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D4H. A mirrorless camera concept.

Industrial Design





D4H
A digital camera, designed for humans.







In the early days of photography, cameras were designed around the medium it recorded to. 35mm film cameras were rectangular in shape in order to house the two winders and a flat plane for the film frames.
Times have changed, we have replaced film photography with digital photography, but the camera design has frozen in time. All a camera shape needs to fit is a sensor.

Different digital camera manufacturers have tried and adapt the old rectangular designs to our hands by trying to integrate grips, handles, holders, neck-straps that only result in bulkiness. 

Our perception of a digital camera needs to change, so we can enjoy ergonomic designs that are made for humans




The importance of ergonomics was recognized in the portable 8mm cine cameras, where the quality of video footage was directly linked to the steadiness of the hand. 
Three strong points of contact and a vertical grip could be successfully implemented in a digital stills camera and it could potentially re-write the "minimum handheld shutter speed = 1 / focal length" rule of thumb, making low-light photography accessible to all. 









Thought process

One of the main goals of the design was compactness, with no compromises. The shape progression displays the search for optimal grip position in relation to the viewfinder and buttons around them. The user should be able to operate the camera with one hand if needed, therefore utmost attention had to be paid to the shape of the body and position of the buttons. 

Potentially, the camera could have a camcorder-like swiveling screen, but it was purposefully discarded. 








Clunky DSLRs are going to be a thing of the past. Getting rid of the mirror, the penta-mirror, and the screen reduces that camera's size to something that is slightly bigger than a point-and-shoot. 














Multi-functional buttons. Intelligently designed buttons that adapt to users actions. Click the main control dial to turn the camera on. The camera state is also indicated by the red colour on the dial - it is much easier to see if the device is off or on. Turn the dial to either select the shooting mode, adjust the aperture, shutter speed or ISO. Its function depends on combinations of buttons pressed as well user settings in the system











No screen. Just the view finder. Say no to chimping. You can review your capture through the view finder, which is a high-resolution display, hidden away from all the external lighting. 








Photography is a visual art. Hence it is crucial that the photographers find their cameras visually appealing. A camera should make you want to hold it. A camera should invite you to go on an adventure.















The prototype














































Get nostalgic with vintage lenses - release your inner geek and adapt any old manual lens to your brand new camera. After all, making it personal and unique is an inseparable part of photography.








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D4H. A mirrorless camera concept.
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D4H. A mirrorless camera concept.

D4H - designed for humans. The D4H is a concept design, a different take on a modern digital camera. Have you ever thought why most of the camer Read More

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