Glasses wearers (1 Viewer)

[Neil22]

I wear glasses, but find it so much easier to use the focus on my scope without them !!
Therefore why do so many people talk about using glasses with their scopes?
Just flip them up to the top of your head befor looking!!
Surely if you can see clearly through your scope \ binaculars without them it is so much better.
Even with binoculars there is a focus on one lens if your eyes are not the same.
What you do is look though the fixed lens at a distant object, with the other eye shut, and focus, then shut that eye, and with the other eye focus the adjustable lens.
The binoculars are then set up for your eyes at any focal leagth.
Hope this helps.

 

[Hermann]

I wear glasses, but find it so much easier to use the focus on my scope without them !!

Not my experience. I find focusing my scope with my glasses works well.

Therefore why do so many people talk about using glasses with their scopes?
Just flip them up to the top of your head befor looking!!

Why should I do that? No problems here. And if I were to use my scope (or indeed my binoculars) without my glasses, I'd lose quite a bit of acuity. That depends on your eyes, of course. Astigmatism especially can't be corrected without glasses or contact lenses.

Hermann

 

[Neil22]

Not my experience. I find focusing my scope with my glasses works well.

Why should I do that? No problems here. And if I were to use my scope (or indeed my binoculars) without my glasses, I'd lose quite a bit of acuity. That depends on your eyes, of course. Astigmatism especially can't be corrected without glasses or contact lenses.

Hermann

Fair comment Hermann, but my eyes, like a lot of others are just fading through old age, and the focus on the scope or binaculars works just as well as any reading galsses you can buy off the shelf at Boots.

 

[CMB]

I wear glasses, but find it so much easier to use the focus on my scope without them !!
Therefore why do so many people talk about using glasses with their scopes?
Just flip them up to the top of your head befor looking!!

As Hermann shared, some people who wear glasses have astigmatism and the optics in scopes and binoculars don’t correct astigmatism. So to see through scopes and binoculars clearly, they have to wear their glasses.

And some people also have a strong prescription in addition to astigmatism.

That combination is one reason why some folks need scope eyepieces and binoculars that have long eye relief.

 

[GrampaTom]

Not my experience. I find focusing my scope with my glasses works well.

Astigmatism especially can't be corrected without glasses or contact lenses.

Hermann

Or Toric lens from Cataract Surgery... Yahoo!

 

[GrampaTom]

Post surgery I can see great... at distance, (my choice). Up close, not so well. I can indeed enjoy scope or Binoculars without glasses. BUT, I use Sibley, Cornell/Merlin in my phone from time to time to identify a new bird. Now what? Its not fun to carry, stop and put on glasses to read close stuff. So back to glasses that carry bifocal lens is my solution...

 

[MiddleRiver]

I do flip up specs with scope but never with binos. Simple reason is ‘response time’. Binos is often quick, sometimes frantic search for bird. Scope is methodical and not back and forth like bino use.

 

[Mike Crawley]

I’m no longer a glasses wearer having had both lenses replaced.
However, I was -6.75 in both eyes. Effectively useless for seeing a bird in a tree or on a lake/the sea (although I could usually tell there was a tree/lake in front of me). btw, varifocal lenses for the last 15 years.
Therefore, it was totally impractical to try to go birding without my glasses, therefore binoculars and 'scope had to work well with my glasses. In addition I practiced hard at keeping both eyes open when using my ‘scope, (the viewing eye assumes dominance) more restful for viewing through the 'scope for long periods.

 

[Bill Atwood]

If I'm using my scope for any length of time at a set up I take my glasses off. Much sharper image.

