Eyesight and RF

[lethbrp]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

After hitting an amusing nerve on the black or silver thread

 

I have another question for you guys. I've been doing a fair amount of reading on the Digilloyd (the Leica Guide). Its a very informative site, particularly with its lens reviews. However, one thing that is causing me some concern is his statement regarding the need for 20/20 vision for using a range finder. As I understand it, you can purchase diopters that should correct for any shortfall in vision. How do you guys get around this issue?

[Gibbo]

All my pictures are out of focus somewhere

[jaapv]

You certainly don't need 20/20 vision, but it is neccesary to have your eyesight corrected as well as can be, be it by spectacles, contacts or a dioptre on the camera. Digilloyd would certainly not be my first port of call to get authorative opinions on rangefinders. I'm as blind as a bat without my reading glasses, but a simple 1.5 dioptre makes focusing quite easy.

[01af]

However, one thing that is causing me some concern is his statement regarding the need for 20/20 vision for using a range finder ...

... after correction. If your eyesight is lacking then use glasses, contact lenses, or an eye-piece diopter lens. I, for one, am slightly long-sighted and also have some mild astigmatism. I am using a +1 dpt diopter lens and I'm fine with that—even though it leaves my astigmatism uncorrected. 20/20 vision is nice but not utterly required ... 19/20 or 18/20 is good enough.

[Guest borge]

1. You need to use your best eye to focus (dominant eye, even if it is the left one).

2. Your vision needs to be corrected as good as possible either via diopters (rarely optimal), contacts or spectacles.

 

I'm using contacts or spectacles myself, as I prefer my vision to be correct ALL the time (I'm myopic, and corrected I have 20/25 vision) - not only when I have the camera up to my face. I also require correction for astigmatism on both eyes, so contacts and spectacles is the way to go. I find focusing to be a breeze even at f/0.95 on moving subjects with my dominant eye in optimal conditions with my spectacles.

[marcg]

O found a +2 diopter on eBay and it makes it all much more comfortable.

I was lucky because the auction passed largely unnoticed and I got it for about £40. They usually go for a lot more than that.

I'm really surprised that someone hasn't made a third party diopter accessory - maybe adjustable for these cameras.

I'm even more surprised that Leica has never thought about building one into their cameras. After all - with AF cameras, it is only about seeing the general picture. With a Rangefinder, good vision is essential to the camera's core function.

Obviously Leica is pretty short-sighted when it comes to being customer-facing.

[wattsy]

Advertisement (gone after registration)

That's interesting. I bought an M9 on ebay with one of these attached. I must dig it out and list it! It also came with a 35Asph which other bidders didn't realise was included.

 

Ditto. I once bought an M7 off of eBay that came with a -1.5 dioptre attached. I only noticed it when I wondered why the view through the finder was a bit blurry. I'd much rather it had arrived with a 35 Summicron attached.

 

Back to the OP – unless your vision is particularly poor, I wouldn't worry too much about focussing your Leica. The quoted requirement for "20/20 vision" is just the kind of obsessive nonsense I've come to expect from Digilloyd and others of his ilk. I now have glasses for both close-up and distance but continue to focus my cameras unaided, without problems.

[quadraticadder]

You certainly don't need 20/20 vision, but it is neccesary to have your eyesight corrected as well as can be, be it by spectacles, contacts or a dioptre on the camera. Digilloyd would certainly not be my first port of call to get authorative opinions on rangefinders. I'm as blind as a bat without my reading glasses, but a simple 1.5 dioptre makes focusing quite easy.

 

Actually, bats are not blind. Some have quite good vision. Saying that, Leica is working on the echolocation attachment to replace the electronic viewfinder so people can focus the 0.95 Noctilux in the dark. Leica does warn, however, that it will accept no liability if use of the echolocation attachment causes confused bats to fly into windows, or dogs to bury their heads under the carpet.

 

I use glasses but its not optimal, The metal RF viewfinder frame on my M4 scratches my glasses, and you can't see the entire frame for a 35mm lens. I'll probably get a diopter for the M. It keeps other people from using my camera as well.

 

Best,

Steve

[Telfs]

Here's a potential problem with dopters - they correct what you see in the viewfinder, but not, depending on how bad your short distance vision is, what you see on the screen (or even the shutter dial!). Glasses solve all those problems, but they do restrict the view with wider angle lenses.

