Specs vs contact lenses for DSLR use

Hey everyone,

I wasnt quite sure which section this should fit in, I looked at general chat but that seems totally unrelated to anything!

Its about time I had my eyes checked & new glasses again, however im seriously wondering about contact lenses, to be honest I know NOTHING about them, what the problems are (if any) with them, I heard that they can be very irritating?

Im thinking that it would make life so much easier looking through the viewfinder, not that I have any problems with the 5D's VF, but it would be nicer to get that little bit closer & more involved with it, my glasses prevent me from getting too close, I could take them off but that causes loads of problems, im blind as a bat without them, I also dont want the added risk of dropping them.

How many of you used to wear specs & now wear contacts? any pro's & con's when it comes to contacts?

I am lucky to have 20/20 vision, but a friend has a little bit of trouble seeing through her XTi viewfinder with contacts because she says she has a little bit of trouble focusing her eyes in that way.

I am actually talking to my wife about getting lasik for the both of us.

I wish I could wear contacts... my eyes cant take them!

It's a pain to shoot with glasses on...

But, my wife also likes how I look with glasses, so no surgery for me.

No I don't want the laser approach, heard too many bad things about that.

Hey Aldwyn, what do you mean your eyes cant take them? is there a limit or something? im quite shortsighted so im wondering if contact lenses wont be available in my prescription.

I used contacts in my younger days but frankly can think of better things to do with my time nowadays than clean and soak them (usually whilst half cut), when tired they always irritated and getting a spec of dust or worse, grit, behind one was pure agony. Obviously daily / weeklies are an option but I never got on with them.
The drawback with specs is that I always get them covered in handprints when taking pics, however a quick wipe is usually sufficient and if they get really grimy hot water and fairy liquid ddoes the trick in no time. I take them off when I go to bed and put them on when I wake up, no peering myopically into mirrors, or searching carpets for dropped lenses.
Try arranging a trial with your optician to see which suits best.

Contacts for now since I can put them in and I never have to worry about them being in the way. Lasik some time in the future though hopefully.

Yes I will obviously have a word with my optician to see if they would be suitable, everyones eyes are different of course, but its good to see all the varied views on here

I shoot with glasses, hate the look of myself without em and cannot be bothered with the hassle of contacts. My girlfriend swaps between the two and it drives me mad!

I have never had any problem, I actually find the viewfinder on the 30D easier than FF as you get to see all of it at once.

Come to think of it, I don't spend much time looking through the viewfinder, I tend to 'see' the shot and then use it for rough framing.

Maybe I'm just plain weird.

I wore either glasses or contacts for years. Wearing glasses kept me too far away from the viewfinder so I couldn't see very well. Wearing contacts was okay for a while. But if I got the slightest irritation in my eye, it felt like there was a boulder in my eye.
I had Lasik surgery about seven months ago, and I have never looked back (pun intended).
I don't have to fumble with my glasses to see in the view finder, and I don't have to worry about cleaning contacts, putting them in when I'm tired, carrying my glasses in case my eyes get tired from the contacts, or wearing contacts with allergies. As an afterthought, I have not had allergies as bad (at all) since I had my eyes done.
And I would do it again in a heartbeat.
I'm sorry I waited so long to get it done.

Oh, and I used to like the way I looked with my glasses too. It's all in what you get used to.

What about a "both" option. Sometimes it's glasses, sometimes it's contacts. I do find as I get older that the contacts are great for far distances, but not all that good close up.

OK, I work for an opticians (Vision Express to be precise) so I'm in a pretty good place to comment right now.

Contact lenses can be fantastic for the right people, and there are a bewildering array of choices out there. You can basically break them down to four main types;

Dailies - Take them out of the packet in the morning, pop them in and throw them at the end of the day. Convenient, comfortable but the most expensive.
Monthlies - Wear for a whole month (30 days from packet open) but have to be taken out every night, cleaned and soaked in solutions while you sleep. Cheap, comfortable but slightly annoying.
Extended wear/Night & Day's - Almost continuous wear for a whole month, no solutions etc and you can even sleep in them. Have to be taken out once every few days though, and as with everything YMMV.
Annual/Gas Permeable - Uncomfortable at first, but after a short time you will forget you are wearing them. Expensive to buy first time, but total ownership cost is less than dailies.

Any large opticians should also provide you with trial lenses after an initial fitment, allowing you to see how you get on with them and for them to asses fitting, comfort and any problems.

Want any extra info? Let me know

Tom

Gjl 711 - The reason your vision at near distances is not as sharp with contact lenses is because your eyes are deteriorating. This is a normal age related deterioration known as presbyopia (literally "old eye")
Basically, your crystalline lens loses some of its elasticity and means that it can no longer focus unaided at closer distances. I would suggest that you need multifocal lenses (varifocals or bifocals) or will do in the near future. These correct more than one focal length (bifocals being only TWO distances, varifocals almost infinite numbers of distances)

Regards
Tom

Both, depending on situation / mood / amount of drink the night before

Both have their plusses and minusses: With glasses: Sometimes they fogg over, they are a pain when it rains, I have a hard time seeing the entire VF, but you can take them off and keep shooting. Lenses won't fog, you have a much better overview of the viewfinder, but if you get something in your eye, you won't be thinking about shooting for a while...
Also, I find that they will sometimes irritate temporarily with huge temperature / humidity changes (winter!) or late at night (Hey, I shoot in a club ).

I have soft contacts (monthlies) for a few years now, but sometimes I prefer glasses.

Also, because I have cylindrical glasses, lenses correct a bit less perfect.
Then again, the optician tells me I'm way too critical

Nick_C wrote in post #3999273
Hey Aldwyn, what do you mean your eyes cant take them? is there a limit or something? im quite shortsighted so im wondering if contact lenses wont be available in my prescription.

No limit. My eyes just dont like contacts! I wore them for a year, and just couldn't deal... my eyes would dry up, and within minutes of putting them in!

I tried everything available at the time (last time I tried was over 10 years ago) save gas-perms. I was even dating my optometrist for a while!

So, I just went back to glasses, and adjusted... bought a prescription scuba mask, etc.