p.1 #1Shooting in the Dark Made Me Really Miss Illuminated Buttons
I took my Nikon Zf to a nighttime event at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It was pitch black, with basically just the Halloween pumpkins providing light, and I struggled way more than I expected just trying to find the buttons on the camera.
Yes, I know... learn the controls and let muscle memory do the rest. Fair enough. But it’s 2026. Why are illuminated buttons still reserved for higher-end “pro” cameras? And I’m not just picking on Nikon here. My Fuji X100VI has the exact same problem.
Maybe I’m expecting too much, but am I the only one who thinks illuminated buttons should be more common by now? Is there a good reason manufacturers don’t include them more often?
p.1 #2Shooting in the Dark Made Me Really Miss Illuminated Buttons
My Nikon D850 has illuminated buttons, and I've always appreciated that feature. My Sony a7R V doesn't, despite being a much newer and more expensive camera. It's one of those little things Nikon got right years ago. You'd think by late 2026 this would be standard on cameras costing thousands of dollars.
p.1 #3Shooting in the Dark Made Me Really Miss Illuminated Buttons
ramesesthe2nd wrote:
I took my Nikon Zf to a nighttime event at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It was pitch black, with basically just the Halloween pumpkins providing light, and I struggled way more than I expected just trying to find the buttons on the camera.
Yes, I know... learn the controls and let muscle memory do the rest. Fair enough. But it’s 2026. Why are illuminated buttons still reserved for higher-end “pro” cameras? And I’m not just picking on Nikon here. My Fuji X100VI has the exact same problem.
Maybe I’m expecting too much, but am I the only one who thinks illuminated buttons should be more common by now? Is there a good reason manufacturers don’t include them more often?...Show more →
It is ironic that you're asking for more tech features on two of the most "retro" cameras.
I prefer to work entirely inside the viewfinder. I'm not sure about Nikon, but Sony, Fuji and OM all have some version of a "quick" menu that can be customized to display whatever controls you prefer on the LCD or inside the viewfinder. You only need to know where the "Q" button is and then navigate with a touchscreen, pad or joystick.
p.1 #4Shooting in the Dark Made Me Really Miss Illuminated Buttons
ramesesthe2nd wrote:
Maybe I’m expecting too much, but am I the only one who thinks illuminated buttons should be more common by now? Is there a good reason manufacturers don’t include them more often?
I was excited that the a7Rvi got illuminated buttons. But as it turns out I never use them and have since reassigned the button to other functions. (I -am- pretty familiar with the buttons, so rarely look at them when shooting.)
p.1 #5Shooting in the Dark Made Me Really Miss Illuminated Buttons
I think the root of the problems is in the buttons, not whether these are illuminated or not.
The conventional approach adopted by Sony as an example is to have many customizable buttons and dials on the body and a relatively useless PASM dial.
The other approach that I see with the GFX100S II, for example, is to have a limited number of buttons together with the PASM dial that has 6 custom sets of saved settings. The latter feature allows fast switching between different shooting modes (landscape -> portraits, portraits -> perched bird photography, perched birds -> BIF, or abundant light to low light, etc.) without pushing any buttons. The Q button can be used indeed to switch (although rarely needed) between, e.g. mechanical and EFC shutter or switch from A-priority to S-priority.
My preference is to go one step further and completely remove the A, S, P, M etc. markings from the PASM dial, to make this dial display only the custom saved sets of settings. When switching from A to S to M etc. mode is needed, this can be done through the Q button (or a similar implementation).
p.1 #6Shooting in the Dark Made Me Really Miss Illuminated Buttons
ramesesthe2nd wrote:
I took my Nikon Zf to a nighttime event at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It was pitch black, with basically just the Halloween pumpkins providing light, and I struggled way more than I expected just trying to find the buttons on the camera.
Yes, I know... learn the controls and let muscle memory do the rest. Fair enough. But it’s 2026. Why are illuminated buttons still reserved for higher-end “pro” cameras? And I’m not just picking on Nikon here. My Fuji X100VI has the exact same problem.
Maybe I’m expecting too much, but am I the only one who thinks illuminated buttons should be more common by now? Is there a good reason manufacturers don’t include them more often?...Show more →
I think that having the option to illuminate (at least some) buttons would be useful, though at least getting illumination on panels that show exposure and related info is a good start. (I would not want buttons or displays like that illuminated by default — both because that take some battery power and because there are times when I don’t want additional light.)
