Monday, April 23, 2012

Handedness in Photography

Sometimes I find it irritating that all my cameras are designed to be operated by the right hand. The assumption of course is that most people are right-handed. But for someone who is completely ambidextrous like myself, and who is using his right hand for something else at the moment, like driving, grabbing the camera to take a photo with the left hand can be very difficult. I usually have to switch hands with what I'm doing, knowing the camera is designed to be used right-handed. This can make for awkward, fussy moments. I've missed photographs as a result.

What I would like to see on future digital cameras is an optional secondary trigger button on the left side of the camera body. There is no rational engineering reason not to do this. Righthandedness in camera design is supported only by habitual thoughtless design inertia and cultural bias. It would be easy to implement in terms of engineering. And it's really a very small thing to ask for.

Labels: ,

2 Comments:

Anonymous Swanee said...

Hello--welcome to the world of universal design.

11:31 PM  
Blogger Art Durkee said...

I did think of that when I was writing this, actually. You're a bad influence. :)

12:31 AM  

Post a Comment

<< Home