Focus And Poor Vision

[Killbynumbers]

MY vision isn't terribly bad but it's bad enough to where I need to wear glasses at night to drive. With that being said, I am told that on my Canon camera that I should get used to using the view finder instead of the screen to focus and make adjustments. My vision kind of makes that a bit difficult from what I can see. Obviously Canon hopes people will use the viewfinder as that's why the screen blacks out after turning on the camera.

Any tips on this or is there no problem in using the screen to see where I want to focus?

 

[mollyc]

Well you can adjust the diopter on the viewfinder to correct for your glasses vision.

What Canon do you use? Most, if not all, mirrorless cameras have focus peaking which is a huge benefit when focusing with either screen.

With live view or the back LCD you should also be able to zoom in on where you want to focus.

All that said, if you are using auto focus, as long as your focal point is where you want it and you don't recompose, your vision is rather irrelevant to the actual focusing.

 

[Hughmac]

As Molly says, there should be a small wheel with + and - sign to adjust the viewfinder for your eyes.

Personally the viewfinders on my cameras are quite heavily adjusted for my thick glasses, and I find myself using it much more than the LCD as it gives me a more realistic idea of the shot I am taking.

Having said that, if you prefer to use the LCD, why not?

Cheers

Hugh

 

[Killbynumbers]

Well you can adjust the diopter on the viewfinder to correct for your glasses vision.

What Canon do you use? Most, if not all, mirrorless cameras have focus peaking which is a huge benefit when focusing with either screen.

With live view or the back LCD you should also be able to zoom in on where you want to focus.

All that said, if you are using auto focus, as long as your focal point is where you want it and you don't recompose, your vision is rather irrelevant to the actual focusing.

It's a 5D Mark IV. I really never had a camera like this so it's all pretty new to me. I took photography classes in HS back in the 70s and 80s and that was a Pentax film camera that had a light meter on top and I had to make the adjustments.

I was messing with the diopter adjustment and I'll have to play with it a bit to see what to set it at I guess.

 

[Steven-iphone]

Me wear glasses with Transitions XTRActive Lenses (dark outdoors - tinted indoors and while driving) - I am light sensitive, I think taking Stelazine caused an acute light sensitivity.

I don't use glasses while using the EVF
I have adjusted the diopter so I can see the readout.
I let the camera auto focus on the selected area (optical split screen was so easy on film cameras) - zebra stripes (focus peaking) don't work for me. Haven't got good results from it, probably because I am doing it wrong.

That is what I do.

 

[mollyc]

your camera doesn’t have focus peaking, but you could still zoom in on the camera back.

are you doing a lot of manual focus? the focus system on your model is very good. as long as the diopter is close and you move the focal point where you want it you shouldn’t have too much difficulty.

your camera is light years ahead of 70s/80s film cameras. ?

 

[Steven-iphone]

Me: X100T has Focus Peaking. I have tried, and tried, doesn't work for me.

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Yeah, the diopter is a lifesaver. After 44 years, I finally had to get me some “up close” glasses. Can see just fine far away, so the EVF makes all the difference for me to go out and shoot without the glasses. I’d be in trouble if I got a camera that didn’t have an EVF.

 

[Ray2]

Auto focus has gained in acceptance. With FF you're losing dof. Combined with imperfect eyesight makes for out of focus images and/or sore eyes.

 

[Killbynumbers]

Auto focus has gained in acceptance. With FF you're losing dof. Combined with imperfect eyesight makes for out of focus images and/or sore eyes.

Thank you. That makes me feel better.

 

[Killbynumbers]

your camera doesn’t have focus peaking, but you could still zoom in on the camera back.

are you doing a lot of manual focus? the focus system on your model is very good. as long as the diopter is close and you move the focal point where you want it you shouldn’t have too much difficulty.

your camera is light years ahead of 70s/80s film cameras. ?

When I first started with that old Pentax, autofocus was something I only dreamed about and it was available on much more expensive cameras that I could not afford as a high school student. The features and settings on this camera are just so extensive and I'll have to play around with them to see how they affect what I shoot. It's digital unlike the film days when I had to be careful to not waste film.

 

[Steven-iphone]

Unless a person is doing some special photographic method (manual lens...) - auto focus is brilliant. My X100T has Focus Lock (able to toggle with button). Comes in handy.

