Raad der Wijzen maakt Europese stand van zaken - CxO

2
Varia
Testlab
For this issue of Testlab we had a look at the websites of
the following companies that offer products and services
related with Digital Photography: Canon, Nikon, Sony and
Pentax. Tests were performed on a global user acceptance
level and primarily focused on appeal, user-friendliness and
presence of defects.
www.sony.be
The homepage of Sony offers sober, stylish,
practical and not overloaded navigational
elements, where the user can immediately
decide where to go further.
From the main page, the Hot Items section
can be accessed where a complete
description of the new digital cameras is
offered. Every new series has a detailed
description of its technological features
and the visitor can choose the one that
fulfills his needs based on the information
provided. The left frame always allows
the visitor to navigate to other products.
A complete and professional section is
dedicated to the new High Definition Digital
Reflex cameras and includes a video
clip where the new features and capabilities
of those models are described
(an image worth more than a thousands
words...). The visitor can also learn more
CxO Magazine | February – March 2008 | www.cxonet.be
about the lens and accessories used in
those hybrid models. The navigation to
the different links is always easy and provides
an adequate amount of displayed
information.
Due to the continuous changes in the
world of digital photography, the site
offers an outstanding feature: the possibility
to compare all the models and accessories
belonging to the same series,
where items can be removed that are undesired.
Once the decision is made, the
site allows purchasing on-line, searching
for a dealer and browsing information
(updates, technical support, manuals)
about a specific model using the different
links that are always clearly displayed.
The site has a powerful search engine that
provides all required information and is
pre-emptive which facilitates the search.
After several minutes searching and navi-
www.sony.be www.nikon.be
4 sites tested
Digital Photography
gating in the site, the professional design
is confirmed. The links and menus offer
the possibility to learn about new technologies
in the world of digital photography
as well as making the best choice among
the current and new models.
www.nikon.be
At first glance, we are surprised by a picture
effect on the Nikon website where
the sun seems to be shining on the web
browser. The navigational elements are
lost in the decoration and it can be difficult
to find where to click to enter the
website.
The visitor still has the choice to select a
fast connection or not, which is not relevant
anymore nowadays. The load time
of the homepage is quite slow due to the
loading of some interactive pictures. This
picture gives the visitor the idea on the
latest available products in a visual presentation.
The main menu is placed after
the interactive picture and the grey background
and dark grey text colors are not
the best ones to indicate this is the main
menu. The home page highlights the tree
latest products using high quality picture
and text summary. At the bottom of each
description, there is a link that allows the
visitor to get a full product description. A
third part is dedicated to the latest news
which is not immediately visible as the