Wearing eye glasses and using a camera

[jad]

I have started wearing eye glasses and I am having problems using them while photographing. I have lost or broke two pairs of glasses already by constantly taking them off to look through the view finder. If you have my problem, how do you deal with it in the easiest way? I have seen ads for the Hoodman flip up eyeglasses for photographers, but have never seen a pair. They are expensive. Has anyone used these and can you give me your opinion of the quality and the ease of use. Thanks, John

[nimitzbenedicto]

Hi John,

Been using eyeglasses with cameras for 48 yrs. Somehow, have broken 1 or 2 so far. One time when I took off my cam and my eyeglass arm(?) got stuck in the strap and broke off. The other time, same movement, taking off my cam from around my neck, my eyeglasses flew off and its lens cracked.

Since then, I always take off my camera strap very, very carefully. Or, remove my eyeglasses first before taking off my cam. To avoid broken lens, I shifted to cheaper plastic(?) lens.

Hope this helps.

[Digital]

I have started wearing eye glasses and I am having problems using them while photographing. I have lost or broke two pairs of glasses already by constantly taking them off to look through the view finder. If you have my problem, how do you deal with it in the easiest way? I have seen ads for the Hoodman flip up eyeglasses for photographers, but have never seen a pair. They are expensive. Has anyone used these and can you give me your opinion of the quality and the ease of use. Thanks, John

Does your camera have a diopter (I think it is called) control beside the viewfinder to adjust your ability to focus (see clearly) with or without wearing your eyeglasses? My camera (D300) is set to allow me to see correctly wearing my eyeglasses.
Check your camera owner's manual.
As far as the "Hoodman" eyeglasses I plead ignorance.

Bruce

[Manfred M]

I started wearing glasses when I was around 13 and got into serious photography when I was 16. I've never shot without glasses and have never lost or broken any doing photography. It is a tiny bit more difficult to see the full viewfinder, but I've learned to compensate.

I situations where I could lose my glasses, I do use a holder that attaches to the temple pieces to ensure that if I dslodge my glasses, they won't get too far.

Honestly, the only solution that I have ever used that works is to shoot using contact lenses. I suspect most of these "gadgets" like the Hoodman don't work or we would see an awful lot of them in use. We don't, any guesses why not?

[Shadowman]

I just peer over the frame. Don't even bother taking them off, then you have to find safe place for them.

[Digital]

Have I missed the point of John's question?

Bruce

[Donald]

I, too, have never come across the 'flip-up' glasses that John refers to.

My 'solution' is to set the diopter adjustment on the viewfinder so that I can use it without needing to use my glasses.

And as for the glasses? I have them on a neck cord, so they just hang down on my chest.

[Digital]

I, too, have never come across the 'flip-up' glasses that John refers to.

My 'solution' is to set the diopter adjustment on the viewfinder so that I can use it without needing to use my glasses.

And as for the glasses? I have them on a neck cord, so they just hang down on my chest.

That is what my post was about. I feel vindicated.

Bruce

[Manfred M]

Sorry, I forgot to mention. I have run across them once. I was taking a weekend photo workshop and one of the other participants had a pair. They looked like wire frame glasses and the lenses flipped up to a position just less that 180 degrees. The user was able to get a bit closer to the viewfinder, but not quite as well as not wearing them.

Watching him shoot; they looked awkward to use and did not look particularly robust. I think he might have only used them on the first day of the workshop.

[jcuknz]

When I wore glasses prior to having cataract operations I always adjusted the dioptre adjustment on the camera viewfinder although one time working in persistant drizzle I took my glasses off and adjusted the dioptre to suit and largely kept the camera under my plastic '????' except when actuallytaking a shot.

The trouble with advising you is that I have read of various eye defects which defeat the simple dioptre solution.

By having the eye further back from the viewfinder*you have to be content with just seeing part of the picture and jigling the head to see the edges ....I did think that perhaps removing the rubber cup of the Canon DSLR would let you get closer at the danger of scratching the eyeglass lens but I no longer have that camera so cannot try out my idea.
* They are designed for people not wearing glasses.

[revi]

One rather common defect that cannot be corrected with a simple (spherical) lens is astigmatism. In glasses, that requires a cylindrical lens component with the axis properly oriented. Contact lenses correct it 'automatically' (at least the rigid ones), as they correct the apparent shape of the cornea.

It would be possible to create a camera ocular adapted to glasses (similar to the 'high eye-point' oculars available for microscopes), but that would require replacing the existing ocular afaik (and such an ocular would be less comfortable for use without glasses, as you had to keep the camera free from your head, so less stable).

[davidedric]

I have plastic eye lenses after cataract surgery (which means they are fixed focus), astigmatism and vari-focal glasses, which is a bit of a deadly combination.

