Specs vs contact lenses for DSLR use

tsfall wrote in post #3999348
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

I do suffer from "Blepharitis" mainly in my left eye, had it for years now, so im wondering if contacts would not be ideal for my eyes.

I like the idea of wearing specs say indoors & maybe when im shopping, but with contacts which I wear just for my photography, but I wonder if they take some getting used to.

Aldwyn wrote in post #3999391
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.

Ah ok I see now, im thinking this may well be my experience as well, my eyes are pretty sensitive & I suffer from allergies, it might be a case of better the devil you know & stick to glasses instead..

Nick,

Blepharitis (as i'm sure you already know) is basically an acute inflammation of the eyelid. For contact lens wearers this can be a major problem, and we normally advise removal of lenses immediately and a swap to glasses until the problem has cleared. There are certain procedures you can follow to lessen the effects of your Blepharitis, which may in fact allow you to wear lenses. Unfortunately, I feel that you may not be suitable for contact lenses due to the extra sensitivity Blepharitis can cause.

If you were to go back to wearing glasses again, there are a number of options to assist you in having the most easy experience with your SLR. Personally I would suggest going for High Index lenses, mounted in a sturdy frame (having a camera against the frame can cause a surprising amount of stress). This does not rule out any frame types at all, but just means that you will need to look a little more carefully at them

Regards
Tom

I have contacts that I rarely wear anymore - too much hassle and they make me feel tired after I wear them for a few hours - I spoke with an optometrist when I bought glasses a couple of months ago and she said that was because I had been fitted incorrectly for them... but meh. I like glasses

You know, I haven't ever actually tried shooting with them in. I've shot without glasses before... and boy, I can see the whole viewfinder a whole lot easier. Maybe that's a thought. I might go get some properly fitting contacts. Or Lasik (maybe) when I can afford it I do actually like glasses, though, so that puts me off.

tsfall wrote in post #3999361
Gjl 711 - The reason your vision at near distances is not as sharp with contact lenses is because your eyes are deteriorating. .... 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

Thanx, but I just stick with my glasses and pop them up when I ned to do close work. My vision is perfect close without glasses or contacts. I just need them to see distant things.

This is a bit funny, because ever since I hit my '50's, I've needed reading glasses (I grew up with 20-20 vision).

I don't just need generic reading glasses, I need one power for books, one for my main computer, and one for my laptop.

For photography, the diopter on my viewfinder does a good job, but I still have to really squint (or grab glasses) for the lcd.

I'm thinking, I've heard that the laser approach works for ageing eyes, and if that's true it would to me be worth the hassle of having to juggle several types of vision aids.

Tony
http://www.pbase.com/t​onylong

contact lenses all the way. can't imagine trying to peer through the viewfinder w/ glasses on.

I had my eye exam about a month ago and they found out that my far vision didn't change (I need "Reading" lenses even for far vision), but my reading close vision got more worse (I'm 51). So I gave contacts a try, since my far vision is different but my reading vision is the same on both eyes. So contacts for normal activities and Walgreens reading glasses for reading, another one for sitting in front of a computer (a pain with seemless multifocal glasses). Taking pictures is now easy, before I had to use the EP-EX15 to see the full viewfinder with glasses, now it's o.k.
I hope I can stay with my contacts (monthly) as far as I didn't have any problems with them. With contacts my vision is 15/20.

I used to wear contact lenses on a daily basis for several years, but, just a few years ago, it got to a point where it would dry my eyes too quickly, too easily (I would have to use eye drops every 10-15 minutes), so I stopped doing so and have been wearing glasses only since then.

Glasses do make it a little annoying to look through the viewfinder, but what choice do I have (until I go for LASIK!)? I have gotten used to it anyway.

I spring for the extended wear Night and Days. You can sleep in them even. Wonderful things. I couldn't imaging having to shoot in my specs... I do revert to my glasses when I'm sick though.

It's really different for all people. My first contacts didn't fit me right so I automatically hated contacts but when I went for my yearly I got a new script and brand and these actually felt amazing.

I hope you figure out what works best for you.

I'm 99% contacts, 1% glasses mostly at night.
If your eyes can take it, contacts are the deal. You can wear regular sunglasses, goggles, the whole nine yards!
Plus, I betcha if you walk into 10 eye dr's offices, they'll be wearing glasses or contacts, wait on the surgery piece.

I used to wear contacts all the time, then I meet my g/f and went back to wearing glasses, no need for the contacts anymore

About the only times I really found them useful was when playing sport, or in the middle of summer when it was nice being able to wear sunglasses as well.

If your an active person I highly recomend contacts, they really can be quite liberating.

Neither.

Killjoy wrote in post #3999325
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.

Yep, I hate being that far from the viewfinder.

tsfall wrote in post #3999348
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.
(snip)
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.

Tom

I can use daily wear and find them to be the best fit for me. However, when I am shooting, I prefer to do so with my naked eye. Since I am really nearsighted, I bought a Canon diopter lens for each of my bodies. This allows me to correct for my condition and use the viewfinder without glasses.

Also, I get a laugh at people who want to look through my viewfinder and it's all fuzzy. Welcome to my world!

I hope you find a solution that works best for you.

I wear glasses... I did try to go back to wearing contacts, when my photography endeavors hit an upswing, but it wasn't comfortable and caused a lot of headaches, literally. I'm fine shooting while wearing glasses... it just gets funny when I am working at my telescopes and focusing through my eyepieces without my glasses and then try to apply the focusing technique to my camera, to only find the image shot is blurred. Duh me... time to put my glasses back on. LoL

my fiancee shoots with contacts everytime and finds no disadvantages at all. I would think that glasses keeping you away from getting closeup to the viewfinder would be a huuuge disadvantage. She uses soft contacts if that helps.