Fortunately, once I use a camera a lot the location and function of most buttons becomes intuitive.
One reason that companies might hesitate to illuminate too many buttons is that it increases the costs of those buttons. (I had a friend once who built and sold some specialized music technology, and I’ll never forget him explaining to me how the costs of things like that add up.) In addition, that would require some additional internal wiring.
p.1 #7Shooting in the Dark Made Me Really Miss Illuminated Buttons
jeffbuzz wrote: ramesesthe2nd wroteI took my Nikon Zf to a nighttime event at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It was pitch black, with basically just the Halloween pumpkins providing light, and I struggled way more than I expected just trying to find the buttons on the camera.
Yes, I know... learn the controls and let muscle memory do the rest. Fair enough. But it’s 2026. Why are illuminated buttons still reserved for higher-end “pro” cameras? And I’m not just picking on Nikon here. My Fuji X100VI has the exact same problem.
Maybe I’m expecting too much, but am I the only one who thinks illuminated buttons should be more common by now? Is there a good reason manufacturers don’t include them more often?It is ironic that you're asking for more tech features on two of the most "retro" cameras.
I prefer to work entirely inside the viewfinder. I'm not sure about Nikon, but Sony, Fuji and OM all have some version of a "quick" menu that can be customized to display whatever controls you prefer on the LCD or inside the viewfinder. You only need to know where the "Q" button is and then navigate with a touchscreen, pad or joystick.
Is it ironic? “Retro” is just a styling exercise. Neither the X100VI nor the Nikon Zf is truly a retro camera. I have cheap keyboards and electronics with illuminated buttons, so I don’t see why that should be considered a “pro” feature on a camera.
To me, illuminated buttons are simply a usability feature that should be on all cameras. They wouldn’t alter the retro design in any meaningful way. When you need them in the dark, they’re there. During the day, you wouldn’t even notice them.
p.1 #8Shooting in the Dark Made Me Really Miss Illuminated Buttons
ramesesthe2nd wrote: jeffbuzz wroteramesesthe2nd wroteI took my Nikon Zf to a nighttime event at the Chicago Botanic Garden. It was pitch black, with basically just the Halloween pumpkins providing light, and I struggled way more than I expected just trying to find the buttons on the camera.
Yes, I know... learn the controls and let muscle memory do the rest. Fair enough. But it’s 2026. Why are illuminated buttons still reserved for higher-end “pro” cameras? And I’m not just picking on Nikon here. My Fuji X100VI has the exact same problem.
Maybe I’m expecting too much, but am I the only one who thinks illuminated buttons should be more common by now? Is there a good reason manufacturers don’t include them more often?It is ironic that you're asking for more tech features on two of the most "retro" cameras.
I prefer to work entirely inside the viewfinder. I'm not sure about Nikon, but Sony, Fuji and OM all have some version of a "quick" menu that can be customized to display whatever controls you prefer on the LCD or inside the viewfinder. You only need to know where the "Q" button is and then navigate with a touchscreen, pad or joystick.Is it ironic? “Retro” is just a styling exercise. Neither the X100VI nor the Nikon Zf is truly a retro camera. I have cheap keyboards and electronics with illuminated buttons, so I don’t see why that should be considered a “pro” feature on a camera.
To me, illuminated buttons are simply a usability feature that should be on all cameras. They wouldn’t alter the retro design in any meaningful way. When you need them in the dark, they’re there. During the day, you wouldn’t even notice them.
The Sony a7R VI illuminates some of the back panel buttons but it serves no purpose to me. The buttons I use most frequently are muscle memory and identifiable by size and shape like the large AF-ON and the small Fn near the joystick. Illuminating the custom buttons doesn't really help me because I usually forget what I've customized them to do. A truly useful feature for me would be e-ink button labels that would show the current custom settings.
p.1 #9Shooting in the Dark Made Me Really Miss Illuminated Buttons
I disabled that a7rVI light button and assigned it to something else. I never missed it on the a7rV either.
One of the main advantages of a MILS is to see all the settings in the EVF so you don't miss actions of the subjects under investigation by lowering the camera.