SL Manual - written by the chocolate teapot company of Wetzlar?

[wlaidlaw]

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I like an index too, but you still get into a naming problem with them. For example, "What do I call the little button next to the viewfinder so I can look it up in the index...?" and "Is it a control wheel, a control dial, a thumb dial, the top wheel, or what...?" and "Do I look up 'LCD', 'display', or 'monitor' to find references to the EVF (or the screen on the back)...?" 

 

Issues and ambiguities like this take a bit of ingenuity to overcome. A glossary and an index help, along with illustrations that quickly identify the significant bits without cluttering up the information with too many call-outs ... like, do I really need to have call-outs in an illustration of the camera to tell me what is a strap lug, a flash shoe, or a viewfinder ocular? Is that level of ultra-basic information necessary for someone buying an $8000 camera? 

The problem is that you might have twenty entries under "Thingamajig" and an equal number under "Whatjamacallit"

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[Likaleica]

Admittedly the manual leaves something to be desired but the German language version isn’t much better than the English one I’m afraid. Having said that, I haven’t found the camera’s menu system to present any difficulties even without the benefit of a manual. Configuring the soft buttons isn’t that difficult really.

 

I've always thought they should hire you for this, Michael.  Your command of the English language is gooder than mine.  

[Jeff S]

I don't know about the S or SL manuals, but the M8.2 and M240 manuals each have every external part numbered in the front and back cover fold-outs.  If only they had the common sense to list the exact page number where those numbers are decoded (they do list the starting page of the respective language instructions).

 

Jeff

[thighslapper]

I think with the SL the best idea is to just use it ..... then dig out whatever else you need to know from the manual as best you can ......

 

Once you have decided on your preference for the soft keys and set a few profiles (I have Auto, Timer, HDR and Manual) then like the M you will hardly ever have to delve further than the set functions and Favourites .....