Difficulty focusing with weaker eyes

[Asim]

Has anyone found that they can no longer do critical focusing on their rangefinder?

Over the last 3 years I've noticed that i can't be sure of the two images perfectly overlapping in the viewfinder. I've had my Leica MP for about a decade now and it's getting difficult to be sure, even if I'm taking a photo of a black pole against a white background.

Otherwise my vision has not changed. I'm still wearing -2 glasses for driving and can read books only when i take them off.

Anyone else have similar experience? I've already got a -2 diopter on the body so can't think of any other solutions.

 

[charjohncarter]

Can you change to your less weak eye? I had always used my left eye to focus both SLRs and RFs. But recently my left eye was like yours: first missed focused prints, and finally realizing that I couldn't focus correctly with that eye. My right eye so far has been working fine (I hope it Lasts). On one of my older RFs I put a blue gel over the view finder in front of camera. This highlighted the yellow RF patch. Even though the VF is darker it is easier to focus now.

 

[JeffS7444]

I'm still wearing -2 glasses for driving and can read books only when i take them off.

I don't know whether it matters so much when focusing a camera, but it sure sounds like you could benefit from bifocals. Wait, don't panic! I've got Nikon progressive lenses and the things are amazing, no visible line, and they felt surprisingly natural right from the start.

 

[Hari]

On my Leica M2 I can't focus without my glasses.
With the glasses I can't see the whole 35mm frame,
often not important for quick street work w/prefocus.

 

[maddoc]

I got bifocal contact lenses just recently, they alloy me to focus properly and also set shutter dial and aperture. Wearing glasses for the most part of my life I always found them to be very obstructive when using a camera.

 

[Rob-F]

Asim, I don't know your age, but at some point we develop cataracts, which cause a loss of contrast. So it sounds like you might have cataracts. If so, the problem is not the strength of your glasses, it's the loss of contrast. The eye surgeon removed my original lenses and put in plastic implant lenses. It takes about two weeks to recover, and then they do the other eye. I see just fine now!

See your eye doctor.

Bye the way, bifocals won't help, because the eye should be corrected to infinity when using a camera viewfinder. Bifocals are for close vision.

 

[jsrockit]

After turning 41, my close up vision and my vision in the dark became a lot worse and each year it gets worse. I used to use my RF with my distance glasses, but I no longer can. Luckily mirrorless cameras came with autofocus and built in diopters. Maybe I can check out the Nikon progressive lenses Jeff is talking about... and get back in the RF game.

 

[charjohncarter]

On my Leica M2 I can't focus without my glasses.
With the glasses I can't see the whole 35mm frame,
often not important for quick street work w/prefocus.

I can focus with my glasses but, right, I can't see the whole frame.

 

[peterm1]

I too have this problem which is one reason I use my rangefinder camera (a Leica M8) less and have sold my film Leica Ms. Increasingly I have been shooting my Leica glass on mirrorless which both have more modern and in my view brighter finders, built in stepless diopters, focus peaking and finder magnification for critical focusing.

With the M8 I have mounted on the eye piece both an eyepiece magnifier (non Leica, bought on eBay) and a Japan Exposures magnifier / diopter. The latter has only a 1.15 magnification since I also have a separate magnifier as well but its advantage is that the diopter is steplessly adjustable between -3 and +1 (I think these are the limits). It works but it is still a compromise though it is one I am bound to use as I do not find it workable in the least to use eyeglasses when peering though the finder. This is the device.

https://www.japanexposures.com/shop/accessories/ms-mag-x1.15-magnifier-for-leica-m.html

In your case it may be that your eyes have changed slightly enough that it does not affect your driving or reading or even perhaps, your eyeglass prescription. But I have found that even being a quarter or half diopter off can affect critical focus when using a rangefinder (which is exactly why I bought the "steplessly" adjustable Japan Exposures device. Even so I find that while I would like to use my right eye (to prevent my nose smearing the rear screen) I get better results with my left one - my two eyes are noticeably different in their vision so I must change the setting on the diopter lens to do this because even when adjusted the best I can get it for my other eye, the left eye still affords better results. Could it be, therefore that your eyes are no longer -2 diopters but perhaps -2.5 (half diopter lenses are not made by Leica I understand).

Alternatively it is possible that your eyes are suffering in other ways - an increase in astigmatism or possibly slight cataracts affecting the passage of light. Both can affect people as they age and reduce visual acuity. The only other alternative I can offer here is to stop your lens down further to give greater depth of field and hence provide more scope for focussing error. (This is often not a desired option for me especially as I prefer longer lenses (90mm for example) to get subject / background separation in my shots)

 

[Asim]

I've just turned 50. I think it's time for a proper eye checkup.

 

[back alley]

how timely...
I just turned on my computer and set the monitor about 3 inches closer to me.
I'm 70 and sometimes even with my progressive glasses on I cannot see all that well.

 

[madNbad]

I'll turn 67 in about a month. My whole life my vision has been about 20/600, toss in an astigmatism as of late some macular degeneration and had a tear in my retina plus the start of a cataract. I use a rangefinder because of those problems. I always nail the focus with my M4 because the rangefinder is an aid. I do ok with the Sony and the Loxia lenses mostly because they kick in the magnifier as soon as I start to focus. The rangefinder still works best because it's not dependent on the viewer. It's a mechanical process that aligns the image and that is what I love about it.