However, I have no problem in using the viewfinder to assess composition, I leave my glasses on, with a neck cord for clumsiness. Checking focus would be a different game entirely. If I did use manual focus, I would have to go into Liveview and use the lcd screen (which I rarely do because on the 600D it is so horribly slow).

Dave

[Tringa]

Sorry I can't help with the flip up glasses, John but as they are expensive is there any way you could use your camera with your usual glasses?

When I bought my current camera I tried using it without my glasses (varifocals). Fairly quickly I found it to be really difficult - glasses off to use the camera, then back on to change the settings, then off again. Even with them on a cord around my neck it was awkward.

It took a while to get used to using the camera with my glasses on, but I would not think of going back to the on/off routine.

Dave

[AB26]

Hi John,

I take mine off when shooting. I wear multi focal glasses. Much better without it.

[jad]

That is what my post was about. I feel vindicated.

Bruce

These are the products Hoodman offers. The flip up eye glasses are expensive so maybe I will try the eye piece. My problem is I wear bifocals and it is a pain to look through the view finder with them on. I need the closeup bifocal len to see the LCD screen and the camera controls.

http://www.hoodmanusa.com/products.asp?dept=1067

http://www.hoodmanusa.com/products.asp?dept=1071

[jad]

Sorry I can't help with the flip up glasses, John but as they are expensive is there any way you could use your camera with your usual glasses?

When I bought my current camera I tried using it without my glasses (varifocals). Fairly quickly I found it to be really difficult - glasses off to use the camera, then back on to change the settings, then off again. Even with them on a cord around my neck it was awkward.

It took a while to get used to using the camera with my glasses on, but I would not think of going back to the on/off routine.

Dave

Thanks Dave. I currently use bifocal lenses and maybe I should switch to Varifocal lenses and see if I can get use to them. Anything would be better than my current situation of taking them on and off all the time.

[RustBeltRaw]

I sometimes use contacts, since setting the camera's diopter adjustment for my eyes is impossible. It only goes to -3, and I'm -7.25. But I can't say glasses bother me much. Like Manfred, I simply got used to carefully positioning my eyes and glasses to make sure I can see the whole frame. Contacts are for situations where glasses are a liability, like climbing, SCUBA diving, or roller derby. Sometimes I have to take a quick shot without perfect aim, but I've gotten pretty good at shooting blind. Handy skill, actually. Techniques for same might be worth their own thread.

[terrib]

There might be some additional info in THIS THREAD that I posted last year. I ended up getting bifocal contacts, the kind with one eye for distance and the other for closeup because I also have astigmatism. I wear them anytime I'm going out wit the camera but I will say that for serious editing at the computer, I wear my glasses. They're just clearer.

[DanK]

I started wearing glasses as a kid, for nearsightedness and astigmatism. I started photography in college and have always worn my glasses while shooting, struggling a bit with the difficulty of seeing the edges of the frame. Having astigmatism means that the dioptric adjustment on the camera is not sufficient.

I now use variable focus lenses, and I realized while reading this thread that I didn't actually know which region of the lens I use when I focus. I assumed it was the distance-vision region, but I just went outside to check, and it isn't. The image is clearest toward the bottom of the lens. I can't tell whether it is the reading region or a little higher. I assume that this is because the focusing screen is actually very close.

However, the main story may be that I didn't even know, after wearing lenses of this type for a more than a decade. My experience is that once I was accustomed to variable focus lenses, I often did not notice which region of the lens I was using. It become automatic. This was true in photography as well as in general use.

The optician from whom I bought my first pair told me that most people who already used line bifocals become adapt to variable focus lenses very quickly because they are already used to aiming the lenses. However, he said that people switching from single focus lenses directly to variable focus often have a harder time. I had been using line bifocals, and within a short time, I found the variable focus more comfortable.

However, there is one drawback: I found variable focus lenses uncomfortable for use with large computer monitors. (They are fine for a laptop.) The distance to the monitor puts you in the small middle-focus range, so I was constantly craning my neck and had to move my head to track left to right. The solution was a pair of computer glasses: cheap line bifocals with a reading lens at the bottom and the entire top set for a distance of a about 30 inches.

[John 2]

...................However, there is one drawback: I found variable focus lenses uncomfortable for use with large computer monitors. (They are fine for a laptop.) The distance to the monitor puts you in the small middle-focus range, so I was constantly craning my neck and had to move my head to track left to right. The solution was a pair of computer glasses: cheap line bifocals with a reading lens at the bottom and the entire top set for a distance of a about 30 inches.

Precisely my experience as well and I arrived at the same solution. So far though (fingers crossed) the camera dioptre adjustment is sufficient for me without specs. However, that has its own drawbacks because although I can focus adequately through the viewfinder, I have to fiddle around putting a pair on before I can view the EVF or the LCD display.