User Manual Critique

User Manual Critique

ENG/221

February 14, 2011

User Manual Critique

Canon PowerShot SX130 IS

I. Introduction

The user manual I have chosen to critique is from Canon Inc. for the Canon PowerShot SX130 IS camera, a digital camera with High Definition capabilities. It can shoot in 720p HD video with stereo sound. The SX130 also has a large 3 inch LED screen with high resolution and a wide viewing angle. It also has a 12 X digital zoom for perfect pictures from close ups to wide angle shots of the whole gang. Advanced Smart Auto detects and analyzes faces, brightness, colors, distance and movement, then selects an appropriate setting based on 28 predefined shooting situations. The complete manual can be found at http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/5/0300003855/04/PSSX130IS_CUG_EN_03.pdf .

II. Document Organization

This user manual has 180 pages divided into ten chapters. The first five chapters explain the basic use of the camera and the final five chapters expand on that knowledge by showing advanced functions. The first five chapters cover such topics as getting started, learning more about your camera, shooting with commonly used functions, choosing settings yourself, and getting more out of your camera. The last five chapters concern more advanced topics such as using various functions for shooting movies, using the various playback and editing functions, printing, customizing camera settings, and useful information such menus, and information displayed on the screen. Canon.com (2011)

III. Layout

The user manual utilizes a two columns page layout to display the Table of Contents and a single column format with graphics to display the rest of the manual.

IV. Use of Visuals

The user manual liberally uses visuals in the form of graphics to illustrate key points, demonstrate and explain difficult passages. They are very helpful in terms of showing what needs to be done. There are...