why are cameras built upside down? (Page 3): I learned to shoot pictures with my father's old Argus C2 and was taught to hold the camera upside down so that I could press it against my...

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I learned to shoot pictures with my father's old Argus C2 and was taught to hold the camera upside down so that I could press it against my forehead for increased stability. Doesn't anyone do this any more? To me it's as obvious as learning exposure settings by reading the sheet of paper that Kodak thoughtfully includes in its film box.

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r.reeder Loc: Mesa, Arizona

rustfarmer wrote:

I wonder why cameras are built so that you must balance the body against your nose and struggle to get your eye close enough to the viewfinder to see the whole screen, especially when wearing glasses. Turning the unit inside down allows you to steady the camera against your nice flat forehead, and the viewfinder hangs down to allow easy eye alignment. Current models put all the controls in the wrong place, at least for a right hand operator.

Back in 1939, Argus built a prototype, calling it their Argus D. It had the viewfinder on the bottom. It was designed to hold against the forehead. It had a spring film advance feature, but did not go into production. However, their Argus K, a D model sans the spring film advance, was produced, 1939-1940. About 1800 were made, so they are a little on the rare side.

Merlin1300 Loc: New England, But Now & Forever SoTX

rustfarmer wrote:

Turning the unit inside down allows you to steady the camera against your nice flat forehead,
and the viewfinder hangs down to allow easy eye alignment.

RATS !!!
After owning my 7D x 5 Yr and STILL pushing the dials the WRONG Way - -
2 months ago I FINALLY went into the software controls and REVERSED the wheel direction. Problem Fixed.
NOW I'm gonna have to learn to shoot with the blasted thing upside down and Leftie.
I don't think that's gonna happen on a regular basis (but will try it for fun)

romanticf16 Loc: Commerce Twp, MI

MtnMan wrote:

Because they never thought about it with a fresh viewpoint as you did!

It is most likely historical. The first cameras were huge heavy things without a viewfinder. When the idea of a viewfinder came along it wouldn't have made sense to put under one of those big heavy things so it went on top. They never looked back.
This may be your path to riches. Patent it!

The first 35mm cameras (Leica) were made as light meters to test the lighting of the set for silent movies. A clip of film would be exposed and processed to see if the lighting was correct prior to filming the scene. It was a box with a lens, film transport and a fixed viewfinder on top.

Brian in Whitby Loc: Whitby, Ontario, Canada

rustfarmer wrote:

I wonder why cameras are built so that you must balance the body against your nose and struggle to get your eye close enough to the viewfinder to see the whole screen, especially when wearing glasses. Turning the unit inside down allows you to steady the camera against your nice flat forehead, and the viewfinder hangs down to allow easy eye alignment. Current models put all the controls in the wrong place, at least for a right hand operator.

They are built upside down because the image is turned upside down by the lens.

I used to shoot macros and closdeups by hanging the camera upside down from the reversed central post of my tripod.

rook2c4 Loc: Philadelphia, PA USA

Brian in Whitby wrote:

They are built upside down because the image is turned upside down by the lens.

When I turn my cameras upside down, the image still appears right side up through the view finder, never upside down.

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

Carl 383 wrote:

Presumably it was because the pentaprism which has... (show quote)

What type of grip does your camera use? Mine has a second release that works fine for glasses and big noses in portrait position (for a right hander). A grip or actually a battery pack with no shutter release would make the situation worse.

Carl 383 Loc: Southampton UK

lamiaceae wrote:

What type of grip does your camera use? Mine has a second release that works fine for glasses and big noses in portrait position (for a right hander). A grip or actually a battery pack with no shutter release would make the situation worse.

It's a Sony grip.
It's just that it puts the viewfinder too low and no, I don't have a giant nose.

amehta Loc: Boston

rustfarmer wrote:

I wonder why cameras are built so that you must balance the body against your nose and struggle to get your eye close enough to the viewfinder to see the whole screen, especially when wearing glasses. Turning the unit inside down allows you to steady the camera against your nice flat forehead, and the viewfinder hangs down to allow easy eye alignment. Current models put all the controls in the wrong place, at least for a right hand operator.

Holding the camera at forehead level requires more effort in the arms, and therefore less stability in holding. The ergonomics gets even worse with a medium length or longer lens, where the left hand would be completely away from the body to support the lens. The current design allows the elbows to stay close to the body, reducing fatigue and increasing stability.

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

DavidPine wrote:

They are built up-side-down so you don't have to stand on your head to shoot...lol

:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:
:lol: :lol: :lol:

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

If you want to talk about bass-ackwards, look at your keyboard.
Life is not fair. :hunf:

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

SonnyE wrote:

If you want to talk about bass-ackwards, look at your keyboard.
Life is not fair. :hunf:

Can you say ARKI (Audio Responsive Keyboard Input)?

SonnyE Loc: Communist California, USA

Mogul wrote:

Can you say ARKI (Audio Responsive Keyboard Input)?

I can say a lot of other four letter words come to mind. ;) :lol:

(I am glad we don't have to stand on our heads to shoot pictures.) :roll:

Brian in Whitby Loc: Whitby, Ontario, Canada

There are alternatives to the QWERTY keyboard.
The Dvorak keyboard is a lot easier to use for people who have not learned on the older QWERTY. Touch typist who have retrained have increased their typing speeds by 25% or more.
QWERTY was designed to slow down typists so they did not jam the keys on the old mechanical typewriters. (An ancient word processing device.) ;-P

Brian in Whitby Loc: Whitby, Ontario, Canada

I just got an idea. Lets redesign the camera so it can be placed on the forehead and held in place with a headband.
Oh they kind of did that already; I think they call it GoPro