Size and Weight, Perception and Measurement

[Godfrey]

Had a bit of a laugh today. Perception is often just flat wrong.

Went to pull out the M9 for a bit of a walk and shoot, but the Nikon F was in my walking bag. I juggled them out and something struck me: the M9 felt heavier than the Nikon F. Hmm. That can't be.

So when I got home, I pulled out my postal scale and weighed them. The M9 in its half-case with strap and Ultron 28mm f/2 lens fitted weighs 2 lbs, 1.7 oz.. The Nikon F plain prism with strap and Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 AI-S fitted weighs 2 lbs., 7 oz. While I had the scale out, I pulled out the Olympus E-1 fitted with strap and Zuiko Digital 35mm f/3.5 Macro and weighed it too: 2 lbs, 4 oz.

In my hands, to my perception, the Nikon feels the biggest, the Leica the smallest, and the Olympus somewhere in the middle. The Olympus feels the lightest, the Leica the heaviest, and the Nikon somewhere in the middle.

Amazing how the perception of size and weight differ from the measured reality. Has anyone else noticed this when juggling their cameras around?

G

 

[Richard G]

Ever seen a video of someone picking up a polystyrene block disguised as a brick? In order to pick something up we have to anticipate its weight in order to apply sufficient force to stop it from slipping from our grasp. Our preconceptions about an object's fragility will also determine how we grip it and whether the contact is distributed more widely to avoid compression. Put any Leica in someone else's hands, someone unfamiliar with them, and they are always surprised by their density. I had my M6 and tiny 35mm v4 Summicron out yesterday and even at the end of the day when I picked it up to put it away I was surprised by its weight and density, being now so used to the greater volume of the M9. When I see a Canon EOS or even a full frame DSLR, I am often pleasantly surprised at how comfortably it sits in my hands, it's greater volume and larger area of contact and ergonomic layout being so different to the dense nugget of the Leica, and so not seeming to be any heavier. One of the things that makes it difficult for me to get used to the OM2n is its lightness and especially the shallowness of the body, especially with anything bigger than a 50. It just feels wrong to me. I should take it hiking.

When I had an M4-2 it felt lighter than the M2. Turns out it was by about 40g or so. I reckon a black M4-2, looking smaller than a chrome M2, should therefore feel heavier. The Rolleiflex Automat with 3.5 Xenar feels so light as by volume it is mostly air. I don't have postal or jeweller's scales to check the weight of any of my current cameras.