Taking photos with bad eyesight

[wintoid]

I wear glasses usually, but I hate wearing glasses when I'm shooting with my 300D, so I take them off. I rely on the autofocus system, and I find that at small apertures on my 50mm 1.4, as many as 2 in 3 shots can be slightly out of focus.

I'm considering switching to manual focus from now on. How should I calibrate the diopter adjustment thingy?

[jgbeam]

:idea: Read page 36 of your manual. :idea:
Jim

[T_O_M]

I wear glasses to read and drive and I don't wear them when I shoot with my 10D. I adjust the dioptric adjustment knob so that the focusing squares and the partial metering circle look sharp through the view finder. Your 2-3 out of focus shots out of how many shot are out of focus?

[wintoid]

Sorry, I meant that 2 out of every 3 shots will be focused on a point that isn't exactly the point I was aiming for. At f1.4 the difference in distance between the front of the eyeball and the bridge of the nose is enough to throw the other out of focus, so accurate focusing is absolutely crucial.

Now, where did I put that manual...

[T_O_M]

Sorry I miss read your post (2 in 3 shots). What is the 50mm f1.4 like at f2.8, I find my 50mm 1.8 does not start to look sharp untill around f2.8.

[wintoid]

Not sure how qualified I am to answer your question really. I don't have any other lenses that even compare. All I can say is that I'm happy with the sharpness right down to 1.4, but of course not much is in focus at 1.4. I have no complaints about the lens whatsoever.

I just tried adjusting the diopter thingy, and then shooting 5 of my baby daughter's alphabet bricks (spelling F O C U S) at different distances with auto focus and then manual focus. The auto focus did much better than my manual focus, so now I'm not sure what to think!

[wintoid]

Bricks were laid out spelling the word F O C U S with about 1.5 inches between each brick and shot at f1.4 indoors handheld in fairly low light, first using automatic focus, and then using manual focus.

You can see the Auto results here:

http://simon.pietroni.co.uk/Auto%20F-001.jpg
http://simon.pietroni.co.uk/Auto%20O-001.jpg
http://simon.pietroni.co.uk/Auto%20C-001.jpg
http://simon.pietroni.co.uk/Auto%20U-001.jpg
http://simon.pietroni.co.uk/Auto%20S-001.jpg

And the Manual results here:

http://simon.pietroni.co.uk/Manual%20F-001.jpg
http://simon.pietroni.co.uk/Manual%20O-001.jpg
http://simon.pietroni.co.uk/Manual%20C-001.jpg
http://simon.pietroni.co.uk/Manual%20U-001.jpg
http://simon.pietroni.co.uk/Manual%20S-001.jpg


Auto seems fine for all letters except the C. Manual is very poor for F and O, but better than Auto on the C.

[aznkid.com]

i wear glasses and have the same problem..i purchased the eyepiece extender for $15 and now i don't have any problems!

[alfa]

so if i use the extender i dont have to use glasses? or does it mean with the extender its easier to use the camera with glasses on?

[aznkid.com]

well i have a friend who has eyeglasses and has the rebel..he takes his glasses off and adjusts the diopter just fine.. for me, my eyesight is so bad, so i couldn't do that..i purchased the extender which makes everything in the viewfinder 70% of what it used to be so it's easier to see everything whereas previously, because my eye doesn't touch the eyepiece, i couldn't read the settings along the bottom..

so to answer your question, i guess it depends on your eyesight

[Mark Kemp]

Personally I keep my glasses on, but there is a simple way to set the dioptre adjustment.

1) find a big obvious thing to focus on in good light.

2) put the camera on a tripod and autofocus the target.

3) look through the viewfinder without glasses. Do not touch the focus or move the camera.

4) adjust the dioptre adjustment until the target appears well focussed to you.

Now the auto focus agrees with your eyes plus the dioptre adjustment - therefore if you manually focus with the same adjustment you will get the same result as the autofocus would have given you.

P.S. mind you don't move the dioptre thingy by accident. I once manually focussed about a dozen shots with my glasses on and only afterwards saw that the dioptre wheel was at plus 2 and all the pics were wildly out of focus.

[eric1]

i only use my glasses for looking at the PC, or night driving. i don't use them when i shoot. i used the method Mark describes.

[Digital Prophet]

i wear glasses and have the same problem..i purchased the eyepiece extender for $15 and now i don't have any problems!

What model extender did you get and from where? The places I have seen extenders wanted more than $15.

- Digital Prophet -

[aznkid.com]

i wear glasses and have the same problem..i purchased the eyepiece extender for $15 and now i don't have any problems!

What model extender did you get and from where? The places I have seen extenders wanted more than $15.

- Digital Prophet -

check ebay..they're all over for $15.. it's the canon OEM

[cecilc]

Personally I keep my glasses on, but there is a simple way to set the dioptre adjustment.
1) find a big obvious thing to focus on in good light.
2) put the camera on a tripod and autofocus the target.
3) look through the viewfinder without glasses. Do not touch the focus or move the camera.
4) adjust the dioptre adjustment until the target appears well focussed to you.
Now the auto focus agrees with your eyes plus the dioptre adjustment - therefore if you manually focus with the same adjustment you will get the same result as the autofocus would have given you.
P.S. mind you don't move the dioptre thingy by accident. I once manually focussed about a dozen shots with my glasses on and only afterwards saw that the dioptre wheel was at plus 2 and all the pics were wildly out of focus.

I'm going to try this, but I have a question about instruction #3.
If you keep you glasses ON while actually shooting (and I do, too!), why would you adjust the diopter without your glasses? If you shoot without glasses, then that adjustment makes sense to me - your eyes would be in sync with the autofocus in that case. But if you do wear glasses when you shoot, wouldn't it make sense to adjust the diopter with your glasses on? Because that's the way you're actually going to see a scene through the viewfinder - with your glasses on.
Please explain that seeming paradox .....
I'm anxious to learn .....

[DirtyHarry]

contact lenses are great too! i wear glasses but again i dont like wearing them when shooting so i got contact lenses. But dont wear them in front of the computer as they dry up in your eyes and are uncomfortable!

just an option i suppose! 8)

[David Roberts]

I have a similar problem in that I can see fine through the viewfinder to take the pictures, but I need reading glasses on to see the LCD and Histo afterwards.

This drove me nuts for a while until I got a pair of reading glasses and a neck chain, and included them in my LowePro Minitrekker.

It's still a nuisance having a pair of specs dangling around your neck as well as a 10D. But I am grateful I can see something without them, I guess.