Which is best, many or few fixed function control modules ? An ergonomic analysis 8 November 2025

 

There is an ongoing dialectic in camera design. Is it better to have many marked fixed function dials and buttons or a bare minimum of such controls ?

Some users like to be able to see and adjust a range of settings  including lens aperture  on marked controls without having to power up and before lifting the camera to the eye.

Some users say they just like the appearance of cameras like this especially if the top plate dials are silver.

For those who generally use their camera for similar subject types this approach can work well.

But for photographers who like to switch quickly from one use case to a very different one, for instance from landscape to bird in flight, a different approach to the relationship between user and device is more effective.

Using my own practice as an example, I like to do general hand held photography, landscape on tripod, birds in flight, sport/action and close-ups. Each of these use cases requires many different settings for exposure and focussing.

The 12 parameters which I regularly alter are: Capture Mode (Av, Tv, M), Aperture, Shutter speed, ISO, Exposure compensation, AF area, AF type, Subject detection, Drive Mode, Shutter type, Timer, Stabiliser.

As to controls, the R7 uses the [Mode Dial] plus [2 unmarked control dials] arrangement.

The rear control dial co-located with the joystick is a feature requested by no-one. Even after extended use I still find this arrangement awkward and un-natural in use. I hope never to see this on another camera. 

Most mid range, enthusiast and professional cameras from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pana-Lumix, OM System and Fujifilm use some variant of this layout with 1, 2 or 3 unmarked control dials.

Several models from Fujifilm, Leica and Nikon use some arrangement of marked, fixed function dials with no Mode Dial.

Some models from Sony, Nikon and Pana-Lumix have a mode Dial plus Control Dial layout but in addition have one or several marked, fixed function dials and levers, sometimes stacked under another marked, fixed function dial.

The best Mode Dials have several Custom Modes which are configured by the user to personal preference.

The great benefit of this is we can change as many exposure, focussing and other parameters as we like with one turn of the Mode Dial. 

On the R7 when I switch from [Landscape on tripod]  Custom Mode to [Birds in flight] Custom Mode the camera changes all 12 of the parameters listed above to memorised settings for the new use case. This involves turning the Mode Dial one click. This involves the smallest possible number of actions (one) which is of low complexity (takes two fingers only).

If we are using a camera without a Mode Dial or equivalent with user defined Custom settings then we will have to change each one of those settings individually. That is 12 actions each more complex than turning a Mode Dial one click.

If we have a camera such as the Sony A9.3 below which does have a Mode dial with Custom settings but also has a marked, fixed function  dial for Drive Mode then making the switch involves two actions. That is not the end of the world but an un-necessary added complexity to the task. The Sony A9.3 camera shown here is a very sophisticated, high performance model with the most advanced global shutter sensor technology of any consumer camera available today. It also has just about as many buttons, dials and levers as the designers were able to cram onto the exterior real estate, including four control dials.  In my view this does not necessarily deliver a better user experience than a model with fewer control points which still gets the job done with a minimum number and complexity of actions.

The opportunity cost of cameras which run on unmarked dials and buttons with user assigned function is that we cannot check current settings without powering up the camera and looking at the monitor or in the viewfinder.

The opportunity cost of cameras with many marked fixed function control modules is that we cannot simultaneously change multiple exposure, focussing and operating parameters with one action on one control module.

Many cameras have a Quick Menu screen  of some kind, accessed by pressing a button. The best ones allow the user to select which items appear on this screen and which do not so as to de-clutter the field of view. They also allow us to choose which button leads to the Quick Menu screen.

On my R7 I have allocated to the Quick Menu: AF Area, AF Operation (One Shot-Servo), Drive Mode, Subject to detect, IS Mode, Bluetooth Connect.   

This allows me to quickly scan 7 adjustable parameters in one place and alter any as required.

The ergonomic utility of this type of screen is diminished by any fixed function controls. For instance On the R7 switching from AF to MF is controlled by a little lever on the front of the body. At first glance this might seem like a convenient way to switch to MF when required. But in practice I rarely want to make just that one single change. More often I want to check and adjust several parameters at the same time and the best way to do that is to have them all on a single quick control panel, accessed by one press of one button.

So when they are designing the R7 Mark 2 I want Canon to get rid of the AF/MF lever so I can move that adjustment into the Quick Menu screen.

Some years ago I owned and made good use of a Sony Cybershot RX10 Mk4 bridge camera. This model which was introduced in 2017 could accurately focus on birds in flight at 24 frames per second. It is the most capable fixed lens bridge type model ever produced, unfortunately never upgraded by Sony and now discontinued. But the camera has numerous ergonomic foibles one of which is the little Drive Mode rotary switch shown in the photo, stuck out of sight and mostly out of mind on the bottom left front of the body. I used to forget about this all the time. In regular use I find functions like this much more accessible when included in a quick menu screen along with the other parameters I often want to adjust.

My vote for the most ergonomically confusing cameras available today goes to  the Nikon Zf and Zfc. These cameras have marked, fixed function dials for ISO, shutter speed and exposure compensation but also front and rear unmarked control dials and a little [Auto,P,S,A,M] lever without Custom settings, tucked away beneath the ISO dial. Unfortunately these cameras lack a hand grip, thumb support or joystick.

So they have a plethora of controls some of which conflict with others as to function, but they lack several features which would greatly improve handling and control.

The purpose of these design choices is apparently a nostalgic desire to make the Zf and Zfc look a bit like the 35mm FM2 SLR which was produced from 1982 to 2001. It seems somebody at Nikon has a lingering love affair with the FM2 which played a substantial role in maintaining Nikon’s reign as top brand in 35mm SLR cameras in the second half of the 20^th Century. 

The Canon EOS R6.3 released this month is a good example of excellent ergonomic design, continuing the R5-R6 lineage with only minor detail changes. These cameras have a mode dial plus three unmarked control dials and numerous marked but user configurable buttons along the high priority control regions accessible to the right index finger and thumb.  The only fixed function buttons on these Canons are usually  Info, Quick Menu and Playback in the medium priority area on the lower part of the control panel and the Menu button in a low priority location on the left side of the viewfinder housing.

I think all camera makers would do well to carefully study the ergonomic logic of the Canon EOS R5/R6 line. In my view these models represent the best implementation of ergonomic design available today.

I have not used the EOS R3 and R1 although they are also reported to provide a very engaging user experience for the rather small number of professional sport/action photographers who need a camera with built-in vertical grip and don’t mind the bulky form which results.

Summary

In this post I make the case for enthusiast cameras with a bare minimum of fixed function controls, be they dials, buttons levers or some other. I understand that some users are attracted to cameras with numerous fixed function control modules.  At first sight these cameras appear to simplify and clarify the process of controlling essential exposure and focussing parameters.  But modern cameras provide so many options from which we must select that having fixed function control modules actually increases the number and complexity of actions required to exercise full control of the device.