Poll for Eyeglass Wearers

Poll for Eyeglass Wearers

  • You can tell I shoot with RFs because my eyeglasses have more scratches than a BGN-grade Summar

    Votes: 136 43.3%

  • Because I need to wear my eyeglasses, my enjoyment of RF photography is reduced 900 percent

    Votes: 57 18.2%

  • I realize how lucky I am not to have to wear eyeglasses

    Votes: 19 6.1%

  • I don't feel sorry for eyeglass wearers because that just means there's more RF gear for me

    Votes: 6 1.9%

  • I have no problems shooting RFs with my eyeglasses

    Votes: 121 38.5%
  • Total voters
    314
If I had to vote, it would be 2 & 4. I tried all the old half way "solutions" in the past. None were perfect

Now that I age, my eyes are getting better instead of worse and I just take my glasses off. They are pretty close to normal for 3 feet which is what is needed for my Leica RF.

This is the only benefit I see to getting older, so don`t push it.
 
sevo said:
...

In either case it is pointless to post a snide poll with only a few biased choices.
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For some folks this is a non-issue. For others, the difficulties are really and something we have to live with. I started using rangefinders in 2005. Even over this short time, I'm aware that my eyesight is getting worse, and that rangefinder focusing (even with my excellent Leica M) is becoming more difficult.

But I think the original poster was venting a little frustration in what was intended to be light-hearted poll that invited others to share their frustrations.
 
I went RF as a teenager because of my glasses. Maybe I was misinformed. Difficult to see all of the 35 frame lines, but 35 FOV is OK especially in the M6. I now have a DAG rubber shield for the M2 and the M5, but before that I was only scratching the right lens and I am very left dominant. I switched to right eye shooting in the mid-90s after I bought a 35 and needed to get my eye closer to the VF. The thing about RF and poor eyesight is the positive focus by coincidence of the images. I can see all of the VF in an F3 and OM2n, but focussing is harder for me.
 
ChrisN said:
For some folks this is a non-issue. For others, the difficulties are really and something we have to live with. I started using rangefinders in 2005. Even over this short time, I'm aware that my eyesight is getting worse, and that rangefinder focusing (even with my excellent Leica M) is becoming more difficult.
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That is no different for me - I am far-sighted and approaching fifty. But my dependency on glasses does not affect rangefinders any more than SLRs, both in the focusing and in the glasses-scratching domain - apart from rangefinders more often being old or even ancient.
 
sykotec said:
the scratches on my glasses are from so many things - i hardly think cameras are a big contributor. that said, i may be selling my IIIf soon, just because it's a huge PITA to use with glasses.
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I have thought of selling my IIIf, too, now that it is now replaced by the Bessa R4M. I primarily bought the latter for its much bigger VF, and built-in framelines.

However, I can't let the IIIf go, I've gone quite attached to it. 😀
 
I have worn glasses for the last 46 years or so and find that I can focus tolerably well with any of the cameras I've used, regardless of type.
The FED 2 was otherwise a camera I liked but the VF was very hard for me to use. I could see the focus spot OK but was never sure where the edges of the frame were. The Kiev 4a I had was much easier to use, for me, even though I think the VF was physically smaller.
The Canon P is another really nice camera that I wanted to like but I just did not like the VF. And I also have used a Bolsey B2 which has a tiny VF but seemed to work fairly well for me.
And I am now mainly using the Bessa R and R2a and those are worlds ahead of any other RF cameras I have used. And they don't scratch my glasses.
Rob
 
Where's the "I have bad eyesight but don't wear glasses" option? My eyesight has gotten a bit worse in the past few years but I haven't gotten around to buying glasses yet. It doesn't bother me much with cameras, though, as a -1 diopter usually does the job and even without it I can manage to focus accurately.
 
Keith said:
A poll for eyeglass wearers with a box to tick for non eyeglass wearers ... I'm confused!

😀

Contacts are a godsend but unfortunately not everyone can wear them. I'm -06.5 in both eyes so my specs are the proverbial coke bottle bottoms ... I seldom wear them.
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Yes I think it is a poorly constructed poll with response options that are not all relevant. I might suggest something more like:

1. I wear my glasses when I shoot my rangefinders, even though I can't see exactly where the frame edges are.

2. I war my glasses, but I take them off when lining up the final composition, so I can see out to the frame edges.

3. I wear glasses, but in my case they really don't interfere with seeing and shooting.

4. I wear glasses most of the time, but I prefer my contacts for shooting with a rangefinder.

Or maybe something like:

1. My rangefinder(s) scratch my glasses, and I wish they didn't.

2. My rangefinders scratch my glasses, but that's OK, it reminds me that it's time to get a new checkup and new prescription if need.

3. My RF's no longer scratch my glasses, I got DAG's no-scrath thingy.

4. My RF's used to scratch my glasses, but I got the idea to put a little liquid electrical tape on the eyepiece, and now they don't scratch.

I think it's important for each response option to be a logical alternative to the others, rather than going off in a different and irrelevant direction.
 
My M2, M4-P, F2, F3HP, and Hassy 501CM have all been fitted with corrective diopters. My eyeglasses have a neck cord. It works very well.

I must have a brow like an ape's as I cannot use even my F3HP with my glasses comfortably.
 
exactly - they're cheap and simple, but far from cheap and simple!
I suppose it's time I learn to fix M-mount stuff, alas starting with my CL that recently took a fall from a very tall vehicle to as filthy asphalt parking lot. i've spent long enough with the 2-window IIIf that I need to remember to FOCUS in addition to composing in that luxuriously big finder.



Jamie Pillers said:
Yeah... tough to let the Barnack's go. They're more than a camera... they're a fashion statement and just keeps on going! ;-)
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Just a quick tip for anyone who shares my visual impairment, I'm shortsighted with a fairly mild perscription, but usually have to remove my glasses for looking close too, reading for example, or checking my settings or LCD on a camera. This becomes a problem if I wear contact lenses as I have to hold my camera at arms length to properly see what's going on, less of a problem with film than with digital I suppose but still not ideal. However I've recently taken to wearing just the one lens in my dominant right eye when I'm working, it's been a revelation, so much easier than constantly cleaning my glasses of smudge marks, I can now see perfectly through the viewfinder (.58 on my M6), but can easily read and see anything close too, you get used to it quite quickly. I might add I don't do this everyday, just when I'm working, but give it a try.
 
Where's the Low-Mag Finder option? Got a Hexar RF, and haven't had a problem seeing 35mm frame-lines - even without the glasses touching the viewfinder. 28mm lines are hard enough to see without glasses - my eyelashes touch the viewfinder, which is quite disconcerting - and I don't have a 28mm lens anyway: My RF experience, therefore, isn't tarnished that much. SLRs, on the other hand, are troublesome.
 
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