[Leica] Vision correction

[len-1 at comcast.net (Leonard Taupier)]

Peter,

That's a nice ad for monovision contacts. I'm glad it's working out  
for you. I doubt I would ever get contacts as my progressives are  
just fine, except for the scratched lenses with the older M bodies.  
Also I'm too old to change my ways now.

You might like to look into a .58 body. I shoot a lot of 28mm and  
found it pretty impossible to correctly frame with the .72  
viewfinder. I picked up a 28mm viewfinder and that was fine. When I  
got my Tri-Elmar, going back and forth between viewfinders was kind  
of a pain.  Then my dealer got in a beautiful black .58 M7 and I  
picked it up. I love that camera. The 28mm frame is just right for  
me. I'm afraid my M6 and MP are being neglected. Sometimes I'll go  
out with just a 50 Summicron  in which case any body is fine.

Len


On Nov 16, 2006, at 2:26 PM, Klein, Peter A wrote:

> Tina:  Sorry about your vision issues.  It is indeed a royal pain.   
> I've
> had to change glasses and contacts every year for the past few, as  
> I've
> gone through the (ahem) transition period from my forties to fifties.
> The only good thing about it is that I'm getting less nearsighted  
> as the
> years go by.  I can now read comfortably without glasses--which was
> never the case before about 3 years ago.
>
> My solution has been a combination of glasses and monovision contacts.
> The contacts have enabled me to avoid using two pairs of glasses at
> work.  They are also a boon for Leica shooting.
>
> Since I do a lot of computer work, I have both a pair of bifocals for
> general use, and a pair of ordinary glasses for computer work (the
> prescription for the latter is focused at arm's length for easy screen
> reading).
>
> This is fine at home, but at work, I am constantly shuttling  
> between my
> own computer, other people's, and servers.  I hated having to carry
> around two pairs of glasses (and cases), and constantly switching
> between them.  I ended up getting monovision contacts.  My right  
> eye is
> for distance, my left is for reading.  This works most of the  
> time.  It
> took me a couple of months to get used to it, but now I'm very happy
> with it.
>
> I supplemented the monovision contacts with a little trick I  
> figured out
> myself.  When I'm sitting at my own computer for any length of  
> time, or
> for fine work, I use a pair of 1.25x reading glasses, from which I've
> removed the left lens.  This corrects my right eye for the screen, my
> left eye is already corrected by the contacts, and all's well with the
> world.  Carrying around one pair of readers is a lot easier than
> carrying two full-sized pairs of glasses.
>
> I don't wear the contacts on weekends or at night, unless I'm going to
> go out shooting my Leica.  My particular face shape and prescription
> causes me to need more eye relief than most people.  On a .72x  
> Leica, I
> can see the entire 50mm frame at once, but I lose the edges of the  
> 35mm
> frame.  After I got contacts, I found myself using my 35mm lenses  
> more,
> and I had to crop less.  :-)
>
> When I'm out hiking, on vacation, or in places where I won't have easy
> access to a clean rest room, I stick with the glasses. It avoids the
> kind of trouble you got into with contacts in Central America.  For
> scenic shots, it's no problem.  Most of the time, I keep my glasses  
> on a
> neck cord, focus with glasses on, then let the glasses dangle while I
> frame.  In a pinch, I can focus the camera reasonably well even  
> without
> glasses (try that on an SLR without a diopter!).
>
> If I ever have to give up contacts entirely, I might get a .58  
> body, or
> a 35mm finder.  The new torpedo-shaped V/C finder has just enough
> "minification" to be right for a glasses wearer like me.
>
> As the old song goes:
>
> My eyes are dim,
> I can not see,
> I have (Hey!) not (Ho!) brought my specs with me.  ;-)
>
> --Peter
>
>
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