Worsening eyesight makes focusing tricky

Baltonski

I just received my first set of glasses for near-field purposes. I was offered bi-focals but thought that it would make driving trickier. Then, there are those vari-focal glasses but they seem to cost a fortune.
Another implication of my worsening eye sight ( -6.5 myopic) was when I look through the viewfinder I do not seem to focus properly. The compensation button on my Nikon Df goes up to -3 which is not enough.
I suppose that there are many "middle-aged" and "young-at-heart" fellow photographers among you, so I was wondering how you guys cope and what sort of measures have you taken for working through the viewfinder...
I look forward to responses and solutions :-)

Msmoto

Oh golly.....yes, manual focusing.....not easy for the over 70 crowd.....as in your occasionally friendly moderator...LOL

However, if I am not mistaken, one can have special eyepieces constructed for about anything which can be corrected optically. Maybe seeing an optician would help.

Also, if one searches one of our sponsors liked in the "Buying Guide" on NRF, there area a variety of corrective eyepieces available..

sevencrossing

I have worn glasses all my life
I put them on, first thing and take them off at bedtime; they part of me
I have varifocals. I don't take my glasses off, when looking looking through the viewfinder
but I do use a D800 (FX) which has large viewfinder ( MF is even bigger )
Since going digital, I never manually focus
friends use contact lenses

heartyfisher

Same as seven .. except I do manual focus from time to time .. cant do AF with Macro which I do quite a bit of.
Glases are ok you get used to it. I use varifocal when I am photographing. and normal when I am photoshoping :-)

paulr

Like sevencrossing, worn glasses all my life well since 5. I use the Nikon DK-17m and DK-19 on all my cameras. It's a small magnification but it certainly helps.

ThomasHorton

There are some forms of Myopia that makes it harder to focus as the eye is trying to focus in its own. So with me, I have the camera trying to autofocus and my eyes trying to autofocus at the same time. Yikes.

Ironheart

Are you trying to focus without your glasses? Or with them? From Nikon's web site:

"To determine which Nikon diopter value is best suited for you, visit your ophthalmologist, optometrist or dispensing optician. Ask them to determine your diopter from (your corrective prescription) when viewing an object at distance of approximately one meter. Base your selection on this diopter value."

Nikon sells a -3 diopter eyepiece for your camera. This will "stack" on top of the adjustability you already have (-3 to +1) so if you put the -3 eyepiece on, and set the camera to -2, you will have -5
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/300683-REG/Nikon_4760_DK_17C_3_Diopter_for.html

Me personally? I leave my glasses on, no adjustment needed.

HipShot

I've worn corrective lenses since age nine. I was thrilled when soft contacts that correct astigmatism became available!

I DO wish current Nikon cameras came with the old split prism viewfinder.

Photobug

I've worn corrective lenses since age nine. I was thrilled when soft contacts that correct astigmatism became available!

I DO wish current Nikon cameras came with the old split prism viewfinder.

+1 on the split prism viewfinder. They were great.

bland

@Baltonski I've just recently started to shoot with my glasses on and now wish I had done this years ago. Takes a little getting used to and I wear bifocals.

Baltonski

Thanks Ironheart. That is i.e. DK-17C is exactly what I am looking for. I have been wearing glasses since high school but only now I had to have a pair for reading and computer work. Before everything was done with a single set. But perhaps I will give the vari-focals a chance :-)

spraynpray

Yeah, shooting with glasses is a pain, I am as sevencrossing except I do a lot of manual stuff because I do night and macro. I use live view zoomed in 100% with a torch at night, and the sway technique on macro. I have varifocals and find it 'doable', but not easy. My eye-sight is not as extreme as yours so I feel lucky.

bigeater

If you live near one, join Costco; their glasses are significantly less expensive than other places and you will be be able to afford varifocals.

Baltonski

@bigeater: I live in Ankara, Turkey soooo no chance of that I am afraid...

By the way, I ordered both DK-17C (for the Df) and DK-20C (for D7000) from B&H so expecting delivery soon. Delivery to Ankara cost 3 times the bill though :-(

Parke1953

I'm been having a real problem with my eye sight lately. I have the magnifier eye piece and it does help some. Hope to get new glasses soon.

Pistnbroke

Get a pair of reading glasses from one of the cheap outlets that enables you to see through your camera.
The lenses are plastic so cut a rectangle ( or circle) out the middle and put it ino the viewfinder window ..works perfect been doing this for the wife for 40 years. or if you want glasses at any time selectspecs.com cheap enough to tread on....

spraynpray

I love your way of thinking Pist.

kanuck

A good topic I think. I received Lasik surgery to correct my awful 14 year contact wearing (-7 and -7.5) nearsighted vision back in 2007 for $1600, which I thought was a great deal. I have had no problems whatsoever except for early morning dry eye that goes away with eye drops or splashing water while shaving ^^

I fully understand your pain Baltonski and I have discussed this matter at length over on the Leica forums. Fortunately with Leica you can purchase a 1.25x, 1.4x and 2.0x magnification diopters to attach to the Leica M rangefinder to assist with declining eyesight. They are pricey at $450 though. I wonder if Nikon has solution such as this? A quick search lead to a few of these ideas although I am not sure about their effectiveness:

http://www.wexphotographic.com/viewfinder-accessories-nikon-diopter-correction/b3061-m168-r141?producttype=133

Ironheart

The Nikon part number DK-17M provides a 1.2x magnification
Nikon part number DK-17C comes in the following variants -3, -2, 0, +1, +2
This is on top of whatever adjustment your camera permits, the Df (OP) has a range from -3 to +1 so if you get a +2 that would change your adjustability range to -1 to +3. Pretty flexible if you ask me.

There are third-party manufactures as well that might have more range, and you could always have your eye-doctor make something custom for you, or do what @Pistnbroke does and hack-up an old pair of glasses.

P.S. I should mention that the rectangular eyepieces are not left out. DK-20C has an even greater range of +3 to -5

MaxBerlin

I use the DK17 and it's helped immensely in my transition from Sony's EVF and 14x magnification to D810's OVF. I use manual lenses a lot. I also use the 3x hoodman when I want to get serious. I didn't like the Zacuto. The 3x hoodman on the D810 gives a better image (but not a better experience) than the Sony's best EVF ever did.