SLRs with adjustable-diopter viewfinders
Tony Karp
lenses.
I'm looking for a camera at the level of the Pentax ZX-7 or ZX-5N, but the one
feature that I must have is an adjustable-diopter eyepiece (The IS-10 has
this).
The two Pentaxs I listed above have this feature, but I wondered if there's a
Canon, Nikon, or Minolta in the same price range with this feature.
Also, does anyone have any experience with the
Pentax FA Zoom 28-105mm f/4.0-5.6 (IF) Silver
lens, which looks like a nice, lightweight companion to the ZX-series bodies?
Tony Karp, TLC Systems Corp tk...@tlc-systems.com
Visit our web sites:
Techno-Impressionist Museum: http://www.techno-impressionist.com
TLC Systems: http://www.tlc-systems.com
$
variety of diopters your optician can tell you which one you need
Tony Karp <tk...@tlc-systems.com> wrote in message
news:SJQ5OLIF33wkdY...@4ax.com...
chris kelly
we can get a camera that has our prescription for one eye built in to the
viewfinder? Does this work for those of us with a stigmatism?
Chris
Dan Honemann
chris kelly <cke...@imsi.com> wrote in message
news:3839AFDA...@imsi.com...
> I am a little confused. Does this mean, that for those of us who wear
glasses,
> we can get a camera that has our prescription for one eye built in to the
> viewfinder? Does this work for those of us with a stigmatism?
I doubt it (but don't know for sure). The problem, of course, is that you
need to have your glasses on to see the shot you want to take (unless you
want to walk around looking through the viewfinder), so I've found the
diopter-adjusted viewfinders to be a nice idea but useless in real practice.
Dodjoe
camera for taking pics.joe
Tony Karp
>canon and Nikon both have interchangeable eyepieces which are available in a
>variety of diopters your optician can tell you which one you need
Adjustable. Built-in.
I wear glasses indoors, but not outside.
The IS-10 lets me move a lever to adjust for my current situation.
The ZX-5N and ZX-7 have this feature as well.
I was wondering if there was a Canon, Nikon, or Minolta that had that feature.
Chuck Ross
> I am a little confused. Does this mean, that for those of us who wear
glasses,
> we can get a camera that has our prescription for one eye built in to the
> viewfinder? Does this work for those of us with a stigmatism?
>
> Chris
>
> "$" wrote:
>
> > canon and Nikon both have interchangeable eyepieces which are available in a
> > variety of diopters your optician can tell you which one you need
No, not really, altho that -is- possible. What it means is, for people who
wear eyeglasses and use them to look thru the viewfinder, the image in the
viewfinder may be quite blurry. A diopter lens will compensate for the
difference between the eyeglasses compensation and the effect of the
viewfinder's
compensation.
For myself, without a diopter lens, I am completely unable to use any Nikon
or Canon viewfinder that doesn't have a built-in diopter correction. I must
have, for Nikon viewfinders, a +0.5 diopter and for Canon viewfinders, a -0.5
diopter. With those in place, the viewfinder image is clear and sharp, mostly,
but maximum quality is only via a camera with built-in diopter correction.
Nikon cameras with built-in diopter correction include the F100, F4s and F5,
currently. All others require auxilliary diopter lenses that fit the respective
viewfinders.
For Canon cameras, the EOS 1N, AE-2 and EOS-3 have built-in diopter
adjustment. I believe some other 'amateur' models have them as well, but
don't offhand know which ones.
As far as asking the optician, that's usually an excercise in futility.
Your optician can tell you the diopter strength of your eyeglasses (the
distant-vision part) but to relate that to the camera's viewfinder correction,
I'm afraid most opticians would be completely lost.
It goes something like this:
for Nikon viewfinders, Nikon sets them at -1.0 diopters. Adding this value
to your eyeglasses diopter value should give you the value of the diopter
lens you will need to correct the viewfinder to your eyes wearing eyeglasses.
For me, -1.0 plus +1.75 = +0.75 diopters. They don't quite come in that
strength, but a +0.5 works pretty well for me.
for Canon viewfinders, Canon sets them at +1.0 diopters. But before I get
lost in this one, I'd better quit because I don't remember the exact
value for Canon viewfinders. They're set differently than Nikon ones.
Best thing is to actually test the diopter lenses at a well-equipped
camera store with the camera and your eyeglasses. You will find the
right one very quickly.
--
Images
Digital and Film-Based Photography
http://www.members.home.net/ckross
Richard Cochran
> I am a little confused. Does this mean, that for those of us who
> wear glasses, we can get a camera that has our prescription for one
> eye built in to the viewfinder? Does this work for those of us with
> a stigmatism?
