In the Gameplay section of the options, you can enable a 'Force Splitscreen' option to have the screen split even when the characters are close together (excluding during combat). That should allow the second player to rotate and zoom the camera.
The controller used to start the game will be on the left, and the controller that joins on the right. You can not switch which sides are used, but you can use the opposite controller to start the game. The first controller can open the in-game menu, and select Party Management to adjust which player controls which characters.