 

[Hermann]

BTW, all the information you need to have about using glasses with binoculars and scopes can be found here, especially in looksharp's excellent posting (#6): Eyeglasses - a few unqualified remarks

A couple of quotes from looksharp's posting relevant to this thread:

"In general, it's my opinion that maximised visual acuity with corrective lenses is a prerequisite for good vision in binoculars. If you have a moderate myopia or hyperopia but no astigmatism, you can allow yourself to take the glasses off and focus with the binoculars.
I simply don't understand why people buy binoculars for two or three grand, when their uncorrected vision is so poor. " [snip]
"Varifocal lenses are "Jack of all trades, master of none". All spectacle lenses introduce distorsions, and most of us willingly adapt thanks to the brain's plasticity. In everyday life, varifocals can oftentimes be the most feasible solution. But the compromises of varifocals are a magnitude higher than the already distorting single vision lenses, and those compromises will show when used with top-of-the-line binoculars."
I therefore recommend getting a pair of good single-vision distance spectacles for use with binoculars. Granted, this will also be fiddly for some who want to, or need to see at close range too. This is where contacts enter. With monovision, the bin's diopter can be used to even out the difference between the eyes while maintaining good reading acuity. With both contacts set to distance sharpness, you can use cheap reading glasses when necessary."

This posting (and the whole thread) contains so much useful information that it should be made a sticky.

Hermann

 

[jjbrook]

BTW, all the information you need to have about using glasses with binoculars and scopes can be found here, especially in looksharp's excellent posting (#6): Eyeglasses - a few unqualified remarks

A couple of quotes from looksharp's posting relevant to this thread:

"In general, it's my opinion that maximised visual acuity with corrective lenses is a prerequisite for good vision in binoculars. If you have a moderate myopia or hyperopia but no astigmatism, you can allow yourself to take the glasses off and focus with the binoculars.
I simply don't understand why people buy binoculars for two or three grand, when their uncorrected vision is so poor. " [snip]
"Varifocal lenses are "Jack of all trades, master of none". All spectacle lenses introduce distorsions, and most of us willingly adapt thanks to the brain's plasticity. In everyday life, varifocals can oftentimes be the most feasible solution. But the compromises of varifocals are a magnitude higher than the already distorting single vision lenses, and those compromises will show when used with top-of-the-line binoculars."
I therefore recommend getting a pair of good single-vision distance spectacles for use with binoculars. Granted, this will also be fiddly for some who want to, or need to see at close range too. This is where contacts enter. With monovision, the bin's diopter can be used to even out the difference between the eyes while maintaining good reading acuity. With both contacts set to distance sharpness, you can use cheap reading glasses when necessary."

This posting (and the whole thread) contains so much useful information that it should be made a sticky.

Hermann

this is really great advice and I had such glasses (correction for long distance only) made which help with the binoculars particularly, and the scope to alarge degree but make it impossible to see through my camera viewfinder. My eyes following cataract surgery were corrected for astigmatism, for close vision out to arms length and by 66% for my nearsightedness. Consequently the lower part of my lenses for my bifocals have no correction and they actually work better when I am in the field juggling the various optics. Any suggestion for the optimum type of spectacle lens? An old fashioned bifocal? Im really frustrated with the difficulty seeing through my expensive optics and camera.

 

[Hermann]

My eyes following cataract surgery were corrected for astigmatism, for close vision out to arms length and by 66% for my nearsightedness. Consequently the lower part of my lenses for my bifocals have no correction and they actually work better when I am in the field juggling the various optics. Any suggestion for the optimum type of spectacle lens? An old fashioned bifocal? Im really frustrated with the difficulty seeing through my expensive optics and camera.

I'm not really qualified to answer your question. Maybe you can send looksharp a PM?

I personally stick to my "simple" single-vision distance glasses when I'm out and about. No problems with my cameras, my Nikons have a dioptre adjustment of +/- 3 diopters, and that's enough for me. Whenever I need to look at my phone or something, I switch glasses. Not very convenient, but I want neither varifocal lenses nor bifocals. I had another lengthy discussion with my opthamologist recently, and she agreed that was the best solution in my case.

Hermann

 

[Tringa45]

As Hermann stated above, it makes sense wearing your glasses if you have astigmatism in your viewing eye and also if your scope has a zoom function --see the parfocality thread.

John