 

[Godfrey]

I've never had great eyesight, worn glasses since I was in 4th grade. My eyesight is still correctible to 20/20 in my right eye and 20/30 in my left eye. I have progressives for most use, I have "computer continuum bifocals" for when I'm working on the desktop system with its big display.

I've not had any problems focusing a camera, either rangefinder, SLR/ground glass, or EVF/LCD. That said, depending on the camera and lens, I often just set the distance on the focusing ring ... it's often faster and more consistent even than using AF. I learned to estimate distance accurately a long, long time ago.

A word to anyone who'll listen: If you are in your middle forties or older, and you care about your vision, you should establish a relationship with a good ophthalmologist and seen him/her every six months or so. I've been with my current provider (Dr. George Yang @ San Jose Eye Institute in SJ, California) for about the past 10 years. George has saved my eyes from serious problems more than once.

G

 

[madNbad]

In 2014 my wife and I were on a road trip around the U.S. We were in Doylestown, PA to visit my sister when I slipped off of the motel bed and bumped my head on a nightstand. When I woke up the following morning it was like looking through a dirty window. The bump was just hard enough to cause a Posterior Vitreous Detachment or simply put, a tear in the retina. All of the ophthalmologist with offices in Doylestown were working from their office in Princeton, NJ that month. This requires a forty mile drive over either winding back roads or traffic jammed highways. The first office I visited gave me the diagnosis and proceeded to take numerous photos of my now torn retina while I silently counted the cost of each image. The ophthalmologist sent me to an eye surgeon. He took a good look and for the next half hour I got a close up look at the incredibly powerful burst of a green laser. It’s strong enough to make you nauseous. When he was finished, he explained the repair is basically like patching wallpaper. It may hold the rest of my life but it my not. As an aside, since I needed eye surgery, Princeton was not a bad choice.

 

[CLAdictic]

See an ophthalmologist for a cateract exam. I noticed over a number of years that my vision in both eyes was deteriorating. I had worn glasses all my life. I used diopters on my cameras where available. The ophthalmologist at the VA hospital said I had cataracts. Last November I had cataract surgery. Following the work on both eyes, done 2 weeks apart, I was seeing 20-20 in both eyes, except for reading. Went to renew my driver's license and the clerk asked about my glasses, told her I had had the surgery. Passed the DL eye exam, and no longer will, "must wear corrective lenses while operating a motor vehicle".

 

[PRJ]

Asim, if you are using a -2 for distance vision, that is too strong for close up vision as you have already discovered while reading. I see the best through cameras these days with reading glasses due to the vagaries of viewfinder optics. You may want to get a new diopter, or adjust the diopter to your reading distance with your glasses on. I did that with an Olympus FT. Bought some reading glasses at the right magnification and ground the lens down to fit into the viewfinder window. Voila. Other cameras are not so simple. One of these days I'll go to a Leica store and try out the different diopters. I need glasses for distance vision. Can't really get away with reading glasses while walking around unfortunately. Makes me want to go back to SLRs since those are easy to dial in.

I forgot to mention, +1.75 (off my -5) is the strength for close up vision. You are already there more or less so if you get a regular diopter it might be perfect for your naked eye and you can count yourself lucky.

Hope that helps.

 

[Doug A]

One by one, I had to put aside most of my RF and SLR cameras because I could no longer focus them with my eyes well into their eighth decade. I am now down to just my screw mount Leicas. With a new beam splitter, the 1.5 to 1 rangefinder magnification and the built-in diopter adjustment that lets me switch switch between eyes they still get the job done.

 

[Asim]

Thanks for the responses. I will get an eye check up in the next few weeks.

I was also thinking that perhaps the rangefinder is misaligned because my view through the viewfinder is crispy clear (glasses off but using a -2 diopter) except for the split image.

I think the next step is to ask my wife (who wears no glasses) to check it for me. I should have thought of that before.

 

[CLAdictic]

I just saw your post and wanted to give you my personal experience with my sight. I had been told for a number of years that I was developing cataracts. I finally realize how bad they were when looking through a camera's viewfinder. I consulted with my ophthalmologist and he agreed it was time. My eyes were done two weeks apart. I opted for glasses-free long distance viewing. That choice left me with reading glasses. How good was the result, 20-20 in one eye and 20-25 in the other.

 

[Beemermark]

Asim, I don't know your age, but at some point we develop cataracts, which cause a loss of contrast. So it sounds like you might have cataracts. If so, the problem is not the strength of your glasses, it's the loss of contrast. The eye surgeon removed my original lenses and put in plastic implant lenses. It takes about two weeks to recover, and then they do the other eye. I see just fine now!

See your eye doctor.

Bye the way, bifocals won't help, because the eye should be corrected to infinity when using a camera viewfinder. Bifocals are for close vision.

Truer words never spoken. Had cataract surgery a few months ago and you cannot believe the difference it made. Everything is way brighter and much more contrasty.