CAMERAS AND THEIR USABILITY THAT NO ONE TALKS ABOUT

The social media networks are full of discussions and debates about DSLR and Mirrorless technology; fans of Sony try to bash other manufacturers… Fans of Canon try to do the same as well, not to forget the Nikon and Fuji fanboys…

The trendy blogs and vlogs are nowadays discussing the “switching from system to another” or “switching back to the old system”.
All debates and discussions are about sensors capabilities and their dynamic range, IBIS (In Body Image Stabilization), Sony fanboys are proud of their in body great dynamic range sensors and even with their capability to shoot 4k without any cropping factors or the in body image stabilization sensors. Not to forget their BSI (Backside Illumination Sensor) technology in their sensors.
On the other side, the others try bashing Sony cameras for their sensor overheating issues, their bad body ergonomic, lack in the lenses lineup, star eater effect when doing long exposures, the weather sealing issues, and so on… So most of the arguments are purely technical.

What pushed me to write this blog post is that all the debates on the online platforms are about technologies, forgetting, what is for me that comes after all that, the usability of the cameras and how we can use them. I’m not neglecting the technical aspects and how sensors can be more efficient and more advanced in some manufacturers’ cameras and the others are not moving fast enough to offer the photographers a better electronic chips and more sophisticated ones. I do need, like all other night landscape photographers, all these techy aspects.
But in this article, I’m trying to shed some lights on other features, that I always want to find in a camera (DSLR or ML).
The usability or in other words how this camera can be used the fastest way, and controlled by the photographer, the easiest way. Believe me this will make you very comfortable with what you have in your hands and it will make you more confident, and you will surely feel the joy when using your box.

Dynamic range of the sensor is very important but when choosing to shoot under the perfect light it won’t make any difference; I’m not a lazy photographer who counts on his sensor to retrieve details in shadows, I just pick the right light moment to shoot.
As a night shooter and since my camera is always on a tripod IBIS and VR or IS are not what I’m looking for, they should all be off anyway, no shake please.
Dealing with noise in my night images can be easy if you understand how to shoot, and the shooting techniques.
I cannot see myself wasting a lot of time and use Google trying to find out how to switch my WB from auto to Kelvin with non-friendly user menus with Sony’s ML cameras.
I cannot see myself taking off my camera off the tripod head to change the battery all that because they placed the battery compartment very near to the plate screw, so you need to unscrew the tripod plate to open the battery door; this is the case with some Fuji’s cameras as well.

I cannot understand why some cameras cannot do more than a five minutes long exposure on bulb shooting mode (Fuji 100 series).

Most of touch screen cameras now are very limited in functionalities they offer a touch screen just to focus, shoot, and swipe to review the photos and zooming.

Why I love my live view touch screen on my Canon camera?
It is not limited in functionalities, they are not made for only focusing and shooting and swiping photos… They implement the almost full control of the exposure settings, yes, I can use my screen to change ISO with and simple touch, yes, I can control aperture and shutter speed without even pressing any dial button right on that simple touch screen, yes, I can change my white balance without going to the camera menus by a simple touch on the back screen when shooting in live view…
I can even stop any long exposure when shooting in bulb mode by a gentle touch on that back screen. I can even limit my exposure time when using the bulb mode; let’s say I want my exposure to end up after a sixty second exposure time, I can set that time and make my camera stop shooting after that exposure time without even touching any buttons or the touch screen.

Most of the shooting settings and features can be done with a simple touch on the back screen without diving into the menu or even pushing any dial button on the camera…

Canon has offered me a touch screen that I cannot see myself using any other camera without a similar functionality. I’m not a Canon fan and I’m not bashing any other cameras, yes, I may need that Sony dynamic range sensor in my black bag, yes, I may need that IBIS when shooting handheld and maybe I need that BSI sensor, but first I’m in need of that Canon almost full functional back screen!