Proper way to hold an SLR.

Hamster · Jan 7, 2010

I just wanted to start a discussion thread on the proper way to hold an SLR. It is something so basic, but recently I flip through an OM-2 manual and found some instruction on proper way to hold it in Portrait orientation.

I tried the prescribed method and was so please with how much a proper hold had improved my results.

Many of us here had went through this process of improving the hold. Some have thought about it more than others. There must be vast knowledge to be shared here.

Shawn Rahman · Jan 7, 2010

Hamster: I am so glad you posted this, because on vertical framing, I MUCH prefer to hold it like the picture you posted. I've always found it awkward to hold it with shutter release on top - the elbow being raised just does not seem too stable for me. With the way it is shown in the picture, you can stabilize the arm much more by resting your elbow on your side. But to each his own, I know.

David A. Goldfarb · Jan 7, 2010

That illustration seems very stable with the thumb on the trigger. It may be awkward to switch between horizontal and vertical that way, but I think you could get used to it.

I think the left hand should always be palm up or toward your face, cradling the lens, elbow braced against the body horizontal or vertical. The elbow should never be sticking out.

Right hand, index finger on the trigger, underneath the camera in the vertical position when you don't have a vertical grip. If you don't have a vertical grip, you can rotate the camera clockwise from horizontal to vertical. If you have a vertical grip, you rotate the camera counterclockwise to switch the camera from the main shutter release to the vertical shutter release, supporting the camera with the left hand, which doesn't change position.

The combination of the thumb on the trigger with the lens hand turned around from that picture in the OM-2 manual seems better to me than the grip as shown.

Ken N · Jan 7, 2010

I've almost always been a RHOT (Right Hand On Top) shooter. Only over the past year or two have I tried to go the other way as the photo illustrates. Why I still choose to usually use RHOT is because my left hand doesn't have to shift and it remains in the cradle position. Also, in the RHOT position the thumb still is able to operate the film advance lever without lowering the camera. A camera with a grip, motordrive or fake winder-housing shape is nearly impossible to use without rotating to RHOT.

One other thing--I'm a two-eyed shooter having both eyes open. By going RHOT, my right eye stays on the viewfinder, while my left eye remains unblocked by the camera.

As my digital camera rotates to RHOT position for verticals, it only makes sense for me to remain consistent. If I'm using an OM body with Motordrive2, I've got a second shutter-release on the back of the motordrive positioned for thumb operation by the right-hand. Inotherwords, the motordrive2 is designed for the camera to rotate opposite of the position in the photograph.

Sticking my elbow in the air is how I've done it for 33 years now and I started doing it this way because it seemed so much more natural for me and I used to shoot high-school sports with a rangefinder with thumb-driven film-advance. Doing it RHOT allowed me to shoot a whole lot faster.

DWThomas · Jan 7, 2010

Heh, reading the title, I was gonna say "lens points away from face," but like Ken N, I'm pretty much a RHOT kinda guy. Easiest for fast switching and thumb access to rapid wind lever.

benjiboy · Jan 7, 2010

I always rest the base of the camera in my left palm for horizontal shooting, and the left side where the hinge is for verticals and operate the lens focus and aperture ring with my left thumb and index finger .

Hamster · Jan 7, 2010

Any advise on how one should balance his body weight? Too often I have seen people with megazooms leaning way back when using their SLR.

Now I try to lean slightly forward as one do when operating a rifle. But I don't know if I am getting any benefit out of that.

Rick A · Jan 7, 2010

I have always tried to use whatever hold is the steadiest. I will prop myself against anything handy, sans support, I use the hold shown.

Rick

Colin Corneau · Jan 7, 2010

But which finger should I use to press the trigger?

The illustration says nothing about whether to stand on one foot or two...

Sirius Glass · Jan 7, 2010

I can hold it with the right elbow down or right elbow over the top but my favorite way and the proper way to hold an SLR is shown here => Dead Link Removed

Steve

Ken N · Jan 7, 2010

Hamster said:
Any advise on how one should balance his body weight? Too often I have seen people with megazooms leaning way back when using their SLR.

Now I try to lean slightly forward as one do when operating a rifle. But I don't know if I am getting any benefit out of that.

One foot forward, lean into it. Primary reason is that it's easier to track horizontally moving subjects while keeping the camera level. If you are balanced rearward, your camera will tilt when you pan sideways.

WetMogwai · Jan 7, 2010

I don't know why I never considered holding it like that before. RHOT is a problem when wearing a hat with a brim in front. I've always found the hat gets in the way. I'll try RHOB next time.

kozesluk · Jan 8, 2010

proper way to hold an SLR?

using both hands

Steve Smith · Jan 8, 2010

I tend to rotate mine both ways almost equal in proportion. As I do a lot of vertical shots, my negatives look a bit odd with images both ways.