I have unusually strong astigmatism. There are two reasons why I wear
glasses while shooting instead of having the correction put into the
eyepiece: First and most important, if I removed my glasses, I
wouldn't be able to see anything EXCEPT through the viewfinder. But
there's another problem for those of us with astigmatism. The
correction lens must be oriented properly with respect to our eyes.
If you're astigmatic, try rotating a lens of your eyeglasses 90
degrees and looking through it -- for me it's much worse than my
already terrible naked-eye vision. This implies that I'd have to
twist the corrective eyepiece on the camera when switching between
horizontal and vertical orientation.
It's less trouble for me just to wear glasses.
But in answer to your question, yes, you can get correction built into
the viewfinder. Some viewfinders have a built-in mechanism to dial in
the correction, but none of these correct for astigmatism to my
knowledge. Many other cameras have a threaded port for the eyepiece;
For simple prescriptions, you can buy a corrective lens off-the-shelf
at a camera store; for more unusual prescriptions, you can get a
prescription lens ground to screw into this port. See your
optometrist and/or camera dealer.
--Rich
P.S. I'm -3.25cyl, 90deg for those who understand optometry.
P.P.S. But 20/15 corrected acuity.
Paul Coen
>
> I was wondering if there was a Canon, Nikon, or Minolta that had that feature.
The Minolta Dynax/Maxxum 600si and the new 9 both do. I think the
800si does, but I can't swear to that. Samy's out in California
was recently selling 600si bodies for a good discount if you
asked -- between $300 and $400. They somehow managed to get
a big percentage of the remaining 600si stock in North America.
Anyway, nice camera (high-speed sync flash, 1/200 sync with
a standard flash, 2fps advance, seperate controls for exposure
and flash compensation, pentaprism viewfinder, has an optional
veritcal control grip that can use AA batteries and provides a PC
flash sync socket, and one of the best control sets you'll ever
see on a camera).
The 9's a great camera, but I'm assuming you're looking at
spending less than US$1,400.
Simon Watkins
Tony Karp <tk...@tlc-systems.com> wrote in message
news:SJQ5OLIF33wkdY...@4ax.com...
> I want to step up from my Olympus IS-10 to a camera with interchangeable
> lenses.
>
> I'm looking for a camera at the level of the Pentax ZX-7 or ZX-5N, but the
one
> feature that I must have is an adjustable-diopter eyepiece (The IS-10 has
> this).
>
> The two Pentaxs I listed above have this feature, but I wondered if
there's a
> Canon, Nikon, or Minolta in the same price range with this feature.
Minolta 800si has built in adjustable diopter eyepiece. I thought my
eyesight was perfect, but have found that I found by adjusting the diopter
control very slightly, I can see a sharper viewfinder image. Just one of
many useful built-in features on this wonderful wonderful camera of course
:-)
Simon
> Also, does anyone have any experience with the
>
> Pentax FA Zoom 28-105mm f/4.0-5.6 (IF) Silver
>
> lens, which looks like a nice, lightweight companion to the ZX-series
bodies?
>
>
Anders Svensson
> I am a little confused. Does this mean, that for those of us who wear glasses,
> we can get a camera that has our prescription for one eye built in to the
> viewfinder? Does this work for those of us with a stigmatism?
>
> Chris
Yes, a "prescription eyeglass" can usually be built into the camera (if not too
extreme).
There are however some backsides to this approach. If you use contact lenses at
times (like I do, when skiing and sailing), this does *not* work. Likewize, when
using glasses, the glasses has to come off, and that's a nuisance for some people,
too.
A astigmatic correction lens is a cylinder lens, a lens that depends on its
orientation to correct the eyesight, and turned 90 degrees, it will be worse, not
better. Such a lens will make it harder to use tha camera in "portrait"
orientation.
This problem is probably the reason for many eyeglass wearers getting what is
called "high eyepoint" camera, cameras that allow seeing the full viewfinder from a
position slightly outwards from the ocular, giving place for a ordinary eyeglass.
--
-----------------------------------------------------------
Anders Svensson
Anders.-.Ei...@swipnet.se
-----------------------------------------------------------
Anders Svensson
> Many other cameras have a threaded port for the eyepiece;
> For simple prescriptions, you can buy a corrective lens off-the-shelf
> at a camera store; for more unusual prescriptions, you can get a
> prescription lens ground to screw into this port.
Add to this that it is only by luck that a screw-in ocular lens will come
to rest just right for astigmatism correction...
Dan Baumbach
but + and - and your eye doctor can tell you which one is right for you.
The problem is, is that it's hard to find a store that has them in stock or
will order one for you. Before you decide on this plan, check with the
stores that you deal with. I couldn't get B&H to order a diopter for me.
