The Nikon D850 was one of my all-time favorite cameras, but when I decided to go mirrorless, there was one feature that I really missed from my old DSLR: light-up buttons. When I switched from DSLR to mirrorless, there wasn’t an option with the light-up feature. Thankfully, that’s no longer the case with cameras like the Nikon Z8. It was past time for mirrorless cameras to gain the feature, though, because light-up buttons are one of my favorite features for low-light photography.
I love taking photos of the stars and the Northern Light, but when working under the cover of full darkness, adjusting camera settings is a literal shot in the dark. I can change the shutter speed and ISO on my Fujifilm mirrorless camera by feel, thanks to the plentiful retro dials. But my memory for the exact location of the playback and menu buttons is apparently poor because I usually find myself flipping on the flashlight on my smartphone, ruining my night vision in the process, to hit the playback button to check the manual focus on my last shot.
That’s why I loved the lever on the Nikon D850 that would light up not just the top LCD screen but several of the camera’s buttons as well. Now that feature exists in the Nikon Z8 and Z9, making me a bit envious of Nikon’s high-end mirrorless choices. The feature lights up not all but most of the camera's buttons in the dark, so there’s no need to flip on a flashlight to remember where the controls are.
Light-up buttons aren’t exclusive to Nikon. Cameras like the Canon EOS R1 have this feature too. But like the Z8 and Z9, these are pricier cameras. The Panasonic Lumix S1 has light-up buttons and isn't quite as pricey, but has since been replaced by the S1 II.
While more cameras are coming with the light-up button feature, the option is still a bit rare and is so far limited to pricier high-end cameras. Making the controls easier to find in the dark is an excellent feature, though, and I think more cameras need to add a similar feature.
I understand that adding lights requires more electronics inside the camera, which may be one of the reasons why the feature is so far largely limited to high-end cameras. But, I think a budget alternative may be to do what Brightin Star does on its f/0.95 lens and use glow-in-the-dark labels for the camera controls.
Are features like light-up buttons more important than features like image quality or a good autofocus? Of course not, but it’s one of the features that I find myself missing every time I head out to photograph the night sky. The light-up buttons are also handy on a dark dance floor or in a dark auditorium. It’s one of those little features that ends up going a long way in making a camera more fun and seamless to use.
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