Today I was using my Bronica ETRS. I had taken off the hand grip to make it easier to carry and it was fitted with a prism finder. Some of the time I rotated it so the shutter was at the top - pressed with my right hand but quite often I noticed I had rotated it the other way and the shutter had to be pressed with my left hand.

Steve.

Jeff Kubach · Jan 8, 2010

I've been using my feet to hold the camera all these years, now this comes along and messes me up!

Jeff

MattKing · Jan 8, 2010

I'm different then most.

Much of the time, I hold my OM cameras with my left hand on top of the camera, with the prism cupped by my palm, and my index finger on the shutter release. The base of the camera sits in my right palm, and various fingers grasp the body where and when they can. When I focus or adjust settings, the left hand moves to where it's required, and then returns to its perch when required.

Essentially, the camera is held as if in a clam shell, with right hand below, and left hand above. My right elbow is tucked into my side, so it is reasonably stable.

The size and layout of the Olympus SLRs work well with this. Some other cameras work well too, while others work poorly.

I can get away with using my right hand in a more traditional position (index finger for shutter release) for any shots which aren't critical, but it isn't particularly reliable.

Matt

PS when held this way, the wind lever is available for winding with my left thumb (in 2 or 3 short strokes)

PPS don't try this with most shoe mounted flashes, although a lower profile flash like the Olympus T20 or, to some extent, the T32, can also be used this way

A_M_Johnson · Jan 13, 2010

As you can see from my avatar, I hold it the wrong way. Try as I might, this is the only way that works for me. This is a Canon 10S with grip.

DLawson · Jan 13, 2010

A_M_Johnson said:
As you can see from my avatar, I hold it the wrong way. Try as I might, this is the only way that works for me. This is a Canon 10S with grip.

I'm with you.

Even thinking about trying to use my thumb to trip the shutter makes my joints hurt.

perkeleellinen · Jan 13, 2010

I use the hold illustrated when shooting with slow shutter speeds (1/15, 1/8) as I think I can brace myself better and also in cramped situations such as in crowds. In good light I tend to pull up my right elbow and go the other way.

nyoung · Jan 13, 2010

Even thinking about trying to use my thumb to trip the shutter makes my joints hurt.[/QUOTE]

A long time ago I tried shooting a basketball game with my right hand under the camera and pushing the shutter release with my index finger.

Five 36 exposure rolls later, and SERIOUS pain in the right wrist the next morning - convinced me RHOT was the way to go.

No question that motor drives, grips, and the associated auxilary shutter releases (a) reinforce the RHOT position and (b) reduce the pain of a long night's shooting.

BTW that's one of the coolest things about the RB/RZ Mamiyas and Blads - also SLRs - you hold them the same way regardless of you framing choice.

Nikon Collector · Jan 13, 2010

I hold it just like the manual says, RHOT

Laurent · Jan 14, 2010

nyoung said:
BTW that's one of the coolest things about the RB/RZ Mamiyas and Blads - also SLRs - you hold them the same way regardless of you framing choice.

Same with an EOS3 + Booster (of course, also true for the EOS1(s) and, I guess, Nikon equivalents).

With my AE1P, I'm using the right hand below when shooting in portrait mode, but using the first finger (sorry, don't know it's name in English !) to trip the shutter. Works fine for me, and does not cause stability issues.

Terence · Jan 14, 2010

Gangsta style. One handed, arm fully extended, and the camera on it's side.

BOOM, headshot.

[With apologies to whomever suggested using my Pentax spot meter that way]

Antonio A. · Jan 14, 2010

cool!
i hold the camera upright like that for most of my shots, but its even easier to shoot this way if you use a wrist a strap rather than a neck strap.

keithwms · Jan 14, 2010

Hmm the recommendation in that photo in the 1st post is no good IMHO. I challenge anybody to a long-time exposure duel with them holding like that! The thumb is our slowest-twitch and least smooth digit, why on earth use that to trigger?! Use slower (postural) limbs to brace, faster (fast twitch) limbs to trigger. I regularly shoot to 1/8 with my left hand braced on my chest, right hand on top, and not using the fingertip to trigger. That is the biggest mistake I see usually, people using the very tip of the finger to trigger, which imparts all manner of vibration. Not meant as a boast but.... the way I do it, you cannot see my finger move at all.

What that photo recommends also would make it much more laborious to switch from landscape to vertical. That needs to be smooth and quick, in my opinion.

I have a really unorthodox way to hold some very small cameras like the XA when I am wearing glasses, namely upside down with space for my (big) nose.

Regarding one-handing a 35mm SLR, Galen Rowell was quite famous for that. I can do it comfortably with a vertical grip on terra firma, but... probably not while holding on to the side of a cliff like he often did!

Proper way to hold an SLR.

Hamster

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Shawn Rahman

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Colin Corneau

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kozesluk

Steve Smith

Jeff Kubach

MattKing

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A_M_Johnson

DLawson

perkeleellinen

nyoung

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Laurent

Terence

Antonio A.

keithwms

Proper way to hold an SLR.

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