 

[Clix Pix]

Personally, I much prefer using a viewfinder -- either optical or electronic -- when shooting any interchangeable lens camera (ILC, whether mirrorless or DSLR), because I feel that I get a much better sense of composition, I can see better what I want to specifically focus on, and I use autofocus most of the time. For one thing, when one has a fairly large or heavy lens on the camera, it can be a bit heavy and awkward to be trying to hold the camera extended outward, away from the photographer's body, using one hand to touch the screen if the camera has a touch screen which can be used for establishing the focal point. I find that awkward even with my iPhone. I would think, too, that holding a largish camera extended from the body would increase the likelihood of motion blur caused by the photographer's own movements since there isn't anything to stabilize the camera and lens unless one is using a monopod or tripod.

When it comes to using AF vs MF, I do often use manual focus when I am shooting some macro or extreme closeup images. Focus peaking and magnified focus assist, both available through the EVF, really help with nailing what I want to have in sharp focus.

I can remember the days before we had AF and when it first appeared on the scene it seemed absolutely miraculous, but of course had a way to go as far as accuracy and precise focusing. I can't imagine NOT using it in this day and age!

 

[Darmok N Jalad]

Zoom-to-focus, magnify, or whatever each brand calls it on their mirrorless lines is indispensable, IMO. Basically, it’s a mode one can engage (usually by a custom button) that digitally zooms into a defined area of your frame in order to help you get fine-focus on exactly what you want. You can also usually program this to engage when you move the focus ring if you’d rather do it yourself. Without it, you’re at the mercy of what AF decides, and that can be very brand/model-specific. For example, if your camera doesn’t detect the squirrel in the tree, it might focus on foreground leaves or a tree limb instead. This zoom-to-focus helps you tell the camera where in the frame to look and focus, resulting in the shot you wanted.

That’s so much of the advancements in modern cameras—their ability to recognize the scene and chose the right AF point. The best bodies out there will not just grab a bird in flight, but detect the bird and then detect the eye and make that the AF point.

 

[Fishrrman]

With vision not what it used to be, I've come to the point where I use the rear display panels on my Canon EOS R and 77d almost exclusively.

I can't really "get close enough" to the viewfinder to make the experience enjoyable or even usable with my glasses on.

I can take off the glasses and use the diopter adjustment to compensate, BUT... now I can't see the rear panel for settings or images, etc. So I have to find the glasses and put them back ON.

But the "flippy" rear panels on both cameras make it easy to swing them out and adjust them for any angle needed. So that's what I use now.

 

[Clix Pix]

I take my glasses off when shooting, and I use the EVF. I have auto-review turned off but on the occasions when I do want to review an image I've just shot I can do that in the EVF or on the LCD screen. In the latter case, though, then I do have to put my glasses back on. I rarely use the rear LCD screen and never flip the thing out.

 

[Steven-iphone]

I take my glasses off when shooting, and I use the EVF. I have auto-review turned off but on the occasions when I do want to review an image I've just shot I can do that in the EVF or on the LCD screen. In the latter case, though, then I do have to put my glasses back on. I rarely use the rear LCD screen and never flip the thing out.

One of the good things about leaving the LCD panel off is you save battery. And focus on photographing rather than chimping images.

 

[Clix Pix]

Yes, definitely it is nice no longer doing the chimping thing! That became SUCH a habit with DSLRs. When I got the A7R IV I still did it for a while, sort of reflexively, until one day it dawned on me that, hey, no need to do that any more, I was seeing what I needed to see in the mirrorless camera's EVF before ever pressing the shutter button in the first place. Easy habit to break once I started thinking about it!

Even at that, though, over the past two years with the A7R IV I still kept auto-review turned on, which was wasteful when I wasn't bothering to chimp and look at the images I'd just shot, but it simply didn't occur to me to adjust the settings until I got the A1 and of course was busy setting up that camera and voila, the penny dropped -- ah, no need to even have auto-review on at all, duh! Wasn't really thinking about the battery power-saving advantage which comes along with that, but yes, a nice bonus. I do have spare batteries, though, so battery life isn't a huge concern and I do rotate and swap them around frequently so that all get used and are kept viable.