Hump top or Flat top ?

 

I posted a piece on this recently. Here is a summary :

Holding You would not think that the two would be any different to hold. Indeed if both are fitted with a full anatomical handle there is no difference. However all the actual flat top cameras in my experience also have the shutter button in rearward position, on top of the body. This makes provision of a full handle impossible. I will discuss this further in the next post. So considering actual cameras in production, hump tops with full handles are more comfortable and secure to hold.

Both mockups are the same size. On the left the flat top, on the right the hump top. Even with it's decent anatomical handle the flat top has less real estate for stuff. The inbuilt flash and EVF are squeezed into the same horizontal space. There is room only for one set and see dial.

Viewing Flat tops have the viewfinder top left. Humptops have the viewfinder on the lens axis, closer to the midline of the camera. For right eye viewers one might think the flat top would be preferable. In practice however, with actual cameras, I have not found this to be necessarily the case. I am a natural left eye viewer but have trained myself to use the right eye so I can appreciate the requirements of both. With the Panasonic GX7 and Fuji X-E1 I found myself squinting more than I would with any hump top camera. This was due to stray light entering the viewfinder area to a significantly greater extent than occurs with hump tops.

With left eye viewing both types can be awkward, in both landscape or portrait orientation.

Overall I find a slight advantage to the hump top provided the viewfinder eyepiece extends rearward from the face of the monitor by about 15mm, no less, so one does not have to twist the head sideways to see in the viewfinder.

Even in a medium size the hump top has more space for stuff.  The flat top on the right is wider than the hump top because it has a parallel handle. Even so the hump top has more space available. I squeezed two set and see dials onto the flat top but I suspect that would be a bit tight in practice. On the hump top I opted for two user configurable buttons in that location which gives more control to the user about which functions can be controlled from the camera top.

Operating The main difference between the two is the amount of real estate available on top of the body for user interface modules, EVF, hotshoe and built in flash. The hump top locates the EVF, hotshoe and built in flash fore and aft in a line. This frees up space on either side of the hump for set and see dials and other UI modules, be they dials or buttons. Some flat tops fit the built in flash in front of the EVF but this is possible only if both are small.

Some users may find an advantage in having the viewfinder on the lens axis particularly in portrait orientation where the hump top provides a more balanced hold/view position. Some users might also find the hump top hold/view position more secure and balanced with long lenses which require a high level of stability.

On balance I give this to the hump top, by a small margin, even when the viewfinder is electronic and could be located anywhere.