I've just worked out why I've never liked my FM3A's viewfinder!

Keith,

I had a similar problem with my F3 (same size eye piece as the FM3a) as I have had an intraocular lens implant i my shooting eye which is focused at infinity. I didnt know what power I really needed so and the local store required payment before ordering. I bought a Nikon +1 diopter and guess what ...that wasnt what I needed :bang: ...and it was worse on my FM3a.

Recently worked out that the my FM3a eye piece when placed on the F3 (non-HP prism) is just perfect.

Actually, a long story short ...As mentioned, I bought the +1 diopter previously and, as I discovered, have zero use for it. If you want to PM me an address so send it, its yours gratis..
 
I use Nikon's "0" diopters on all my Nikon cameras. The "0" diopter is actually +.5 in power. But, my understanding is that the Nikon native finder diopter is -.5.
 
Keith said:
Why Nikon chose to incorporate a diopter factor of -1 into their prisms is anybody's guess
Click to expand...

Because someone at Nikon figured out that "The myopics choice" would be a good advertising slogan? Nikons are the only cameras where I consistently need correcting diopters even though I am only moderately farsighted.
 
The issue only gets to be a problem for most people as they get older. When we are young, if we have normal vision, our eyes have so much accommodation in focus that 1 diopter is irrelevant. After 35 years of staring at computer monitors all day, my eye's focus is pretty much fixed at 24 inches. 🙂
 
I wonder why Nikon made this decision ... if you pick the camera up and you're myopic to -1 it will be perfect for you of course. Perhaps that's the global average ... or the average in Japan. 😀

My OM-1 and 2 are easy peasy and I can focus to a razor sharp image very quickly. With the Nikon I'm always hunting for that perfect focus but never quite finding it 😛

I'm really looking forward to seeing how much improvement this makes. I used the FM3A today ... I'd forgotten what an amazing little beast it is. Pity about that 'tchack' from the shutter ... it's quite a penetrating sound!
 
sevo said:
Because someone at Nikon figured out that "The myopics choice" would be a good advertising slogan? Nikons are the only cameras where I consistently need correcting diopters even though I am only moderately farsighted.
Click to expand...

Pickett Wilson said:
The issue only gets to be a problem for most people as they get older. When we are young, if we have normal vision, our eyes have so much accommodation in focus that 1 diopter is irrelevant. After 35 years of staring at computer monitors all day, my eye's focus is pretty much fixed at 24 inches. 🙂
Click to expand...

So rarther than "The myopics choice" as a slogan "The mature photographers' chioce" would be more appropriate? ... if only we could get dentist in there too 😉

PS I always thought they were all -1 for whatever reason .. read it somewhere I'm sure
 
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I'm amazed that this has never come up in discussions about Nikon SLR's in previous evil threads ... not that I can remember anyway!
 
Keith said:
I wonder why Nikon made this decision ... if you pick the camera up and you're myopic to -1 it will be perfect for you of course. Perhaps that's the global average ... or the average in Japan. 😀

My OM-1 and 2 are easy peasy and I can focus to a razor sharp image very quickly. With the Nikon I'm always hunting for that perfect focus but never quite finding it 😛

I'm really looking forward to seeing how much improvement this makes. I used the FM3A today ... I'd forgotten what an amazing little beast it is. Pity about that 'tchack' from the shutter ... it's quite a penetrating sound!
Click to expand...

Keith,

It's funny, but I have the exact opposite issue, my Nikon FM focuses tack sharp while all my OM bodies never seem to get to that perfect focus. I just checked on my Nikon and there doesnt seem to be a diopter on it, but if I understand correctly the -1 diopter is built in, so it looks like I'll be looking for a -1 diopter for the OM camera.

Thanks for starting this thread as it may have helped me find a fix to the OM focusing issue I've been struggling with and prevent me from getting rid of them.
 
My FE2 came from a fellow RFFer with a 0 diopter. My right eye absolutely loves this arrangement. I am farsighted, with near perfect vision beyond 40 inches or so. The 0 diopter apparently zeroes in the view at about that distance for my right eye. I had figured I would need a +1 or +2 for proper correction. The singular reason I got the FE2 (and I will get an FM2 body at some point) was for the easy availability of corrective diopters ...
 
gerbilthemistake, by the way, the Nikon Diopters that fit the rectangular Nikon eyepieces work perfectly on OM's. In fact, the rectangular Nikon diopters will fit a lot of cameras, including most pre-EOS Canon's (except the F1) and Pentax cameras. I use them on everything.
 
Pickett Wilson said:
gerbilthemistake, by the way, the Nikon Diopters that fit the rectangular Nikon eyepieces work perfectly on OM's. In fact, the rectangular Nikon diopters will fit a lot of cameras, including most pre-EOS Canon's (except the F1) and Pentax cameras. I use them on everything.
Click to expand...


Thank you I will have to check out the prices on them.
 
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