camera itself was simple to use, but you had to use a hand-held light meter and you had to estimate distances to get the focus right. The lens was excellent and I still have some great photos I took with that camera back in the 1960s and 70s.
24 Oct 2003 | jupiter said...
Kodak does quite a good job on making digital photography easier. If you just want to point, shoot and print, their CX-Series allows you to be put on a dock with a built-in printer. Pushing the print-button makes it spill out nice Kodak-pictures. That's easy imaging!
That's not my thing, because I want to make use of the real advantages of digital imaging (email pictures, put them on the web, optimize or do funny things like printing on a mug). So I do have to use a PC and that means to a lot of people: not so easy imaging...
24 Oct 2003 | Matthew Oliphant said...
More on Kodak and usability here, and here.
Also, UPAs current president is the usability manager at Kodak.
Guess they take it seriously.
24 Oct 2003 | Mike said...
Maybe I should walk to the Kodak headquarters and ask them? I mean they are right down the street from my college...
