Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2001/07/23
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]At 07:53 PM 07/20/2001, you wrote: >To me there is nothing obvious about standing there with my camera >dangling from >underneath my right hand. >My hand is underneath it. My camera rests IN my right hand. My left hand comes >up and grabs the lens and focuses it. I drop my left hand and the camera >itself >is still being cradled in my right hand. The reason many people don't do this is as follows: If you hold the camera in the left hand, palm up so the left thumb is pointing left, and rotate counter-clockwise so the right hand is at the top when shooting vertically, the same hands (and fingers) are doing the same thing as they were when you were horizontal. The same right hand index finger is on the shutter release; the same left hand controls aperture & focus; the same right hand is near the shutter speed dial. For photojournalists, where speed is necessary, having the same hands/fingers do the same job is very beneficial. The second benefit is that whether vertical or horizontal, the left arm with elbow braced to ribcage supports the camera's weight. When it's time to press the shutter release, the right hand does nothing else, minimizing the transmission of downward pressure to camera motion. Finally, for me, when the right hand is underneath it's just awkward to have my wrist bent backwards. Right hand over the top is more comfortable, but that's personal and not technical. BTW, this is the case for all 35mm cameras, not just Leica M bodies. - -- regards, Henry Posner Director of Sales and Training B&H Photo-Video, and Pro-Audio Inc. http://www.bhphotovideo.com