What Is the Best-Handling Camera of All Time?

We often get quite caught up in the headline-grabbing specs of cameras — things like sensor resolution, burst speed, autofocus, and more. However, one thing you will not find on a spec sheet but that can have a huge impact on your quality of life is a camera's handling. Which cameras have been the best? This neat video discusses five top choices. 

Coming to you from DPReview TV, this great video discusses five of the best-handling cameras ever. While I certainly have not been able to try every camera ever made, I have been lucky to try out a lot of them, and by far, my favorite has been the Canon 1D series. 1D cameras have very ergonomic designs that fit deep in your hand, and the control placement is just about as close to ideal as you can get, at least in my opinion, plus the vertical grip duplicates all the important controls exactly. Add in the nicely textured material, and they are simply a joy to use. I am especially fond of them because I have particularly long fingers, and I often have to grip smaller camera by my fingertips and tuck my pinky finger underneath, which isn't particularly comfortable or stable. Check out the video above for the full rundown.

Alex Cooke's picture

Alex Cooke is a Cleveland-based portrait, events, and landscape photographer. He holds an M.S. in Applied Mathematics and a doctorate in Music Composition. He is also an avid equestrian.

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8 Comments

You say that the Canon D1 fits best in your hand. But my hands just have another shape. 25 years ago, I had to make a choise,
there were at the time 3 conpatitors, Canon, Nikon and Minolta. I tried the three, and for me (my hands) the Nikon was the best.
Afterwards ..... Once Nikon, you don't change easy.

To me the Nikon F100 is the best handling camera, and the D700 one of the best digital

The first camera I owned that fell at home in my hands was the Canon Ftb, I'd owned quite a few before that, the next one was the Canon Pelix QL and quite a few years later I got the Olympus OM 1, that was to me made for my scrawny mitts. I've had a few since then but in the digital domain my present Olympus OM-D E-M5 II takes the prize. As I got older I noticed the need for smaller, lighter cameras that I could curl my fingers around without having ti worry about stretching for the shutter button.

First SLR and all-time favorite for me is the Canon FTb-n with the FD 50 f1.4. I carried this nearly everyday in high school. But the camera that I'm now most comfortable with is the 1Dx series, particularly with the 70-200 f2.8 II lens. Ergonomics is fantastic for both body and lens, particularly with customizable buttons on the body and a zoom ring that can easily be navigated through its entire range with one movement of the thumb.

This is such a subjective topic. I found the Sony cameras in hand feel so off putting that even with all the good things that their cameras do, I could not own one. I use a 5DIV with grip and it's just right. I also find the 1Dx series better, but my camera piggy bank keeps me where I'm at. :-) No right or wrong here, that's for sure.

Very good choices for sure. I agree with most of them. I would include the Leica R8, Nikon F5 (I know it's film), and Pentax K1. Please name a few more.

Maybe cameras are getting smaller because the manufacturers have woken up to the fact that many photographers are women and some of the older giant cameras are too big and too heavy for our hands. What may suit a man with big hands and long fingers may be totally impractical for a woman with small hands. Perhaps cameras should come in two sizes like iPhones?

There are a lot of options when it comes to camera size. Probably more on the smallish side than the larger side. But, cameras in two sizes? Looking at it from a business side, probably not feasible because there are so many size choices already.

Lotsa' photographers switched to Sony from Canon and Nikon because Sony makes smallish FF cameras. In my case, Sony made it pretty clear that they didn't want me as a customer because as you mentioned, there are those of us with larger hands and the Sony feels like a toy in my hands. But, it's subjective for sure.