Cataract Surgery & Lens Correction - Will it impact my photography?

TriShooter

Hello, Everyone -

I finally have to go in for cataract surgery in late August -September.

Currently in my middle seventies with astigmatism which apparently rules out having one lens for infinity and the other for close distances so have to make the choice of seeing for away or close. I am leaning in the direction of correcting astigmatism in both eyes and correcting the new lenses for seeing close which means I will remain near sighted as I have been all of my life.

This means I will have to wear corrective glasses when driving and birding so want to know if there is any significant downside you all know of or have experienced which will or might impact my photography if I choose seeing close in as opposed to at a distance without glasses.

Thank you for your input.

Pistnbroke

What I would do is take your camera to a cheap reading glasses shop like poundland or US equivalent and find some strength that works with your eyepiece . Then cut( small hacksaw) a rectangle ( or circle) from the centre of the lens ..they are all plastic and push it into the eyepiece....did this for my wife 30 years ago without problems. You are looking at a screen a fixed distance from your eye not at near and far objects when using your camera ...I know the situation , my son in law has had 18 eye operations to save his sight ...yuck

heartyfisher

my mom who is 80 had cataract surgery a few years ago.. they even replaced the lense.. it was expensive, but for her.. her eyesight is better than it ever was. she says she now has a bionic eyes... she was near sighted all her life.. she doesn't wear glasses now. and plays with her hand phone.

TriShooter

@Pistnbroke & @heartyfisher - Thank you for sharing your personal experiences. I probably have less to worry about than I thought having read online which is mostly people who have problems with their procedure.

@Pistnbroke - It is reassuring to know that something as simple as drugstore reading glasses modified for insertion into the camera's eyepiece can resolve that issue if it arises. At this point in my life peace of mind is the most important so appreciate hearing about as I had not thought of it as a solution.

@heartyfisher - I am replacing my lens like your mom had done so encouraged to hear her result. The doctor told me that older people's lens change to a greenish color which impacts the way colors are perceived and that the new lens will let me see colors like a new born which sounds like what your mother experienced and is something to look forward to for me.

I appreciate your stories as I was feeling a bit uneasy.

heartyfisher

sorry, just to be clear.. my mom had the top line lenses that allows focus. ie she can see close or far without any glasses.

framer

I had cataract surgery done to one eye in my early fifties about 16 - 17 years ago. They corrected from about 20/100 to 20/25 or that what it is today. My other eye has got better over the tears and is now also about 20/25.

Anyways I always keep both eyes open when I take pictures so to scan the area for action happening not in the view finder. Having a perfect eye to scan with was cool. I had a corrective lens on the camera view finder that corrected my weak eye.

Give it serious thought but I'd choose one perfect any day.

Just wait to you see the bright colors that you've been missing.

framer

BVS

Maybe I'm misunderstanding, but wouldn't you just shoot with your glasses on? I shoot with my glasses on all the time and I don't really have any problem, although I do use a Hoodman Eyecup to help block out light.

Alternatively, could you wear contacts instead?

Yetibuddha

Hi, I had cataracts, near sightedness and astigmatism. I had the surgery, and I replaced the all natural lenses with the artificial ones. I chose the lenses that would give me farsightedness, so I can drive without glasses. Also, I opted to also correct for the astigmatism, which cost more because the government believes correcting for astigmatism is not "medically" necessary. Correction was to 20/20 in one eye and 20/25 in another

So, I wear my glasses most of the time as I read a lot and do other things that involve long distances. I had no special adaptation of the camera needed for my photography. I wear the glasses when using the camera.

Now, the advanced macular degeneration I have is a different story!

