Any Left-eye Switchers?

[photogdave]

Have any of you left eye shooters tried to train yourself to shoot right-eyed? I often find myself getting jealous of right eyes who talk about being able to shoot with both eyes open. Are we lefties really missing out on something here?
When I shoot vertical I can kind of get an inkling of what the both eyes open thing but trying to switch to my right eye for horizontals gives me a headache!

 

[Uwe_Nds]

Dave,
I tried, but didn't manage.

So I stick to being left-eyed.

Best regards,
Uwe

 

[steamer]

I'm completely left eyed except with my om-2 slr. Putting a lot of nose oil on my rangefinders though.

 

[Morca007]

Right handed/eyed, and I still can't shoot both eyes open.

 

[Tom Harrell]

I have always been left eyed. I have tried to use my right eye but it just doesn't work for me. Perhaps if I would try and use it more often it would work.

 

[ClaremontPhoto]

I use right eye (and both eyes open) with a Voigtlander R3, but that's only because of the viewfinder optics that make it so easy.

With any other camera is left eye.

 

[srtiwari]

I shoot with my left eye, my (not small) nose abutting the camera body. Astigmatism is worse in my right eye; never quite got used to contacts. Shooting is awful with glasses on. Thats why I love the Canon P and IVSB- even the Leicas don't have 1:1 VFs. "Almost" 1:1 (M3 etc) is no good as there are 3 images with both eyes open. LASIK seems a bit extreme just for this...

 

[rxmd]

I tried, but it won't work. The only camera where I can shoot with both eyes open is the Drug, which has the finder in the middle and an excellent 1:1 viewfinder. There it is actually quite enjoyable.

Philipp

 

[Kin Lau]

I'm left-eyed, but I can switch when I remember to without much difficulty but I haven't made a habit of it.

 

[anselwannab]

I was born left eyed, and I'm not going to change becasue society wants me to. Can't you just accept me the way I am, and not try to make me conform to your suburban, oppressive right eyed shooting ways.

Actaully, sometimes I think I have two left eyes.

I think Left eye shooting is better for lower light/slow shutter speed shots. You can get a much better forehead-nose-cheek weld to the camera.

Mark

 

[spyder2000]

Left eyed. Using my head to stabilize the camera is important for me.

 

[rover]

I can't blink my left eye so I don't have a choice.

 

[literiter]

I'm right handed, when I put the camera to my face I use my left eye. The Wife uses her left eye as well, even though she is left handed. I still wonder, however, if there may be a correlation between handed-ness and the camera eye.

When I use the Leica M, I find I will use my left eye even though my nose gets a little squished and it would make more sense to use the right.

If anyone still shoots a rifle, what eye do you use. I shoot better with my left eye, but mainly use my right eye because of the way the bolt is positioned. (No, I don't hunt)

 

[drewbarb]

I shoot with both eyes open a good deal of the time, but it really works best with a 1:1 finder. I can do it with my M3, but for critical focus, I tend to shut the other eye. I am primarily right-eyed (and right handed) but I often shoot with my left eye, too. I have noticed that if I can't find a composition I like, if I switch eyes and let the other side of my brain take over, I'll find something good. Other times, my shooting position dictates one eye over the other. If you can do it, I think it's a good practice to switch back and forth sometimes. I find RF shooting encourages me to look more with both eyes open and look through the camera less anyway. This has led me to be more flexible with how I view through the camera when I do bring it up to my eyes.

 

[photogdave]

Thanks for all the replies. I feel better now - kind of like I've been to a support group! 😀

 

[Gabriel M.A.]

Have any of you left eye shooters tried to train yourself to shoot right-eyed?

I've tried, but my brain doesn't like it. The funny thing is, I have perfect vision with my right eye, and my left needs a prescription. Looking through a viewfinder seems to correct this...or my brain seems to like the combination, who knows.

You get used to living in a right-handed-centric world. 😎 (most of the time)

 

[fishtek]

I'm left-eye dominant, but find it really easy to use my right eye when I shoot verticals, either with my RF's or with the SLR's. I tried to shift completely to using the right eye, but for some reason, I feel as if I don't trust what I'm seeing when I try to use my right eye in horizontal mode. Weird, eh?

Regards!
Don

 

[Dale D]

I'm left-eyed, but earlier this year, I had retina surgery in my left eye, which has left me with very poor vision in that eye for now. This has forced me to shoot with my right eye for the past several months, and I've still not gotten used to it. I've been trying, but it seems that I react slower and have trouble seeing the whole frame. Even after shooting this way for some months, it still feels unnatural. Nevertheless, I feel lucky... I could have lost half of my sight. I hope to have clear vision once again after cataract surgery next month, and hopefully be back to shooting left-eyed... then I'll feel like myself again!

Dale

 

[landsknechte]

I'm very left eye dominant, and nothing I've been able to do makes the slightest bit of difference when I try to correct it. It doesn't help that I have about 20/15 in my left eye, and 20/40 in my right eye. Same thing with shooting firearms. In fact, with that, it's even harder for me to overcome my eye dominace.

 

[nikon_sam]

My Left Eye takes better pictures than my Right...so I'll keep shooting that way...and I am Right-Handed...so it evens out...right???

Truth be told, I don't even try with the right eye...