 

A good Leica dealer will let you try the diopters before you buy - or don't.

[algrove]

OP some of us get a special device made which corrections for vision to 20/20 and also corrects for those of us with much astigmatism.

 

They screw into the RF like any diopter assist, but also turn for vertical shots. I am not affiliated with these guys, but I got mine from Walter Eyepiece in South Africa. Others have said they got some in Asia, don't know where.

[Guest borge]

Glasses solve all those problems, but they do restrict the view with wider angle lenses.

 

So does contacts, and they don't restrict the view with wider angle lenses

I mostly only use contacts (1 day toric's) only when I use my camera, and it works much better than wearing glasses that gets smudged up by the rubber ring around the viewfinder and so on.

[Jeff S]

However, one thing that is causing me some concern is his statement regarding the need for 20/20 vision for using a range finder.

 

It's well known to folks here, but you may not be aware (and I don't think anyone has specifically made the comment) that the rangefinder patch (for focus) is set at a virtual distance of 2 m.

 

As others state, one also needs to be able to see the subject being photographed, the camera dials and screen, etc. Eyesight obviously varies, and so do preferences and tolerances for correction.

 

Some people also like magnifiers, but these only help if eye corrections are addressed first; otherwise problems may be magnified. Magnifiers also can reduce contrast; I tried them but stopped using them.

 

In my case, I need correction for distance vision and astigmatism, and also have sensitivity to strong light. Fortunately my sunglasses correct for all my issues, allowing me to clearly see both the RF patch as well as subjects at far distances. My frames are quite flexible, allowing me to get close to the eyepiece without discomfort. I wouldn't like a diopter, since that would require removing my glasses every time I focus to shoot. These matters are quite personal.

 

Jeff

[lanetomlane]

I use glasses all the time. To me the problem with the diopter is that yes, it allows better focusing but then I can't see the speed dial, aperture ring or depth of field without putting my specs back on.

[jaapv]

Actually, bats are not blind. Some have quite good vision. Saying that, Leica is working on the echolocation attachment to replace the electronic viewfinder so people can focus the 0.95 Noctilux in the dark. Leica does warn, however, that it will accept no liability if use of the echolocation attachment causes confused bats to fly into windows, or dogs to bury their heads under the carpet.

 

I use glasses but its not optimal, The metal RF viewfinder frame on my M4 scratches my glasses, and you can't see the entire frame for a 35mm lens. I'll probably get a diopter for the M. It keeps other people from using my camera as well.

 

Best,

Steve

In Dutch we are more accurate. We say blind as a mole.

[Stealth3kpl]

OP some of us get a special device made which corrections for vision to 20/20 and also corrects for those of us with much astigmatism.

 

They screw into the RF like any diopter assist, but also turn for vertical shots. I am not affiliated with these guys, but I got mine from Walter Eyepiece in South Africa. Others have said they got some in Asia, don't know where.

 

Walter RX Eyepiece | La Vida Leica!

[Stealth3kpl]

In Dutch we are more accurate. We say blind as a mole.

 

But moles have very good vision. In the war the British had batteries of moles stationed along the eastern coast watching for the Luftwaffe, .........according to propaganda at that time

Pete

[Gibbo]

That's because they eat carrots!

[quadraticadder]

But moles have very good vision. In the war the British had batteries of moles stationed along the eastern coast watching for the Luftwaffe, .........according to propaganda at that time

Pete

 

Did they have 6.022 x 10^23 of them?

 

Best,

Steve

[jaapv]

But moles have very good vision. In the war the British had batteries of moles stationed along the eastern coast watching for the Luftwaffe, .........according to propaganda at that time

Pete

That is exactly why they needed to invent radar. Had they used bats there would have been no need for it....

[Advertisement]

Hallo,

Look here: Leica M

[wlaidlaw]

I am finding the RF much easier now I have put in a +1 diopter lens. It means I don’t have to use my spectacles with the risk of scratching them and the consequent reduction in the amount of the viewfinder you can see (barely the 35mm framelines). Like all Leica items, the diopter lenses are generously priced but worth it. I used to use a Japan Exposures 1.15X variable diopter but you tend to lose too much of the framelines and the optical quality is somewhat degraded. Also if you forget to take your spectacles off, it is very easy to scratch them with the Japan Exposures eyepiece.

 

Wilson