They work really well for me. My right eye optical prescription for eyeglasses is -1.75 spherical and no astigmatism. I had a Leica -2.0 diopter and have found that -1.5 is now better. Why the change? My prescription has not changed (for distance vision, e.g. driving) but as one gets older one's eyes' accomodation for focusing gets much less. Meaning that the diopter correction has to be more accurately chosen. Leica has them in 0.5 increments, whereas some manufacturers only supply in 1.0 increments. I would like -1.75 but it's not available. Go for less correction rather than more if you can't get the right value. My comments apply to short sight, as I have no experience with needing plus-value diopters for far sight. As has been mentioned, the viewfinder incorporates some value, which ought to be just right for someone with very good normal sight.
I strongly recommend trying a couple of values. Check different distances in not very good light. Used they are about half price or less on ebay.
What is your optical prescription for eyeglasses?