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Some camera menu systems are better than others. Some deliver on ergonomics. Others focus purely on image quality. But when it comes to the best camera menu system, it’s all about an easy and enjoyable experience. In 2021, we want to look at screens a whole lot less. So the faster it is for us to get to what we need, the better. So we dove into our reviews index and found out which was the best camera menu system. Which do you think it is?

Table of Contents

How We’re Ranking the Best Camera Menu System

Hasselblad

Canon

Panasonic

Nikon

Leica

Fujifilm

Olympus

Sony

How We’re Ranking the Best Camera Menu System

Cameras are all very subjective. But one thing isn’t: there’s a great reason why Apple got to where they are. Part of that is the old visionary coordination of Steve Jobs. Remember the iPod? The thing that made it so great is that you could get anywhere you wanted in the menu with two clicks. It made you want to keep using it. You didn’t have to scroll through menu after menu. It was fast, intelligently designed, and enjoyable to use. Some cameras and their menu systems are much better at that than others. A few other menu systems want to outsource that work to you by creating a My Menu system. But we believe that a camera menu system should be great right out of the box.

For the record, we have over a decade of experience testing various cameras and camera systems. That’s evident in all the original product imagery. It’s all done in-house by our Reviews Team. And we’re pulling a lot of that information from our experience reviewing these cameras.

Fun fact: Did you know that most of the reviews team are women now? We’re super proud to be pushing the boundaries when it comes to diversity.

Hasselblad

If there’s one thing that most of our findings have concluded, it’s the Hasselblad by far has the best menu system on the market. It was designed very much like a phone, and that’s the modern interface we so desperately need. Further, it’s also a wonderful menu system. Arguably, they’ve done it a lot better than Leica did with the T-camera system. So, by far, the menu system is the best reason to buy a new Hasselblad camera. But if we’re frank, this will take some getting used to because of just how starkly different it is. Their cameras have horrid autofocus issues, and the RAW files are annoying to deal with. But at least their cameras are pretty, and the menu systems are well organized.

Canon

My personal favorite camera menu system is from Canon. I, like many other photographers, spent years angry at them. Let’s be honest; there was a time that they didn’t seem to care about innovating. But their menu system was always on-point. When they moved to a touchscreen menu, it became even easier to use. To this day, the Canon camera menu system is still the best to navigate. True to the ideals, you can get anywhere you want in two taps. Plus, you can drag your finger across and go from one part to another.

Most of my work for years was done with the Sony system. But even Sony’s new touchscreen menu feels like an afterthought. This is one of the places where Canon wins a major advantage over them and anyone else. Better yet, the sections are big and very responsive to sensitive touches.

Even better, it’s nice to know that in two taps, you can easily get to formatting your memory cards.

Panasonic

Panasonic comes in right after Canon. If Canon’s interface has a horizontal emphasis, Panasonic is similar but with a vertical emphasis. You can touch and drag across the menu system, but it isn’t really as responsive as Canon’s menu system. It becomes more responsive with touch and drag than it does with simply tapping. Personally, I still use a combination of the buttons and the screen to navigate. But the Panasonic camera menu system is still leagues ahead of the others.

Nikon

Nikon, like Panasonic and Canon, has an excellent menu system. There are the biggest sections or...