I only know Nikon and it's the high range ones, F4, F5, etc. that have built
in correction. I use it on my F4 and F5 because my problem is mostly old
eyes going far sighted. The built in correction works fine but the cameras
may be more than you want to spend. All the Nikons also have High Eyepoint
viewfinders and you can generally use them wearing glasses. I also have an
N70 that I use with glasses and it can sometimes be a little of a pain, you
get used to it.
- Dan.
Tony Karp wrote in message ...
>I want to step up from my Olympus IS-10 to a camera with interchangeable
>lenses.
>
>I'm looking for a camera at the level of the Pentax ZX-7 or ZX-5N, but the
one
>feature that I must have is an adjustable-diopter eyepiece (The IS-10 has
>this).
>
>The two Pentaxs I listed above have this feature, but I wondered if there's
a
>Canon, Nikon, or Minolta in the same price range with this feature.
>
Chuck Ross
<da...@canyonsw.com> wrote:
> It's true that Nikon, etc. make correction diopters. Not perscription ones
> but + and - and your eye doctor can tell you which one is right for you.
> The problem is, is that it's hard to find a store that has them in stock or
> will order one for you. Before you decide on this plan, check with the
> stores that you deal with. I couldn't get B&H to order a diopter for me.
Most eye doctor's eyes will roll back into their foreheads if you ask this
question. Problem is, you need to match the diopter lens to the eyepiece
correction used by Nikon (or Canon) in the viewfinder, and they don't know
that.
>
> I only know Nikon and it's the high range ones, F4, F5, etc. that have built
> in correction. I use it on my F4 and F5 because my problem is mostly old
> eyes going far sighted. The built in correction works fine but the cameras
> may be more than you want to spend. All the Nikons also have High Eyepoint
> viewfinders and you can generally use them wearing glasses. I also have an
> N70 that I use with glasses and it can sometimes be a little of a pain, you
> get used to it.
That's because the N70 doesn't have a high-eyepoint viewfinder and is a
bear to use with eyeglasses.
jj, curmudgeon and tiring philalethist
Chuck Ross <ckross...@home.com> wrote:
>That's because the N70 doesn't have a high-eyepoint viewfinder and is a
>bear to use with eyeglasses.
Hmm. I have glasses (good thing, too, bump! ouch, where did that
wall come from?) and I have no problem using N70's. I don't use a
corrective eyepiece, but I am soon to get a +3/4 to help
me with the old adaptation problem...
JJ
--
Copyright j...@research.att.com 1999, all rights reserved, except transmission
by USENET and like facilities granted. This notice must be included. Any
use by a provider charging in any way for the IP represented in and by this
article and any inclusion in print or other media are specifically prohibited.
Dodjoe
strenght.joe
Chuck Ross
curmudgeon and tiring philalethist) wrote:
> In article <ckrossNOSPAM-2...@c111703-a.hrvy1.il.home.com>,
> Chuck Ross <ckross...@home.com> wrote:
> >That's because the N70 doesn't have a high-eyepoint viewfinder and is a
> >bear to use with eyeglasses.
>
> Hmm. I have glasses (good thing, too, bump! ouch, where did that
> wall come from?) and I have no problem using N70's. I don't use a
> corrective eyepiece, but I am soon to get a +3/4 to help
> me with the old adaptation problem...
>
> JJ
You may or may not have noticed, Jim, that with glasses on, it's not
easy to see all four corners of the viewfinder image. I definitely
noticed this during the few days I owned an N70, and it was one of
the reasons for bringing it back, among others (non-friendly interface
for one).
The F100 and F4 have -much- easier-to-see viewfinders with glasses.
To see this vividly demonstrated, it's only necessary to try an F100
and the N70 at the same time.
phil _willen
Simon Watkins wrote:
>
> Tony Karp <tk...@tlc-systems.com> wrote in message
> news:SJQ5OLIF33wkdY...@4ax.com...
> > I want to step up from my Olympus IS-10 to a camera with interchangeable
> > lenses.
> >
> > I'm looking for a camera at the level of the Pentax ZX-7 or ZX-5N, but the
> one
> > feature that I must have is an adjustable-diopter eyepiece (The IS-10 has
> > this).
> >
> > The two Pentaxs I listed above have this feature, but I wondered if
> there's a
> > Canon, Nikon, or Minolta in the same price range with this feature.
>
> Minolta 800si has built in adjustable diopter eyepiece. I thought my
> eyesight was perfect, but have found that I found by adjusting the diopter
> control very slightly, I can see a sharper viewfinder image. Just one of
> many useful built-in features on this wonderful wonderful camera of course
> :-)
>
> Simon
>
Chadd Thompson
>> > Canon, Nikon, or Minolta in the same price range with this feature.
