Astropap Posted April 10, 2018 Share #1 Posted April 10, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) I'd very much like to try an M but I realized that I may have difficulty seeing what I need to see through the rangefinder in order to focus properly. I am very near-sighted and wear contacts that correct my dominant eye to 20/20. I also have presbyopia and have to wear readers (2.5 or 2.75) to read while wearing my contacts. I have no trouble using an EVF after adjusting the diopter on my Q and DSLR but I'm wondering if the presbyopia will make it very hard for me to see to focus through the rangefinder. I've made arrangements to rent an M with a 35mm lens but if I'm not going to be able to see to focus, I'll cancel the rental and save the $$. Your thoughts? Thanks Amy Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advertisement Posted April 10, 2018 Posted April 10, 2018 Hi Astropap, Take a look here Focusing and Presbyopia. I'm sure you'll find what you were looking for!
fsprow Posted April 10, 2018 Share #2 Posted April 10, 2018 While I am a big rangefinder fan, a family member is pretty much where you are and the OVF did not work out. My guess is that while you might struggle though, an autofocus camera would be the best choice. Others may have more informed advice. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
nlk10010 Posted April 10, 2018 Share #3 Posted April 10, 2018 (edited) Amy: Your search is a lot like mine was about six months ago: I very much wanted to acquire an M10 and use the RF but I wasn't sure if issues with my eyes would make focusing too difficult. In my case I had a very bad cataract in one eye and just a bad one in the other. I also have a bit of astigmatism (or so my ophtho tells me). My inquiries on this Board (and others) and subsequent search revealed a wealth of information but, ultimately, it seemed to boil down to the fact there were really too many parameters to give a definitive answer, the only effective way to handle this is to do a test. Get an M10 (rent, borrow, etc.) and try taking a slew of pictures and see how you feel, how the pix come out, etc. Now in my case I did this even BEFORE my first cataract surgery (one thing I did was to go into B&H with my own SD card and take pictures with their display model) and I managed fine, I loved the feel of manual focus and my pictures turned out to be just about as sharp as those I took with my AF cameras. It goes without saying that your results may differ, I will leave it to the good people and experts on this Board to give you their opinions, but in my case the lure of possible M10 ownership was more than enough incentive to get me to go ahead and give things a try. Good Luck. Edited April 10, 2018 by nlk10010 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astropap Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share #4 Posted April 10, 2018 Thanks for responding. I suppose trying is really the best option. Amy Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke_Miller Posted April 10, 2018 Share #5 Posted April 10, 2018 I need a corrective diopter on my Ms to correct for my presbyopia. Since I now have 20/20 vision after my cataract surgery I have no problem focusing when the proper diopter is mounted. My readers are +2 or +2.5 and I need a +1 Diopter on my M. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted April 10, 2018 Share #6 Posted April 10, 2018 The focus patch on the M is set at a virtual distance of 2m. Renting is a good opportunity to see how your unaided and corrected vision (contacts/glasses) work and, if needed, to visit your optician, or any optician that carries trial diopters, which you can place over the VF to determine if further correction is needed. The M has a native minus .5 correction. I wear glasses for distance and astigmatism, and with now aging eyes, benefit from an additional plus .5 diopter. I love the RF way of taking pics, so it’s worth the effort to get proper correction... up to the day when my eyes can’t cope. Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astropap Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share #7 Posted April 10, 2018 Advertisement (gone after registration) Great! Thanks. I was wondering if corrective diopters would deal with this problem. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted April 10, 2018 Share #8 Posted April 10, 2018 (edited) Maybe yes, maybe no. A good optician should be able to guide once he/she understands the 2m virtual distance and native correction (along with your current eye issues). Best to take your camera with you and determine appropriate correction(s). Jeff Edited April 10, 2018 by Jeff S Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luke_Miller Posted April 10, 2018 Share #9 Posted April 10, 2018 Great! Thanks. I was wondering if corrective diopters would deal with this problem. They are the solution for presbyopia. They do not correct for astigmatism, which I had prior to the cataract surgery. The astigmatism coupled with the cataract made manual focusing a challenge, but still possible. 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astropap Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share #10 Posted April 10, 2018 I have mild astigmatism. The big problem is presbyopia. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted April 10, 2018 Share #11 Posted April 10, 2018 I have mild astigmatism. The big problem is presbyopia. Wear glasses to correct for astigmatism first, otherwise problematic. There is a Walter Eyepiece that has diopter and astigmatism correction, but I wouldn’t use it. Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pico Posted April 10, 2018 Share #12 Posted April 10, 2018 The big problem is presbyopia. Unheard of in my largely lutheropia neighborhood. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astropap Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share #13 Posted April 10, 2018 Unheard of in my largely lutheropia neighborhood. