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Just curious about this issue....

Always - just comes naturally. Same as when I'm using a telescope (although that does start to get tiring after a while).
Binoculars - always 2 eyes though!

Frank

Usually depends what I'm photographing. If doing ice hockey, I like having both eyes open, you never know what may be coming your way. If I'm doing landscapes, I tend to close one eye, unless I've got waves coming at me, then I'll keep both eyes open

Option 4 was the closest for me, I got 2 bad eyes so it doesn't matter.

Like, André, it depends on what I'm shooting. Most of the time I have both eyes open so I can keep an eye on things. I have no troubles concentrating with one eye.

phillipb wrote:Option 4 was the closest for me, I got 2 bad eyes so it doesn't matter.

Eye, eye, eye, mon capitan.

Eye two have three ayes, and it's generally best to keep all four of them open.

It helps in three ways:

It's a safety issue: as mentioned by Andre, if something dangerous is heading your way, at least you'll know what's going to hit you.

And when you're shooting moving subjects, you can follow the action with your free aye, which can help you compose and shoot as the subject comes into your viewfinder.

gstark wrote:And when you're shooting moving subjects, you can follow the action with your free aye, which can help you compose and shoot as the subject comes into your viewfinder.

That wouldn't work for me as I use my left eye to see through the viewfinder.

Interesting question/poll. I have one good eye (left) and one rather bad eye (right). This makes using a SLR rather difficult as they all seem to be designed for the right eye. ie the viewfinder is not in the centre of the camera but offset so that when the camera is held to the right eye the camera butts up against the side of your nose. For me, the camera's LCD rests on my nose... And I have been told I have big nose.

Depending upon what I am shooting will determine if I keep my right eye open. Aircraft, and other action stuff I sometimes do if there are multiple aircraft in the air, but otherwise, its closed to concentrate on the shot as I can't see too much out of my right eye.

Mark P.
--
CBR AU

I do both. Motorsports I shoot with both open for safety and periphial vision.. It has saved me more than once.

other stuff, usually one eye only.

This makes using a SLR rather difficult as they all seem to be designed for the right eye. ie the viewfinder is not in the centre of the camera but offset so that when the camera is held to the right eye the camera butts up against the side of your nose.

The modern cameras are not the worst.
To turn the FM2 on, you pull out the film winder. Guess where it goes if you look through the view finder with your left eye These days I just change the focus point - or did until I worked out what the little lever with an "L" was for.

As others have said, I do both.
Both eyes open for moving subjects and one eye closes automaticly for macro work. As my eyes are not getting any younger I am trying to increase the amount of time I use both eyes to save on one eye working and the other trying to catch up again.

(Female) my wife always uses her left eye at the view finder, just natural for her

(male) I use my right eye at the view finder, but I always worry that if I leave my left eye open it will let light in and upset the exposure!
wife says there is nothing in there so maybe you can see my point?

I too close my off-camera eye, but not if I want to keep an eye on extraneous action happening off-camera. Not that trees and rocks move very often

I am starting to practise having both eyes open... it's slowly growing on me I think...

surenj wrote:I am starting to practise having both eyes open... it's slowly growing on me I think...

Just wait until you grow a third eye in the middle of your forehead.

it varies for me, for motorsport i'll keep both open, but it depends on the zoom that im using... 35-70mm i can use both eyes, but any more or less it starts to become a bit useless.

VR trips me out using both eyes sometimes!

My right eye is near-sighted so I usually use my left eye to look through the camera. Its just more comfortable without making extra effort on my right eye to focus on the viewfinder.

I close one eye, and I use my left eye for the viewfinder because it is natural. It'll be different if I'm doing things with a bit of movement like sports and such, then I use my right eye in the viewfinder and left eye to track.

I normally close both eyes - and if you have seen any of my pictures, that would explain a lot....

Cheers

Where's the "I use live view" option?

Oops! I guess I forgot to include that one. But then the question will still remain when you don't use liveview; which may be a significant percentage.

Wow, I'd never even thought of keeping my non-viewfinder eye open! I'll have to give it a try.

I'm interested in a follow-on question: which eye do you use in the viewfinder? Started a new thread to find out at viewtopic.php?f=5&t=36274&start=0&st=0&sk=t&sd=a

I keep them both open even when using the telescope and microscope, I find it reduces eye strain and for photography is allows me to follow the action and find those cougar moments....