>>
>> Minolta 800si has built in adjustable diopter eyepiece. I thought my
>> eyesight was perfect, but have found that I found by adjusting the diopter
>> control very slightly, I can see a sharper viewfinder image. Just one of
>> many useful built-in features on this wonderful wonderful camera of course
>> :-)
The minolta 600si also has the adjustment.
Rick
BIT ON A STRAP) - both signs of attention to detailand a good camera.
Dan Baumbach wrote:
> It's true that Nikon, etc. make correction diopters. Not perscription ones
> but + and - and your eye doctor can tell you which one is right for you.
> The problem is, is that it's hard to find a store that has them in stock or
> will order one for you. Before you decide on this plan, check with the
> stores that you deal with. I couldn't get B&H to order a diopter for me.
>
> I only know Nikon and it's the high range ones, F4, F5, etc. that have built
> in correction. I use it on my F4 and F5 because my problem is mostly old
> eyes going far sighted. The built in correction works fine but the cameras
> may be more than you want to spend. All the Nikons also have High Eyepoint
> viewfinders and you can generally use them wearing glasses. I also have an
> N70 that I use with glasses and it can sometimes be a little of a pain, you
> get used to it.
>
> - Dan.
>
> Tony Karp wrote in message ...
> >I want to step up from my Olympus IS-10 to a camera with interchangeable
> >lenses.
> >
> >I'm looking for a camera at the level of the Pentax ZX-7 or ZX-5N, but the
> one
> >feature that I must have is an adjustable-diopter eyepiece (The IS-10 has
> >this).
> >
> >The two Pentaxs I listed above have this feature, but I wondered if there's
> a
> >Canon, Nikon, or Minolta in the same price range with this feature.
> >
Dave Oswald
>>
>> Tony Karp wrote in message ...
>> >I want to step up from my Olympus IS-10 to a camera with interchangeable
>> >lenses.
>> >
>> >I'm looking for a camera at the level of the Pentax ZX-7 or ZX-5N, but the
>> one
>> >feature that I must have is an adjustable-diopter eyepiece (The IS-10 has
>> >this).
>> >
>> >The two Pentaxs I listed above have this feature, but I wondered if there's
>> a
>> >Canon, Nikon, or Minolta in the same price range with this feature.
>> >
>> >Also, does anyone have any experience with the
>> >
>> > Pentax FA Zoom 28-105mm f/4.0-5.6 (IF) Silver
>> >
>> >lens, which looks like a nice, lightweight companion to the ZX-series
>> bodies?
You are correct, both the Pentax ZX-7 and the ZX-5n have an adjustable
diopter eyepiece built in as standard equipment.
Regarding the Pentax SMC-FA Zoom 28-105 f/4.0-5.6 (IF) Silver, it is a
pretty good lens. Pentax has been able to keep its price down using
two techniques: first, Pentax did away with the power zoom feature in
this lens (available in the non IF model). Second, Pentax bought the
barrel of the lens and presumably the mechanics from Tamron, saving in
R&D costs. To that barrel Pentax applied its own super multi-coated
elements and mount, thus drawing from the best Pentax has to offer,
and combining it with Tamron's successful external design.
My first impression of the new silver 28-105 is that when used in MF
the travel from near to far focus is smaller than I'm accustomed to.
That could make it difficult to get a precise manual focus, though
certanly not impossible. However, I did appreciate the quality
optics, built-in hood, and light weight. I especially liked the fact
that it is an IF lens, so it can be used easily with polarizing
filters or gradient filters.
I almost bought it, in fact. Then I decided that I would rather shift
slowly into fast primes.
Dave
Ratso
<r.ba...@remove.virgin.net> wrote:
> EOS 1n - good deals at the moment - PLUS eyepiece cover built in (NOT A
> PLASTIC
> BIT ON A STRAP) - both signs of attention to detailand a good camera.
>
> Dan Baumbach wrote:
>
> > It's true that Nikon, etc. make correction diopters. Not perscription
> > ones
> > but + and - and your eye doctor can tell you which one is right for
> > you.
> > The problem is, is that it's hard to find a store that has them in
> > stock or
> > will order one for you. Before you decide on this plan, check with the
> > stores that you deal with. I couldn't get B&H to order a diopter for
> > me.
I can't find the original post from Dan Baumbach...it may have been
some time back, but I will guarantee that your eye doctor cannot tell you
which one is right for you, unless he's a camera viewfinder expert. The
reason is, all camera manufacturers set up viewfinders differently, and
a diopter that works on a Nikon almost surely will not work on a Canon,
and vice versa. For my eyeglasses, on a Canon viewfinder, I need a -0.5
diopter correction, but with Nikon viewfinders, a +0.5 diopter lens
works.
There is no way an eye doctor can give you this information.