Poll for Eyeglass Wearers

[Jamie Pillers]

Last night I posted a response in the current "Disappointed/Overrated Kit" thread about how eyeglasses and rangefinder cameras are not meant for each other. And now I'm curious what percentage of RFF members wear/use eyeglasses when using their RF cameras. Thus I've created this very scientific, objective poll (purpose of which will be determiined sometime in the future by some PHD candidate looking for a good thesis idea).

I'm also interested in finding out how many eyeglass wearers have been so annoyed by poorly designed RF viewfinders/framelines that they've given up on RF gear and sold it for rock-bottom prices just to get these torture devices out of the house. Or did you find some acceptable 'work-around'... like focusing without your glasses and posting all your work over at the lomography site.

 

[lxmike]

Funny enough I initiated the disapointed thread and now its my turn to reciprocate, well I wear glasses and its not a vanity thing, I just hate them, it makes looking through 99.9% of viewfinders a challenge, (apart from Nikon F or F2). Consequently my glasses have more scratches than a cat with fleas

 

[Gumby]

All of the above.

 

[atlcruiser]

i wear glasses and it does not really bother me.

My OM1 is a PITA for some reason....who knew?

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Now THAT is a lot of scratches! 🙂

Over the past few years I've had to buy double the number of glasses I did prior to 'discovering' rangefinders.

 

[Gumby]

Scratches are not an artifact of rangefinder cameras. They happen just as much with SLRs. 🙂

 

[-doomed-]

I cant see the 28mm framelines in my M4-P and the 35's are a challenge, however that hasn't stopped me from ruining the right lens on my glasses. I already ruined them by grinding metal and burning the coating in a few spots. I still shoot RF's anyway.

 

[Sam N]

I wear glasses and contacts about 50/50, but I've never had any problems with scratches from the ZI or R3a. I have more problems with the fact that I'm left-eyed. If i were right-eyed I'd still be using the R3a and shooting with both eyes open.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Using a .72x viewfinder for me is like... when a year later I accidentally discover that there's a 35mm frameline in there! I just hadn't hunted around enough when I first got the camera. Cameraquest has done some serious business with me, selling me accessory viewfinders for my 'super-wide' 35's. 🙂

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Yeah... I used to think I was just having bad luck buying cameras that always had haze in the viewfinder. Then I realized it was my glasses. 🙂

 

[lxmike]

Its like every three or four hundred year or so I remember to actually clean my glasses the rest of the year its like looking through a smoke glass coffee table

 

[Jamie Pillers]

OK now, hold on here! You've got to start a thread/poll for left-eyed shooters. That data will then provide work for some OTHER grad student down the road. And who knows... maybe someday manufacturers will stumble upon these scientific/objective studies and use them to redesign their cameras. And what about all those left-HANDED people out there that keep reaching for the film advance only to find they've changed the shutter speed! Dang... I think we've stumbled upon the motherload of scientific/objective thesis topics!!

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Hahaha....

By the way, I notice your avatar pic there. One of the only RF cameras I can live with... I don't even have to look through the viewfinder with one of those. Just point the thing in the general direction and blast away!! 🙂

 

[leicamshooter]

Big deal for me. I had to give up on the M3 because of it. Then I've tried donuts, stick on plastic pieces everything you can think of to protect my expensive Zeiss Asph eyeglasses. I have a thick prescription, so Zeiss lenses keep em thin.

The best and only solution is to pick up an M6 eye piece that you can use on any M camera.. This is the only worthwhile solution. I've tried them all.

 

[Steve M.]

I wear glasses w/ my R2A and can see the 50mm frame lines perfectly. Focusing is a snap too, but on my IIIA the peepers have to come off to do anything.

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Yeah... but did you realize your camera has 35mm framelines too!! Bonus feature for people that don't wear glasses! 🙂

 

[jbielikowski]

I use Rolleiflex, both SLRs and RFs are pita with my Wayfarers. However, I was left-eyed, and I simply switched myself, one week of practice was enough.

 

[Gary E]

I now realize why I like the 50/75 or 90 FL, it's the only ones I can see comfortably through the VF 🙁

I also like to use my TLR more than any other camera format, that ground glass is a hoot to use. Well if you like reversed images anyway 🙄

 

[Darshan]

I wear glasses and seeing all the 35 frame lines is a challenge (I use M4), 50 is a blast to use tho. No scratches on my glasses so far. 🙂

I like 35 view and want to shoot more of it, but I always seem to grab the 50. 😡

 

[Bingley]

I'm another glasses wearer and left eye dominant to boot, so none of that focusing w/ both eyes open stuff for me. The 40 framelines on my R3A are hard to use, and the 35 framelines on the Canon P are hopeless. Good thing I'm primarily a 50 user...