RocketRog

I had worn glasses from age 10 to 62 with severe myopia left eye -8.0, right eye -7.5. Used glasses when photographing, but hated the issues in freezing conditions and in mist/rain etc of moisture on the lenses. Since becoming a digital photographer had to remove my glasses to get really sharp close focus to view histograms, and check focus on LCD screen, but otherwise no issues with the glasses. Also wore contacts for some sports/water sports.
Following surgery for retinal detachment (you don't want to know how they do surgery to the back of your eye) I had to have cataracts removed from both eyes. After six months of indecision, I decided to get both eyes corrected for sharp distance vision, which is now perfect in the left eye and just a little bit soft in the right.
The issue I have now is not being able to check critical focus sharpness at very close range - my new "desk" glasses which are fine for reading and in the office at a computer do not work well enough for really close range work so I have to have another pair of single vision close focus glasses which I wear around my neck when shooting. At all other times, my new vision (which is perfect without glasses from infinity down to about .75 metre) suits me well, especially for water sports, tennis, dirt bike riding (all of which I used contacts for previously).
So, not a perfect solution for me, but there was no perfect solution on the table. If you are completely happy continuing to wear glasses for distance vision and are confident you will retain sharp short range focus your plan should work.
Interestingly, my surgeon had previously had his own vision corrected to mono-vision with one eye for distance and one eye for short focus.

Pistnbroke

As I said in my first post if you are weraing glasses around your neck to put on when shooting then why not chop a rectangle or square out the centre of the lens and stick it in your eyepiece ....problem solved ..its plastic ...hacksaw ..bandsaw ..angle grinder no danger

BabaGanoush

"After six months of indecision, I decided to get both eyes corrected for sharp distance vision, which is now perfect in the left eye and just a little bit soft in the right."

I had cataract surgery in both eyes over a year ago and had my vision adjusted for distance vision. For close-up work, I use reading glasses. The logic for my choice was simple. I do a lot of underwater photography. It is much cheaper and simpler for me to buy plastic stick on lenses for my swim mask having the proper diopter I need for close vision than it is to get a mask with custom made distance lenses ($30 vs $200). Moreover, if my reading glasses break while I'm traveling, in many countries I can just pop into a pharmacy and pick up a cheap replacement for my broken reading glasses. Try doing that if you need to replace your prescription glasses for sharp distance vision. I adjust my camera view finder to match my distance vision. Whenever I need to see my LCD screen clearly, I flip my reading glasses or sun glasses down off the top of my head, given that I am not in the least hair-challenged.

RocketRog

Pistnbroke said:

As I said in my first post if you are weraing glasses around your neck to put on when shooting then why not chop a rectangle or square out the centre of the lens and stick it in your eyepiece ....problem solved ..its plastic ...hacksaw ..bandsaw ..angle grinder no danger

Actually, we don't need correction for shooting - vision is perfect through the viewfinder when shooting, we just need correction for the ultra close range stuff like checking the LCD screen in Live View or to confirm sharp focus or composition after a shot. Can set up menu without correction. Based on my vision situation I think that your solution won't work as I already have sharp vision when shooting (looking through viewfinder) without glasses - it's the other stuff where correction is needed.

Pistnbroke

I shoot thousands of pics every weekend ..never look at the LCD for any reason ...try that !!!
One famous photographer always tapes up the LCD on his assiatants cameras saying I pay you to take photos not look at the ones you already taken

BabaGanoush

"I shoot thousands of pics every weekend ..never look at the LCD for any reason ...try that !!!"

So you never shoot in live view? What a waste. Maybe Nikon should create a crippled camera without an LCD screen for you and that famous photographer.

Pistnbroke

never ...there is only one botton I need to press ...control dials taped up as well....dont want anything moving from my settings ....why do I need to bother its got a computer in it to do the boring stuff ..I concentrate on the composition....
Wife never turns her camera off for the whole 8 hrs of a wedding ...

Its just a way of working that leaves your brain free of technical clutter to concentrate on what matters...them pics

Photobug

Very interesting reading. Thanks to you all for sharing. My doc says surgery is in my future and this was refreshing to read all your comments. Thanks.

BabaGanoush

In my earlier post, I used the phrase "reading_glasses" several times (minus the underscore). Somehow, without my doing it and without my knowledge, that phrase subsequently got turned into an active link to an Amazon web page! What the hell? What's going on?

spraynpray

It's not you Baba, it's the forum.