Dioptric adjustment

[Melrose]

First time I have ever posted on this forum. I posted this message in Digital Cameras and Equipment section but received no reply.So thought I would post here instead. Hope you can help me.
Canon dioptric adjustment
I am getting rather ancient and find that the dioptric adjustment on my Canon 7d has to be turned fully to max. That is fully to the right. I believe that the range on the fitted standard dioptric adjustment is -3 (left) to fully right at +1. As a replacement adjustment lens is fairly expensive I would like to get the "right" one for me first time. A logical choice, it would seem, would be to get the Canon dioptric adjustment lens +2 Eg.
Perhaps some knowledgeable person could tell if this is right?
I would appreciate a reply from someone who dealt with this problem and knows the answer.
Regards to everyone,
Alan

[jcuknz]

I don't know how expensive these things are were you are ... wherever you are, it does help sometimes to know roughly where in the world somebody is to tailor and answer to their needs and benefit ... but here faced with this problem I would go to our nationwide discount chain store [Warehouse] and buy myself a pair of two dioptre plastic reading glasses. These are $9.99 or $15.99 depending on size over here [ roughly US$7/13 ] and since they are plastic can be easilly cut and sanded to fit the camera viewfinder. If suitable a small touch of CR glue on one edge so it is fixed until you need to change. CR Glue loves to spread across plastic faces so just a small drop. They do scratch quite easilly but out of a pair of $10 glasses there should be enough material for perhaps four glasses which could last you quite awhile. I have had cataract operations so fortuneately at the moment am within the range provided for. I have used these plastic glasses extensively for various purposes if not exactly to fix your problem.
If you do not want to modify your camera in this way then just wearing the glasses should tell you if the idea is the answer for you .... perhaps just take your camera to a drugstore/chemist who sells them and check them out... you might not need 2 dioptre and find a lesser power worked for you. Remember also that close-up lenses can be stacked for greater power.

[Colin Southern]

Hi Alan,

I never really understand these things to be honest, but I'm betting that an optician would -- perhaps it's worth while popping in to see one and ask them the same question?

[Geoff F]

Correct setting of this item really makes a difference for me when manual focusing macro lenses. Maximum then back a little bit seems to work best.

That little adjusting wheel is very fiddly though.

[Melrose]

Thanks Geoff. Agree, everything is a bit fiddley around the adjuster.
Nobody seems to understand what to do when, like me, they get to that maximum point.Quite well-known stores' assistants have absolutelly no clue of which one should be bought.
I am hoping that this means that no one is getting older nowadays!
Most guys in those shops advise me to go the my optician.

I'll sort it somehow.
Regards
Alan

[Colin Southern]

All I can think to add is that I find it's essential to look at the viewfinder digital info when adjusting it - not the image.

It's a pain though, because I like things to be clear, and for me that means glasses off looking through the viewfinder - glasses on looking at camera settings - and glasses off looking at the scene.

Most adjustments I now just do by feel.

[Melrose]

Hi Colin.
You're right.When adjusting the diopter dial it is the digital info that needs to be clear.( I'm learning slowly about this).It sounds as though I'm pretty lucky really. I don't need specs to look at the image or the v.f. digital info. It's just that I know that I'm at the max of the diopter adjustment value and will obviously be needing to step this up in the near future.
I keep getting told to seek my optician's advice.
Regards
Alan

[Geoff F]

All I can think to add is that I find it's essential to look at the viewfinder digital info when adjusting it - not the image.

It's a pain though, because I like things to be clear, and for me that means glasses off looking through the viewfinder - glasses on looking at camera settings - and glasses off looking at the scene.

Most adjustments I now just do by feel.

Then your glasses fall on the ground and get trampled. Been there, done it, just use cheap supermarket glasses for that sort of thing now.

[Colin Southern]

Then your glasses fall on the ground and get trampled. Been there, done it, just use cheap supermarket glasses for that sort of thing now.

I have mine permanently hanging around my neck. Oh the joys of getting old

[jcuknz]

Since professionals usually charge and I wondered if Melrose was counting his pennys ready for retirement my thoughts were a cheap way to work out what he needs. Subsequent messages suggest to me that he doesn't need two dioptre so checking out in a freindly drugstore/chemist/discount store would be a good place to start ... the second part of my orginal message ...
To me it sounds like a very elementary need to change the 'close-up lens' that one finds on the back of the viewfinder and the rules for CU lenses apply here as in front of the camera lens. If we are getting things back to front then the plus dioptre glasses will not work and he needs to bite the bullet and fingers crossed an opticain will be able to help .... though when I went to my opticians with a problem they simply said it couldn't be done ... which I subsequently found was rubbish. I appreciate that Melrose like a lot of people may not be a DIYer like myself. Such as when I mounted a lens over the shutter/aperture readout of my Rollieflex and another over the ground glass screen to save the on-off-on business with glasses.

Colin ... have you considered flip-up glasses which modellers use, which might be quicker/easier than the glasses on-off-on routine .... except when up they might stop you looking through the viewfinder.

[Colin Southern]

Colin ... have you considered flip-up glasses which modellers use, which might be quicker/easier than the glasses on-off-on routine .... except when up they might stop you looking through the viewfinder.

Hi John,

It's a thought (thanks for that) - they'd probably spend more time up than down though, which might look a bit strange throughout my day.

It's not a big problem though to be honest - and I've always got my bifocals to fall back on. Just wish variable focus glasses worked for me

[drjuice]

Hi, Melrose -

To get things set up right, I actually took my brand new a700 with me to my ophthalmologist and he helped me get it set up properly. Then, I counted the clicks from the right "end" of the knob and also from the left end. Next, I noted down both the click values by the diopter instructions in my camera's user manual. So, if I'm ever in a situation where the image looks "wrong" when I look through the lens without my glasses, I know where the data are and just have to open up my notebook to the appropriate page. (Actually, I have about a gazillion notes in the margins!)

FYI - I have a .pdf of my user manual printed out on 8.5x11 paper and in a 3-ring notebook which gives me gigantic margins to write notes.

v

[Andrew1]

As far as photography equipment goes I wouldn't consider the $17 - $45 list price from Canon for Dioptric correction lenses to be expensive. Go with the manufacturers solution.

[drjuice]

As far as photography equipment goes I wouldn't consider the $17 - $45 list price from Canon for Dioptric correction lenses to be expensive. Go with the manufacturers solution.

One of the reasons I got an a700 was that it came with a builtin diopter. When I was looking around for which really good DSLR to buy, I settled on Sony quickly because my previous 35mm film cameras are Maxxams (lenses work in Sony alphas). The second criterion was the diopter because I was TIRED of not having one. Several things were farther on down the list.

v