Left eye-dominant, switch to right eye OVF use?

[Winedemonium]

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I am left eye-dominant, and when I learned to use a rangefinder ten years ago that's the one I used and have stuck with. There can be a slight advantage in terms of a good cradled-position, and the proximity of the M body makes closing the right eye seem natural. But this approach also misses on of the M OVF's key advantages - being able to continue to view the scene in front of you while composing and timing a shot. 

So, I wondered if there are any users here who have made this switch? Did it take you long for it to feel natural? Did you lose some stability? In the end I could simply try this out for a day or two and find out for myself, but I am curious to know the experience of others here, and especially if you have any tips. Thanks.

(I did a quick search and didn't find any thread on this topic, so forgive me if I missed it. I did find this related one on shooting with both eyes open. Also, I'm posting nominally here in the M11 section, though this really applies to any M). 

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[Guest]

Same here. There is no way I could adjust to use the right eye. It does not bother me.

I have a tendency to create skewed horizons. I sometimes wonder whether this is related to my use of the left eye. Probably not. 

[Jeff S]

Various other discussions….

 

 

 

 

 

Etc…

 

Jeff

[Jean-Michel]

In all those ten plus yearsI suspect that you missed total of zero shots by not using both eyes. In my 50+ years photographing, I missed a lot, but not because of viewing the finder with my left eye only. Maybe some people are successful with the two eyes open method, but it does mean that one eye sees at 100% magnification and the other sees the image at .72 or even .58 magnification (except for the M3 at .92). It is a non-issue.

As for the skewed horizon, that is simply a matter of the hand following the finger motion as you press on the release button and tilting the camera just so slightly. Everybody develops their own method to deal with that. 

[Winedemonium]

5 hours ago, Jeff S said:

Various other discussions….

 

 

 

 

 

Etc…

 

Jeff

Ten years is surely past the moratorium on repeating a topic Jeff. 😅

Thanks for the links. 

[Jeff S]

31 minutes ago, Winedemonium said:

Ten years is surely past the moratorium on repeating a topic Jeff. 😅

Thanks for the links. 

Last one is 2 years.  Happy to provide more. 😉

Jeff

[Winedemonium]

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25 minutes ago, Jeff S said:

Last one is 2 years.  Happy to provide more. 😉

Jeff

The 2021 thread was about the Q. 😉 But I’m grateful for the links Jeff, thank you. They’ve been really useful to read and include invaluable experience. 
 

I’d love to hear too from anyone, like me, who started shooting the M in the last ten years, or anyone whose been around longer still who may have contributed to those historic threads and who wishes to reprise, revisit or refresh their contributions to the topic. Thanks in advance. 

 

[Jeff S]

11 minutes ago, Winedemonium said:

The 2021 thread was about the Q.

Missed that… so here’s a bonus link, from this year.

Jeff

[FlashGordonPhotography]

I’m left eye dominant and re-trained to shoot an M right eyed. It took about three months to become natural. That was 15 years ago. I still shoot all my other cameras left eyed and M’s and XPro’s right eyed. I don’t even think about it any more.

I swapped because I found the left eye position uncomfortable when trying to get me eye lined up with the RF.

Gordon

[Winedemonium]

2 hours ago, FlashGordonPhotography said:

It took about three months to become natural.

I can imagine this being the case. Good to know its possible and that you have stuck with it. Interesting that for other camera types you have stayed with the left eye and that has remained natural for you too. Do you ever use an external viewfinder - OVF or EVF - and switch back to left for that? 

[Winedemonium]

9 hours ago, Jean-Michel said:

but it does mean that one eye sees at 100% magnification and the other sees the image at .72 or even .58 magnification (except for the M3 at .92).

Yes, that's perhaps a part of the weirdness of the experience when I tried it. Left-eyed shooting you only ever see with that eye, that's it - the world is 0.72, or whatever. But viewing through the right eye, and opening and closing the left eye, it to deal with 1.0 and 0.72, etc, simultaneously. I suppose you get used to that too, though I can see now yet another reason why the M3 remains popular. 

[newtoleica]

I am L eye dominant. Very much so. I can’t even close my L eye alone. R handed. It is what it is and never been an issue. 

[FlashGordonPhotography]

6 hours ago, Winedemonium said:

I can imagine this being the case. Good to know its possible and that you have stuck with it. Interesting that for other camera types you have stayed with the left eye and that has remained natural for you too. Do you ever use an external viewfinder - OVF or EVF - and switch back to left for that? 

I use my left eye with the EVF on my M11. My left eye vision is very slightly better than my right.

Gordon