Sony Alpha 7/7R, New Cameras, New Ergonomic Problems

Photo courtesy of Digital Photography Review  dpreview.com 
You can see in this photo the camera user's index and middle fingers are spread apart. In this particular photo the middle and fourth fingers are not fully engaged with the parallel type handle. The hand needs to move up and rotate anticlockwise. But then the distal phalanx of the index finger will want to find a shutter button about 15mm to the left of it's actual position. If the shutter button were to be moved across to the left, the control dial would then be in the wrong place. I think Sony needs to redesign the entire upper handle and top deck of this camera.

 

Lure of the compact full frame camera  Over 30 years ago, my main camera was a Pentax ME Super SLR taking 35mm film. This gave a negative size of 24x36mm, diagonal 43mm. In the digital era this imager size is often known as "full frame" although in those days it was regarded as the miniature format. Cameras using 16mm film were designated "sub-miniature".

Over the years, cameras grew ever larger, adding electronic components, autofocus, batteries, handles etc.

Now we see Sony trying to re-invent the compact (full frame) camera with 43mm sensor, in the form of the Alpha7/7R.

Actually despite all of Sony's clever engineering, these cameras are still larger than the venerable ME Super.

Camera	Width  mm	Height  mm	Depth  mm	Box Volume  cc
Sony Alpha7/7R, 2013	127	95	65	784
Pentax ME Super, 1979	131	83	50	544

 Technology stuff  No doubt there will be reams of material written and blogged about the technology in these new cameras. This blog is about ergonomics so I will concentrate on that.

Ergonomics  I continue to be surprised and disappointed that giant multinational corporations with immense resources, keep on producing cameras with clever technology but flawed ergonomics. The reason this surprises me is that good ergonomics costs no more than bad and the basic principles behind camera ergonomics are not technically complicated at all.

In one sentence, camera ergonomics involves putting body parts and control bits where the fingers want to find them. Why is that so difficult ??

Sony Alpha 7/7R  I have not yet had one of these in hand so my comments are based on photographs of the camera and photos of users holding the camera.

So, what's the problem ? 

An appreciation of ergonomics begins with awareness of the functional anatomy of the human hand. The relaxed human hand  takes a posture like that shown in the photograph below. In this position, the muscles and tendons are relaxed and the hand and fingers are ready for action. From this basic position the fingers can flex and extend, close up to each other or fan out further apart. The thumb can undertake greater or less opposition. (that is, movement of the thumb across to the opposite side of the palm).

This is the natural half closed position of a human right hand. A well designed camera will fit into this hand position because it has been designed to conform to the hand, not the other way around. 

 

I expect a camera to be designed such that the right hand will adopt this shape when it is holding the camera in "ready to operate" position. Some cameras achieve this quite well. As a result they provide the user with a comfortable, secure hold on the camera, with the fingers well placed to operate the controls, provided those controls are positioned where the fingers want to find them.

Notice that there is no appreciable horizontal or diagonal distance between the index and middle fingers. The index finger is somewhat higher than the middle finger, as you would expect.

Photo courtesy of  dpreview .com  
This shows the relationship between the index finger  (on the shutter button) and middle finger (tucked into the indent on the upper handle) as they grip the A7, shown in schematic cross section. The distance between them is about 26mm, an uncomfortable stretch for many people.

 

This is the position of a right hand as it would be if holding an A7, with the camera removed so you can see the relationships between the fingers. This position can be achieved, but is neither comfortable nor natural. There is no need for such awkwardness.

 

On the Sony Alpha 7 the design of the handle and right side of the camera forces the index and middle fingers apart. My measurements indicate a separation of about 26mm. Written on the page this might sound insignificant, but in the flesh it is quite an issue. 26mm is about as far apart as many people's partly flexed fingers can separate. This means the basic position is stretched and uncomfortable. Those lucky people with very flexible joints might wonder what I am talking about but for most people this will be a real issue. The attached photos illustrate the matter  in more graphic detail.

Photo courtesy of dpreview.com
Here is one possible alternative arrangement. The index finger is shown schematically on the red shutter button with a red control dial behind the shutter button. Separation between the index and middle fingers has greatly decreased.

Photo courtesy of dpreview.com
Here is another possible arrangement. This uses a parallel handle in the style of the Panasonic Lumix GX7. In this version the middle finger wraps over the top of and down the left side (as viewed by the user) of the handle. The shutter button stays where it is now. The control dial has to be relocated, either around the shutter button in Lumix GX7 (or Olympus EM1) style or in front of or behind it but at the same height. Again the two fingers are comfortably close together without the need for undue stretching.

 

The sad thing is that there is no functional need for the layout of arrangements seen on the top right and upper handle of  the Alpha 7.  There are several alternative layouts which would work much better. I have sketched just two of these in the attached photographs. And  look: there is a nice flat area on the left side (as viewed by the user) of the EVF hump for a handy set and see dial, but no module of any kind is there, go figure.

Summary I think the Alpha 7 cameras could form the basis of an attractive reprise of the compact full frame SLR style cameras of yesteryear. I think they will balance nicely with compact prime lenses, just as I used to use on the ME Super.

But Sony's designers need ergonomics lessons if their technologically interesting products  are to evolve into fully convincing cameras which enthusiast photographers will enjoy using.