The five best handling digital cameras of all time

Outside of technical stuff like image quality and autofocus, there are some cameras that just make you happy when you hold them. To celebrate great ergonomics, Chris Niccolls runs down his top five handling digital cameras of all time.

0:00 - Intro
1:14 - Number 5
2:53 - Number 4
4:15 - Number 3
5:47 - Number 2
7:35 - Psych!
8:08 - Number 1
10:23 - The wrap

Rental equipment provided by The Camera Store
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[MacSilvey]

The Panasonic G9 is one of the best I've ever held. If I could have the lovechild of a G9 (video specs, stabilization, ergonomic, menus) with the sensor, low light abilities, and autofocus of a Sony a7iii I would never need another camera.

[oliverdecker]

I also love the Pentax K1. A few years ago I went to a camera shop and tried several DSLR and the one which fitted like a glove was the K1. Magnificent engineering by people who love photography - that's my impression anyway.

[sumitkar]

As a Pentax shooter - Thanks for the K1 love. It is truly an amazingly intuitive, ergonomic, weather sealed and rugged body. For that matter, all Pentax cameras are great in the hand

[Chotwink]

I personally thought the Gameboy Camera was the most comfortable and ergonomic. No other camera both takes photos and plays games all in one!

[RichardBiederman]

My Panasonic G85 is basically perfect. Just feels great in my hand and all controls are where I want them to be.

[marcjones]

My favorite is the Olympus em1 mk3, the grip is perfect for my hand. I'm still not crazy about the on off switch placement, but otherwise it's great.

[BryanSchultzitis]

My favorite camera I've used as far as ergonomics/usability goes is hands down the Lumix G9

[shred]

Yeh I agree on the Pentax K-1. It’s been about a few years now and it’s big and heavy but it just feels right. So much control, so customise-able, so right. I also own a couple of Fujis and an Olympus but I always feel like too many things miss with them and when I go back and pick up my K-1 ii it’s just so good. Actually I like the budget K-70 better than them too

[fuzzytalz]

For years, I relied on a D750 for professional and personal use and absolutely agree it’s a great-handling camera. I currently use a Canon EOS R5 for virtually everything because, in addition to phenomenal image quality, it is a joy to handle (and it provides access to some of the best lenses for 35mm format I’ve ever used). Overall, I think your choices on spot-on. As usual, I enjoyed the video; keep them coming!

[stuartcarden]

I used to be a Pentax shooter and to my mind nothing has come close to the K-3 series in terms of handling. Everything was exactly where it needed to be. Back button focusing was a joy and the grip was fantastic. I moved to Nikon and although they design great camera bodies too, the K-3 was something a little bit special.

[petervanriet]

I'm completely Nikon Z and loving it. But at some point I switcht from a D610 to a D750. And that was a big difference. With the D610 there were some 'pressure points' that gave me slight bruising in my hand after an intense day of shooting. No such problems with the D750.

[cheekymonkey]

Runner-up for me is the Panasonic G9 for video and sports photography.
My #1 is the Pentax K1.
Would love to be able to afford a Sony A7IV or Canon R5 but for now the Pentax K1 feels like making love.

[NBPT]

I vote in the affirmative and think you guys should do more videos like this. Initial reviews are great but a lot of camera shoppers want to know what it's like to live with the camera day in and out. This was a great start because handling, menus, reliability and many other things create the overall experience; good or bad....

[danbuchman]

Most comfortable… Olympus EM1 ii. It’s the right size, does everything I want. If I want bokeh, I shoot film with m42 mount lenses.
For full frame digital, the Canon 6D. It’s the right size and not to heavy (light equals comfort). I really don’t care about megapixels, 20 is fine for 99% of my hobby (yes, I don’t shoot photos for money, I do it for fun. ✌️

[MarkStCyr]

Lumix G9 is the best I've ever used in terms of ergonomics, feels, intuitiveness, weight, build, handling.

[fabian]

For me, my old trusty Panasonic G7 is still the most comfortable camera i've used. Lots of customizability, enough function buttons, very light, but still enough of a decent grip. As nice as larger camera's can feel, to me the heaviness just brings it down a lot, making me enjoy taking the G7 around much more for casual trips around - as long as the conditions don't get too harsh.

[exif]

Best camera for every day use: Fuji X100V, best ergonomics: Olympus E-M1X with 12-100/4Pro ;-) And the best thing of this cameras is: Both are mine.

[youknowwho]

I'll be honest - I've changed my mind on this one a fair bit. I used to say that the D500 is my all time favourite camera to hold, but by now I've tested bodies with so many different form factors ... I really think it's all just what you're used to. Recently had an a7 IV in, then went back to my Nikon DSLRs. Both switches feel wrong at first, but are fine after an hour.

[jameskeener]

GENIUS! You are a genius. You picked the correct camera as number one, but more important, you picked it for the right reasons. It's organic. How do you like that for a one word description? I had given up photography due to age, being unable to carry the big 1Ds and super telephotos and to stand for long times to get birds, and then storms. So I gave up. Then I thought, why not make photographs at home of various subjects. I started with flowers. A great solution. So. I needed a camera for an old man. If an old person can use a device, it's useable. The essential elements must be easily accessible. The R5 is that in spades. Tapping the Mode button, then that sweet touch screen to select custom settings, and using the Info button to get to refinements is intuitive. And intuitive is necessary. The R5 solves so many handling *and* usability issues for me that I was amazed. And the number one big deal? Ease of focus and ease of managing the focus process. Thanks for your brilliant comments.

About future list videos? If it feels natural, not as part of a production process, but as providing timely information. YMMV.

[MrBobthened]

Panasonic G9 is in my opinion one of the best handling cameras available. The menus make sense, the buttons and dials are in logical places, and it’s so customisable. Basically every button/dial can be customised to do basically anything you want!

I’ve tried a Nikon D750 and the G9 is far far far better handling.