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astropap Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share #14 Posted April 10, 2018 I cancelled the rental. The next time I'm in NYC, I'll stop in at B&H and give it a try. Thanks for all of your responses. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted April 10, 2018 Share #15 Posted April 10, 2018 No matter what camera you use, manual focusing always benefits from correction of all eye issues to the extent possible, including astigmatism, but especially with M focusing. You’ll never get the optimal experience without that. Jeff Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted April 10, 2018 Share #16 Posted April 10, 2018 I'd very much like to try an M but I realized that I may have difficulty seeing what I need to see through the rangefinder in order to focus properly. I am very near-sighted and wear contacts that correct my dominant eye to 20/20. I also have presbyopia and have to wear readers (2.5 or 2.75) to read while wearing my contacts. I have no trouble using an EVF after adjusting the diopter on my Q and DSLR but I'm wondering if the presbyopia will make it very hard for me to see to focus through the rangefinder. I've made arrangements to rent an M with a 35mm lens but if I'm not going to be able to see to focus, I'll cancel the rental and save the $$. Your thoughts? Thanks Amy I'm have presbyopia, but I really dislike using dioptre correction on the M rangefinder (reduces the brightness and makes it harder to see the framelines._ I use monovision with contact lenses - so that I wear a +2.75 in my left eye (good for reading the controls and looking at the LCD) and a +1.5 in my right eye (good for the rangefinder) . If you can manage this it's much the most elegant solution for shooting a rangefinder for old gits - it gives you the best of both worlds. I use daily disposable lenses, which costs about £! a day . . . I've been doing this for everything for the last 15 years (I wore vari-focal spectacles for the 15 year before that). I don't know if a variable prescription would suit your situation . . but it might! best 1 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonoslack Posted April 10, 2018 Share #17 Posted April 10, 2018 I need a corrective diopter on my Ms to correct for my presbyopia. Since I now have 20/20 vision after my cataract surgery I have no problem focusing when the proper diopter is mounted. My readers are +2 or +2.5 and I need a +1 Diopter on my M. A contact lens is a much nicer option Luke - try a +1.5 disposable contact on your right eye Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff S Posted April 10, 2018 Share #18 Posted April 10, 2018 (edited) I'm have presbyopia, but I really dislike using dioptre correction on the M rangefinder (reduces the brightness and makes it harder to see the framelines._ I use monovision with contact lenses - so that I wear a +2.75 in my left eye (good for reading the controls and looking at the LCD) and a +1.5 in my right eye (good for the rangefinder) . If you can manage this it's much the most elegant solution for shooting a rangefinder for old gits - it gives you the best of both worlds. I use daily disposable lenses, which costs about £! a day . . . I've been doing this for everything for the last 15 years (I wore vari-focal spectacles for the 15 year before that). I don't know if a variable prescription would suit your situation . . but it might! best Jono, he’ll need contacts that also correct for his astigmatism. We’re all different. I can’t stand sticking things in my eyes, but even if I could, I need sunglasses for light sensitivity, so prescription sunglasses serve my needs best. Thin, flexible frames and the M10 VF allow me to see and focus clearly, and my distance correction also allows me to see distant subjects. The recent adddition of a .5 diopter hasn’t created any issues with framelines. Whatever works best. Good to experiment. Jeff Edited April 10, 2018 by Jeff S Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
tobey bilek Posted April 10, 2018 Share #19 Posted April 10, 2018 If you are corrected to 20/20 for infinity, ask your optometrist how much + correction is required for virtual 3 feet. Get a plus correction to match. or use the readers from the drug store as samples and order correction to match. You could also get photo glasses, one eye for infinity and one for camera. .People get implants all the time like this when lenses cloud up. Do not wear glasses at all. If you need to guess, +1 is a good start. That i what I use and have no accommodation left. There is no great solution Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Geschlecht Posted April 10, 2018 Share #20 Posted April 10, 2018 (edited) Hello Amy. Welcome to the Forum. I would think that since you had enough of an interest to find this Forum & then to join it & then you went to the trouble of writing to ask these questions, that: You have a degree of interest in range/viewfinder photography. As such: it would seem to be a shame for you to go thru all that you did & then to stop at the "entrance to the door" without actually "stepping over the threshold." The hard part is done. You have a lot of good advice from a lot of people who know a good deal about your situation. And New York City is not that far from Connecticut. 1 thing that a number of range/viewfinder users have done to help focus, going back to the 1930's, is to sometimes hold the camera at a 45 degree angle when focusing. This way the 2 images come together from (effectively) 2 directions at the same time. You can try this by rotating both clockwise & counter clockwise. Depending on which works better for you. Along with focusing while holding the camera in both the horizontal & the vertical positions. And, it may take a few tries until it works & begins to make sense. Best Regards, Michael Edited April 10, 2018 by Michael Geschlecht Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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