You know how we are always discussing the focussing screens, lens sharpness , mt f curves, ultra fine grain, spending VERY good money on the best optics money ca n buy, yada yada yada... Well , being just a few years away from the big 50, things just didn't seem to b e in TACK sharp focus that i've been reading about and striving for , even with the best glass, fine grained film, tripods, etc... Even when reading, i would get tired after a couple of pages and put the book do wn. I had always prided myself as being able to see better than 20/20 and NOTHING wa s so tiny that i couldn't see or read it.
I decided after getting a little annoyed that my prints weren't as sharp as they should be, given the equipment at hand, to make an appointment with my childs e ye doctor for a checkup. I think the last eye checkup i had was maybe when i was in grade school.
surprise surprise surprise, my arms needed to be stretched OR i needed reading g lasses! WOW, what a freakin difference!!!!!
I URGE all of you to consider the positive effect a good and thourough eye exam will have on YOUR photography!!!
What a positive experience that was to sharper focusing! I THOUGHT my images wer e in focus on my screens all this time!
enough of my public service message, but it REALLY helped and maybe even if one of my LF Friends will heed this, it can possibly help your images..
I am where you are in the age department and have had the same thing, exactly, happen. Thing is, I CAN still see 20/20 or even better, for which I am thankful. When I complained about this during my first eye exam in decades, he told me that there is nothing wrong with my distance vision and that it is an age-related problem to lose close-up vision. As he put it, and it makes perfect sense, "You can still see like an eagle, but eagles can't read either."
I would make an even stronger statement: consider reading glasses even if you do *not* need them. Some optometrists are recommending close-focus glasses for those who would not normally be "ready for reading glasses". There is eye strain and reduced acuity for anyone focussing their eyes up close -- especially for extended periods of time: under the darkcloth or at a computer screen (anyone reading this message clearly spends too much time staring at a computer screen). I got reading glasses on such a recommendation in my early 30's. I'm today 41 and can still read without them if I don't have them on hand. But I can critically focus with these glasses on without need for a loupe. (At least the my focus resolution with these glasses matches the focusing precision of my camera, about 0.5mm.)
Another suggestion for long focal length eyeballs is a pair of glasses specifically designed for your computer(insert:"ground glass") - reading glasses are a huge nuisance under the cloth. - I had a pair of bifocals( sorry, its an ugly word) made for computer usage that provides reading lens diopters for the lowers (keyboard) and a slightly longer set for the uppers - arms length (monitor). Turns out these are the cats meow under the cloth - I now can sort of sit back and actually see the glass and the image I think I'm getting, without trying to do an obscene manouever to get a reading lens, eyeball and the upper corner of the screen all parfocal. So happens they work great at the computer too.
Presbyopia is wonderful isn't it? I'm still south of 50 but it snuck up on me in the last 2 years. Just got my new glasses for view camera work last week - +2 diopter and multicoated. Now anything from 6" to arm's length is in perfect focus. Just one warning, don't ever look in the mirror with them on, the eyes aren't the only things that are getting older! :^(
I remember throwing the hand out sheet on presbyopia on the seat of the car with a humph. not me! Now I have 7 pair of 2.75 Diopter s Costco glasses scattered throughout the house. I need 3 more pair now. The Lab puppy likes the way they crunch. I use a pair of 4.00 to view the GG of the 6x7 Horseman. George
Miles and all: No problem! The optometrist can prescribe you eye glasses for the various common distances at which you frequently need them. I need three pairs of glasses.
<ol> <li>A pair of graduated bifocals take care of reading and distance. Reading distance is 20cm. -~8".</li> <li>Another pair for the computer monitor, which sits almost twice as far.</li> <li>Another for groundglass viewing. </li> </ol>
The GG glasses were formulated so that I see the GG extremely sharp when the viewing distance is such that the field of view covers only the GG which is 4X5". With these I see the GG as close as I can while still seeing the whole screen but nothing more. These glasses are in fact like a small loupe, with the advantage that they are optically corrected for both eyes, and as a result, the viewing is incredibly sharp. With these glasses I can view the screen comfortably for as long as I wish.
However even with these glasses I found that to get really critical focus a 10X loupe was for me absolutely necessary. Reading glasses are totally useless for 4X5 photography because they are formulated for viewing at 20cm distance, much too far when looking at a 4X5"; screen. Perhaps for 8X10" or larger they may be OK. Likewise, reading glasses are not good for viewing computer monitors, unless the screens are quite small and you view them at 20cm.
You need not put yourself at a disadvantage or discomfort; your eyes may be old, -like mine, but that should not be an impediment with the tools that are available. All you need to do is go see the optometrist, no, I am not one. See you!
jim, the glasses for viewing the image right side up are only available at selected outlets in the SOUTHERN hemisphere....
i never thought of having some made for various focal lengths.. what an idea. i think i'll take my monorail camera to the eye doctors office and 'tinker'.
i'm also sending a copy of these comments to him tonight, for general thought and we like to talk shop.
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