Shooting with both eyes open

[vincentbenoit]

Joe has always been intrigued at the prospect of shooting with both eyes open. The Bessa R3A, and - as Joe understands it - the Epson R-D1, make this possible due to their life-size viewfinder.

Alas, Joe is a left-eye shooter, which means he has no choice but holding the camera in such a way that his second eye is obstructed by the camera top plate.

In addition, the strong-correction eyeglasses which Joe is required to wear prevent him from seeing the 40mm framelines of the R3A.

Given the abysmal likeliness that a left-eye-shooter version of this kind of camera (or of ANY kind of camera, for that matter) is to be made any time soon, Joe will never get to appreciate the practical implications of being able to shoot with both eyes open.

So, next time you're out in the streets with your R3A or R-D1 enjoying that great "floating framelines" feeling, please have a thought for poor bespectacled Joe who'll be forever squinting his right eye for framing.

 

[jlw]

Joe has always been intrigued at the prospect of shooting with both eyes open. The Bessa R3A, and - as Joe understands it - the Epson R-D1, make this possible due to their life-size viewfinder.

Alas, Joe is a left-eye shooter, which means he has no choice but holding the camera in such a way that his second eye is obstructed by the camera top plate.

In addition, the strong-correction eyeglasses which Joe is required to wear prevent him from seeing the 40mm framelines of the R3A.

Given the abysmal likeliness that a left-eye-shooter version of this kind of camera (or of ANY kind of camera, for that matter) is to be made any time soon, Joe will never get to appreciate the practical implications of being able to shoot with both eyes open.

So, next time you're out in the streets with your R3A or R-D1 enjoying that great "floating framelines" feeling, please have a thought for poor bespectacled Joe who'll be forever squinting his right eye for framing.

He could hold the camera upside-down. Yeah, using your thumb on the shutter release is a bit of a nuisance, but confirmed upside-downers say you can actually hold the camera more steady because pressing the back against your forehead gives you a firm support.

 

[vincentbenoit]

He could hold the camera upside-down. Yeah, using your thumb on the shutter release is a bit of a nuisance, but confirmed upside-downers say you can actually hold the camera more steady because pressing the back against your forehead gives you a firm support.

You must be joking. Joe wouldn't appreciate your cynical sense of humour.

 

[Kin Lau]

Moskva 5. Left hand shutter release, and the viewfinder is on the _right_ side.

Of course, you could always shoot portrait 🙂

I'm a lefty and left-eye'd as well. I'll have to try going with the right eye a bit more this week... I can usually switch focus to either eye, but it is harder with the right.

 

[vincentbenoit]

Let's assume Joe was willing to forego the use of a 40mm lens altogether and settle for a 50 because, even with his thick spectacles on, he can use the 50mm framelines of his R3A alright.

Would focussing accuracy be impaired if Joe was to use his non-dominant (i.e., right) eye to focus, or is the use of one's dominant eye absotutely critical for focussing a rangefinder camera?

 

[aizan]

maybe at first. he could eventually become right eye dominant.

 

[back alley]

just which joe are we talking about here?

joe

 

[vincentbenoit]

just which joe are we talking about here?

joe

Are you left-eyed and bespectacled, and frustrated not being able to shoot with both eyes open? If yes, welcome to the club...

 

[tedwhite]

I'm left eyed. I've never "seen" it as a problem. I just ignore my right eye, remembering, after decades of conditioning, to move it momentarily out of the way of the film advance lever. When I shoot a handgun I have both eyes open. Squinting the right eye creates tension.

There's an added plus for being left-eyed. During police riots the left-eyed photographer gets to hide his face behind the camera body, thus making it more difficult for the police to identify him. (been there, done that - San Francisco State College - 1968).

 

[reellis67]

You must be joking. Joe wouldn't appreciate your cynical sense of humour.

