[hjoseph7]

If you look at older SLR cameras they had a left side and a right side which made it easier to hold the camera while taking pictures. These days, manufacturers/designers seem intent to obviate the left side the camera which makes it easier for your fingers to get involved with the lens. Even the K-1 seems to be lacking a left side which makes the camera look somewhat unbalanced. What is the purpose of this design other than to garner awards at the Paris design shows ?

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Last edited by hjoseph7; 05-20-2017 at 03:11 PM.

[Kunzite]

The left side was a form follow function situation with the old SLRs: it would hold the film canister. That's obviously not needed with DSLRs.
And you're not supposed to hold the camera with your left - instead, support the camera&lens, or lens if it's a larger one.

[monochrome]

The analog to the film canister is the battery, now housed in the right-hand grip.

[hjoseph7]

Leica cameras still have the left side

[Kunzite]

The analog to the film canister is the battery, now housed in the right-hand grip.

Not quite - on the right side, there was the film take-up spool.

[hjoseph7]

You forgot to include this one Leica M10 Digital Rangefinder Camera (Silver) 20001 B&H Photo

Seriously what is the purpose of eliminating the left side. Olympus tried it and it didn't work.!

[MarkJerling]

Seriously what is the purpose of eliminating the left side. Olympus tried it and it didn't work.!

Most people hold the camera with their right hand and support the lens (and zoom) with their left hand. Extending the camera, unnecessarily to the left would serve no practical purpose.

Many film bodies had much less bulk to the left. See, for instance, the Pentax SFX which is a joy to hold. See also the Z10. Even the K1000 had more body to the right than the left. The SFX and Z-10 both have deep grips which make them much nicer to hold than the K1000

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[dms]

I recently used a K1000 with a moderately long FL (135 mm f/2.5) for some of my theatre work, and holding it was pretty terrible (not something I remembered!) compared to my Pentax dslrs. The extra real estate on the left side was not helpful.

[hjoseph7]

The Olympus E-10 was a great camera but what was the purpose of cutting it in half other than to walk to Paris ? Archived Products &gt E-10

[E-man]

I think the two-sided grip is a bad habit many people learned when handling instamatic cameras back in the day. When I was shopping for my Minolta X-570 almost 35 years ago, I picked the camera up with a hand on each side and the salesman quickly corrected my grip, explaining that the left hand should support the lens and holding it that way also enabled one to focus and shoot without taking the left hand off the camera. Holding the camera by the left side to shoot the picture requires one to move the left hand from the lens to the side of the camera before shooting, which is not only awkward but requires one to compose the shot all over again. After that one lesson, I never held the camera by both sides again.

[ramseybuckeye]

The first thing the professor told us in a photojournalism class back in 1975 was how to hold a camera. "Your left hand goes under the lens for support, not on the camera, and hold you arms as tight to your body as you can." Arms against the body is seemingly forgotten by most photographers also.

[leekil]

Right, you are supposed to hold the lens with your left hand in both the DSLR and film SLR case.

...though, screw-drive autofocus lenses with a rotating barrel kind of make that a little less easy to do.

[Madaboutpix]

Other posters have already pointed out the implications of the switch from analogue to digital and of steadying technique.

Also, "obviated" or "eliminated" strike me as a bit exaggerated. "Trimmed down" would be more accurate, perhaps. Mode dial, Playback and AE Metering/Delete buttons - there are still some major controls located on that left side of my K-3. Which remains, along with the K-7 I owned before it, one of the most comfortable cameras to hold and operate that I've ever used. Form following function, for the most part. That may actually help to win design awards.

[Kunzite]

IMO the K10D/K20D had the right amount of "left side" - just enough for holding the camera when chimping and changing settings.
When shooting, of course, you'd support the lens with your left.

[Skodadriver]

A reduction in the left side of the camera can lead to people with large noses being more comfortable with putting their right eye to the viewfinder.
It works for me....what can I do without resorting to rhinoplasty?