Trying on viewfinders for glasses wearers

[Avotius]

Wondering from all of you glasses wearing Leica users. A friend showed me her M6 classic which has the .72 lines and a 35 cron on the front. I wear glasses and could not see the frame lines at all. What do you glasses wearers out there do? My glasses are thin and not that strong but I guess sit a little far off my face, on occasion I wear contacts but they irritate my eyes and I can’t leave them in for more then half a day. Is the .58 viewfinder a better choice or would I be better up for something else? My lens of choice will be a 35mm and I would want to be able to see outside of the frame lines a good deal or it would be too similar to using an slr.

Picture attachment of me trying my best to find the frame lines while my friend laughed at how blind I was. :bang:

 

[Fred]

Hi,

I also wear glasses most of the time although I do tend to use contacts if going out to take photos. I can see the 35 frame but not the 28 on the .72 VF.

The times when I forget my contacts or I see a shot when I have glasses I do carry an external CV finder for the 28 that works well. Have a look at camerquest.com for information on the 35 finder. Its a lot cheaper and easier than you may think. The .58 would not work for me as I do use the 90 close (ish) and wide a lot with the 1.25x magnifier for focussing.

I used to dislike external finders but I guess I just got used to them.

 

[vha]

Had some of the same idea when I got my M6 w/0.72 finder. I think i would get a bit more accurate composition with a external finder now and then, but I never got that fare.
The frame-lines for the 28 isn´t exactly visible when you wear glasses, but then again, the 28mm equals almost the whole view of the finder, at least quite close to it.
Had some nice shots the first month of my knees and other peoples arms because i forgot to check the right side and bottom at the edge of the framelines.
But after some rolls of film you probably get used to it, before taking the photo I have a quick look for unwanted items in the corners of the frameline 🙂, those who have a Nikon FM and have glasses knows everything about it.

But if I one day finds a 28mm external finder to a garage sale price I´ll buy it, might bee needful some day.

vha

 

[Flyfisher Tom]

The 28 frameline is near impossible for me to see comfortably with the .72 mag. So I ended up buying a CV 28 VF, great construction and quality, and makes composing a joy. If you shoot largely wide angles, the .58 mag might not be a bad idea. good luck

 

[vizioneer]

I wear glasses and shoot with a 35mm, and the .58 is the one to get. I can also make out without too much problem the 28mm framelines. I have a 1.25x magnifier for when I end up with longer lenses too.

 

[matt fury]

I wear glasses and I can see about half of 35mm framelines on my M4 easily, but if I kinda peer around in the vf I can see the whole thing, almost all at the same time. The 50mm lines however are very easy to see..just one more reason for me to get a 50.

 

[John]

I take my glasses off for more than half of my shots. I padded the eyepiece with donuts from Aki Asahi for times I leave my glasses on. 🙂 🙂

 

[tkluck]

View finders are a pet pieve to say the least!
I need my glasses to find my glasses in the morning. And I only have one good eye ( the left one...) Why does that little window HAVE to be on the left side anyway?
I've always just moved my head, to "get it all in" and finished the composition in the darkroom/photoshop. Never got it realy "right" in the field, even with a ground glass.
Had cameras with diopter correction. Seemed wonderful, but when I pushed up the specs the Brylcream greased up the glasses (this was a while ago...). Actulaly tried a monical on a string (only got one eye...). Worked well but I looked like an idiot.
An external finder seems the only way to go with wide angle lens and trifocals. I once cleverly bent a 'sports finder' ala Rollei/Graphlex out of a paper clip. Calibrated it with a tripod and pliers against the external finder. Worked surprisingly well (kinda like what all you biocular people can see), but tends to get bent out of shape.
With a Fed and two Zorki in hand, and a lot less hair and dignity, I might try the monocal again.
No good answer.

 

[jim0266]

Have you tried shooting with your left eye? I wear glasses like you and I can make out pretty much all all the frame area for a 35 with my left eye. I have those flexible titanium which really helps. With my right eye I cannot get my eyeball nearly as close as with my left eye and can only make out the entire 50mm framelines.

 

[julianphotoart]

Solution: Zeiss Ikon RF

 

[Avotius]

Have you tried shooting with your left eye? I wear glasses like you and I can make out pretty much all all the frame area for a 35 with my left eye. I have those flexible titanium which really helps. With my right eye I cannot get my eyeball nearly as close as with my left eye and can only make out the entire 50mm framelines.

tried both eyes, didnt work really. Tried again today, it was a little better then the other day, could see the lines but nothing outside of them

 

[jim0266]

tried both eyes, didnt work really. Tried again today, it was a little better then the other day, could see the lines but nothing outside of them

That sounds about right for me too when using my left eye. If you get a chance take a look at a .58 mag body. I have an MP in that version and it's great for eyeglass wearers when using a 28 or 35. But these days I find myself using an M2 more often.

 

[sleepyhead]

Hi, a couple of points: First, the 0.58 mag finder is no guarantee that you'll be able to see the 28mm and 35mm lines with glasses on - it didn't work for me because with glasses on my eye was simply to far away from the eyepiece opening.

For me, the easiest solution is to "know" the field of view of the lens I'm using and to frame as best I can with glasses on and just know the rest of the frame. If the subject is holding still and i have time, I will take my glasses off and check the whole frame composition.

Good luck

 

[trittium]

I bought contacts. That helps a lot.

 

[KoNickon]

I have no problems seeing the 28mm framelines with my Hexar RF (.58 magnification). I would expect a Leica with the same magnification should work fine too. On the other hand, cameras with 1x magnification, like the Canon P or Bessa R3A, are basically impossible for me to see the 35mm and 40mm framelines, respectively, without moving my eyes around.

 

[scigeek]

I wear glasses and use an M6 with .72 viewfinder.
No problem here, but I wonder if you may be better with different frames (for your glasses)?

I also use an external viewfinder in my LTM, and it works fine.

 

[Fred]

I just found this:
http://www.unicircuits.com/shop/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=15&products_id=111

I've not tried them. If anyone has I would be interested in getting some views (no pun intended 🙂 )