Shutter button location

Coastal Scene. Panasonic GH3 with 12-35mm f2.8 lens.

 

Location of the shutter button is of crucial importance to the overall functional design of a camera.

There are basically two options,

1. Shutter button rearward, located on top of the camera body. This is the classic traditional camera location, used by millions of film SLR's and rangefinders throughout the mid part of the 20th century. There has been a recent and in my view ergonomically retrograde trend for new camera designs to reprise this shutter button position.

2. Shutter button forward, located on the handle. This has been the standard SLR/DSLR shutter button position since the Canon T90 of 1984.

Why it matters The shutter button is universally operated by the pad of the distal phalanx of the right index finger. Therefore, obviously, the index finger has to go where the shutter button is located and the rest of the hand is connected to the index finger and also to all the other fingers so the position of the shutter button directly controls the possible positions of the right hand and all the fingers. This has major ergonomic and functional consequences.

Functional anatomy Human hands vary in length, width and thickness but reasonably healthy ones all work the same way. The starting point is the half closed relaxed posture as shown in the photo. In this position the hand is ready for action. Hardly any muscle effort at all is required to take up this position. A well designed camera should have a handle and body shape and shutter button position which:

* Allows the right hand to adopt the half closed relaxed posture while holding the camera ready for action. The hand is ready for action and so is the camera.

* Allows the index finger will fall naturally onto the shutter button without strain.

* Locates high value user interface modules (UIM's, buttons, dials etc) adjacent to the shutter button such that they can be operated using the index finger without having to move any other finger. Most cameras fail to meet this requirement, which is disappointing as it is actually quite easy to achieve with good design.

This is the approximate position of the hand and fingers holding a camera with top/rear shutter button position. It's not the worst thing in the world and young people with  flexible joints might be happy with it. But compared to the grip below this one is less natural and comfortable and provides less options for operating user interface modules other than the shutter button. 

Hand position with top/rear located shutter button The photo illustrates the position which the right hand must adopt when holding a camera with rearward shutter button position. You will notice this is not the half closed relaxed position. The index and third fingers have been pulled apart into an unrelaxed, joint stretching position.


Benefits of a well designed shutter button forward position
* Relaxed yet strong basic hand/finger posture.

* Shutter button can be (but in actual camera is often not) located exactly where the index finger wants to find it.

* Handle can be designed to wrap over the third finger so the camera can be supported without the need to tense gripping muscles.

* Allows UIM's, particularly a control dial adjacent to the shutter button to be reached and activated by the index finger with no movement by any other finger.

* Right side neck strap lug fits between index finger and thumb, does not intrude on holding.

This is the half closed relaxed posture. A camera with forward shutter button can be designed so it fits into this hand/finger position (not the other way around) This is more relaxed, comfortable and strong than the position above. The index finger has more freedom of movement to operate UIM's other than the shutter button.

Disadvantages of shutter button forward position

I can't think of any. You do need a handle on which to locate the button but that is an ergonomic advantage not a disadvantage.

Benefits of shutter button top/rear position

I can't think of any. Really. None. Old style 20th Century cameras had the shutter button there because it connected mechanically with a mechanism beneath the button. Manufacturing technologies of the day did not permit a different location. Today the connections inside the camera are electronic and the shutter button could literally be anywhere on or off (remote release) the body. I have no idea why the makers of some new cameras stick the shutter button on top of the body. Nostalgia ?? Reprise the good old days ?? ???


Disadvantages of the top/rear shutter button position
* A full ergonomic handle cannot be incorporated into the design. Only a reduced handle can be fitted due to the position of the fingers. This cannot incorporate an overhang beneath which the third finger could fit. In consequence the right hand has to grip the camera by force of muscle. If the hand relaxes the camera will fall immediately.

* It is difficult to find an appropriate location for a front control dial. Cameras with top/rear shutter button and a front dial usually position the dial on the front face of the body, beneath the shutter button. But in that position it cannot be operated by the index finger without shifting grip with all the fingers of the right hand. Some makers locate the dial like a collar around the shutter button. This is more accessible but captures all the real estate around the shutter button leaving no space for other high value UIM's.

* The basic hold position with top/rear shutter button is less comfortable than that used with a well designed forward shutter button position.

* On many cameras which I have used the right side strap lug manages to dig itself into some part of my right hand, usually the pad over the base of the index finger. In addition there is no clear space where the strap itself can drape while the camera is in Capture Phase.

Shutter button position on the mockups The process by which I make mockups involves shaping the camera and all it's parts to conform to my hands and fingers. I work on the body, handle and thumb support until the resulting shape feels comfortable in my hands. I do not draw the shape. I start with blocks of roughly cut wood then cut, file sand and often fill them until the shape is right. Then after that I put the shutter button exactly where my index finger wants to find it. On none of the full featured cameras did the shutter button end up in the top/rear position. My only mockup with top/rear shutter button is the compact. In that case constraints of the very small size forced the shutter button onto the top of the body. A very small mini handle is fitted. This works but is not as comfortable as the larger models.

Summary There is no functional or ergonomic rationale for the top/rear shutter button position on any camera larger than a small compact.

Recent cameras with top/rear shutter button location The Nikon Df, all the Fuji X-Cams, Sony A7/R, Panasonic GX7, Olympus Pens, EM5/10 all have the top/rear shutter button location and they all have ergonomic problems as a result. It is my carefully considered and researched view that all these cameras are headed backwards ergonomically. In my view one of the few things Canon has gotten right in recent times is a steadfast commitment to the shutter forward configuration on it's DSLR's. Of course I think many of those DSLR's should be MILC's but that is another story.