Nope, he is not joking. I have a Stereo Realist (a RF for those who aren’t familiar with them) and the windows are on the bottom of the camera. This puts the camera body on my when shooting and make shooting noticeably more stable.

- Randy

 

[jlw]

Nope, he is not joking. I have a Stereo Realist (a RF for those who aren’t familiar with them) and the windows are on the bottom of the camera. This puts the camera body on my when shooting and make shooting noticeably more stable.
- Randy

And back in the '60s or '70s, someone (chief technical guru Norman Goldberg, I think) wrote a feature article for 'Popular Photography' titled "Are They Building Cameras Upside Down?"

This article summarized at length the advantages of designing a camera this way, including: no interference from the photographer's nose; steadier hand-holding thanks to the ability to brace the camera back against the forehead; and ease of use by either right-eyed or left-eyed photographers.

He wasn't joking either!

(PS - If you're right-eyed, the only comfortable way to use a Kodak Ektra is to hold it upside down.)

 

[Kin Lau]

Tried it last night with a few of my different RF's, and shooting right-eye'd takes some getting use to. I tend to keep switch focus back to my left. Shooting with both eyes open is wierder since both images are not the same size.

BTW, how many left eye'd people here _don't_ wear glasses or contacts?

 

[Roman]

BTW, how many left eye'd people here _don't_ wear glasses or contacts?

Me!

Roman

 

[tedwhite]

Me. Wear 'em when I read. Never when I'm using the camera.

 

[dmr]

BTW, how many left eye'd people here _don't_ wear glasses or contacts?

I am right handed and shoot with my left eye most of the time, don't know why. 🙂 I am supposed to wear glasses but often times don't. I'll often wear prescription sunglasses during the day. I can handle a viewfinder with or without glasses most of the time.

 

[vincentbenoit]

I am right handed and shoot with my left eye most of the time, don't know why. 🙂 I am supposed to wear glasses but often times don't. I'll often wear prescription sunglasses during the day. I can handle a viewfinder with or without glasses most of the time.

I too am right handed and shoot with my left eye. I have strong short-sightedness and am totally useless without my glasses. I scratched a pair of spectacles to death in no time using my Zorki...

 

[RayPA]

So, next time you're out in the streets with your R3A or R-D1 enjoying that great "floating framelines" feeling, please have a thought for poor bespectacled Joe who'll be forever squinting his right eye for framing.

Maybe an external viewfinder would help Joe? 😕

 

[Doug]

I'm also right-handed and have been left-eyed until recently. I had to switch to my right eye as the cataract in the left got worse, the right cataract having been dealth with earlier. Now that I have clear vision in both eyes, I can manage without glasses for the first time since 3rd grade! But the unaided left eye is better for closer objects, while right-eye vision is more suitable for camera viewfinders. So I rarely wear glasses (whoopee!) and it's become habit to bring the camera up to the right eye.

 

[vincentbenoit]

Non-dominant eye for focusing?

Non-dominant eye for focusing?

I'm also right-handed and have been left-eyed until recently. I had to switch to my right eye as the cataract in the left got worse, the right cataract having been dealth with earlier. Now that I have clear vision in both eyes, I can manage without glasses for the first time since 3rd grade! But the unaided left eye is better for closer objects, while right-eye vision is more suitable for camera viewfinders. So I rarely wear glasses (whoopee!) and it's become habit to bring the camera up to the right eye.

Good that the cataract problem got solved. Can you focus (focus, not frame)accurately with either eye? I've always thought accurate focusing required the dominant eye to be used... Otherwise left-eye shooters such as Joe could actually shoot with both eyes open, using the right eye to focus. Does this make sense?

 

[vincentbenoit]

Focusing and framing

Focusing and framing

Maybe an external viewfinder would help Joe? 😕

It could help for framing, indeed, but focusing would require bringing an eye (the left one, in Joe's case) to the rangefinder. Joe much prefers combined viewfinders/rangefinders and has always found that external viewfinders defy the purpose of a small, compact camera.