Tips for the visually impaired - diopter adjustment

[leek]

I've reached that tender age where my arm isn't long enough for me to read small print and I require reading glasses...

I'm finding that most of my really close-up manually focussed 105mm macros are not in focus - even though they appeared to be sharp as a tack in the viewfinder... I'm starting to suspect that this is because the diopter isn't correctly adjusted...

Adjusting the diopter for short-sightedness is easy - by focussing the lens on infinity and adjusting the diopter until infinity looks in focus,
but does anyone have any recommendations how to adjust the diopter for long-sightedness (i.e. when you need reading glasses)???

[birddog114]

I use reading glass but never try any diopter adjustment and I don't need.
And the D2 series viewfinder is bigger and brighter.

[SoCal Steve]

You can ask your optometrist what diopter value you need for the eye you use to focus with, buy one for the Nikon and install it on the view finder. e.g. I require a +2.0 for my left eye. If you ask your optometrist or optician about it, they usually will know what you need to know.

[phillipb]

You can ask your optometrist what diopter value you need for the eye you use to focus with, buy one for the Nikon and install it on the view finder. e.g. I require a +2.0 for my left eye. If you ask your optometrist or optician about it, they usually will know what you need to know.

I tried that a long time ago, I had a specially made diopter placed on my bronica, great for landscape orientation but useless for portrait because of the astigmatism in my eye.

Funny thing happened one day during a wedding, on the way to the church I had a minor car accident, the other party insisted we call the police so I had to wait at the scene. I sent my assistant to the church with my camera to photograph the ceremony, I forgot about the diopter, My assistant couldn't focus properly, ended up using f11 and guessing the distance on all the shots.

[SoCal Steve]

My assistant couldn't focus properly, ended up using f11 and guessing the distance on all the shots.

Extremely good point you make, Phillip! Unless you remember to change it back, you are essentially disabling the camera for anyone with different vision with a fixed diopter installed.

[christiand]

I am short and far sighted and wear transitional multi focals.

The way I got around the problem (I hope I have) is by doing this:

I have turned on the grids in the viewfinder,
then I changed the diopter adjustment so that grid and focal areas in
the viewfinder appear sharp.

HTH

Christiand

[sirhc55]

Reading glasses here - Canon angle finder for macro

[stubbsy]

I've reached that tender age where my arm isn't long enough for me to read small print and I require reading glasses...

I'm finding that most of my really close-up manually focussed 105mm macros are not in focus - even though they appeared to be sharp as a tack in the viewfinder... I'm starting to suspect that this is because the diopter isn't correctly adjusted...

Adjusting the diopter for short-sightedness is easy - by focussing the lens on infinity and adjusting the diopter until infinity looks in focus,
but does anyone have any recommendations how to adjust the diopter for long-sightedness (i.e. when you need reading glasses)???

John

Interesting question for which I can't answer since I'm short sighted.

My reason for posting is that diopter adjustment for us short sighted chappies isn't all it's cracked up to be either. I can easily adjust the dipoter and it's great, but only when I take my glasses off. Generally that's a PITA. For me it's a better solution to leave my glasses (multifocals) on with all the correction they give and push my glasses against an eye cup on the camera.

[johnd]

I hope I'm not about to make a fool of myself, but here goes.

If you use an AF lens, is this still an issue? As I understand it the D70 does all the focussing work to get the part that you select sharp. I'm pretty new to this game and everything I've shot to date has been with an AF lens and the camera set to AF. When would you use the camera in manual focus mode?

Cheers
John

[gstark]

I hope I'm not about to make a fool of myself, but here goes.

If you use an AF lens, is this still an issue? As I understand it the D70 does all the focussing work to get the part that you select sharp. I'm pretty new to this game and everything I've shot to date has been with an AF lens and the camera set to AF. When would you use the camera in manual focus mode?

John, you're correct, but that doesn't alter the fact there are times when AF isn't suitable (prefocus on an area to capture a subject at a given place) and one still - and always - needs to examine the objects in the VF to determine composition. If they're not correctly in focus, this can be problematic, and if you're not doing this, it can also, equally, be problematic.

[Hlop]

I'd try to set camera to AF-C and use closest object focus for macro. At least, it's a workaround while you're looking for hardware solution

[Matt. K]

John
Previous post was correct...turn on the grid and adjust the dipotre control until the grid and other viewfinder info is sharp.