[Leica] Changing eyes, M focusing

[chs2018 at med.cornell.edu (Chris Saganich)]

Peter,
Not sure if this is relevant but,  my focusing problem is due to an 
irregular astigmatism post lasik which made it impossible for me to see 
fine detail in the viewfinder.  I tried the 1.15x on an MP which work very 
well until I looked down and it was gone.  On an M8 I fear it would be of 
little value.   I found it helped most with the 50mm focal length.

Recently I went to progressives (Zeiss brand, made by expert lens makers) 
and the result has been much much better then the 1.15x.  There may have 
been much improvement in progressives in the last ten years.  I suppose it 
depends on the level of correction you need, I'm currently at 20/40 with 
stig in my focus eye.
Chris

At 03:08 PM 11/7/2007, you wrote:
>Up until recently, both my glasses and contacts prescriptions were fine 
>for focusing an M camera. When I got the M8, the smaller magnification 
>made focus a little more difficult, but still quite doable.
>
>My latest prescription has changed all that. I can still focus the M8 fine 
>in bright sunlight. But in standard room lighting and dimmer, I'm having 
>difficulty focusing at about 2 meters and closer. The viewfinder image is 
>slightly blurry--just enough to throw me off.  The issue is the same with 
>both glasses and contacts.  All this is after I looked at my optometrist's 
>eye chart through the M8 viewfinder with various corrections, and he 
>adjusted my prescription accordingly.
>
>My optometrist says my eyes are healthy, I'm just near-sighted and 
>middle-aged.  :-)
>
>It seems like a single screw-in diopter correction for the M bodies is not 
>the answer, as the viewfinder itself seems fine for 2 meters and farther, 
>but I need something different as I get closer.  A couple of solutions 
>come to mind:
>
>1) Progressive lenses in my glasses
>2) An adjustable diopter correction for the M8
>
>Progressive lenses might work. I guess you just hold the camera lower on 
>your glasses for focusing on nearby objects. Since I do computer work, 
>progressives might mean I could get by with only one pair of glasses.
>
>Now, I tried progressives about 10 years ago. I used them for about a 
>month, but couldn't quite get used to them. I was perceiving varying 
>barrel distortion and other weird effects like the image "following 
>sligthtly behind" as I turned my head from side to side, and it drove me 
>nuts.  I much preferred ordinary bifocals, so I ended up with them, plus a 
>additional single vision pair of glasses for computer work.  Maybe now 
>that I've had the experience of adjusting to monovision contacts, I might 
>be more adaptable(?)
>
>The Megaperls magnifiers have an adjustable diopter correction. Their 
>1.15x magnifier would bring the M8 image up from .68x to .78x, and I could 
>probably just leve it on the camera for lenses from 28mm to 90mm. It would 
>give me a diopter adjustment I could tweak between near and far. This 
>would work with contacts as well as glasses.
>
>So, calling all middle-aged dudes and dude-ettes with M cameras!  How have 
>you coped with creeping presbyopia? Have you tried progressive lenses, and 
>how do they work for you, both with M cameras, and in real life?  Have you 
>adjusted well to them?  Do you get a stiff neck from pitching your head up 
>and down to "focus," or is it pretty natural after a while?
>
>And does anyone have experience with the Megaperls magnifiers?  How usable 
>are they with glasses, and is the diopter adjustment useful for dealing 
>with near vs. far focusing?
>
>Thanks, all!
>--Peter
>
>
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Chris Saganich, Sr. Physicist
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
New York Presbyterian Hospital
chs2018@med.cornell.edu
Ph. 212.746.6964
Fax. 212.746.4800
Office A-0049