I'm sure that I'm not the only person with this problem, so I hope that there's some advice out there in 365-land.
I'm in that annoying stage of mid-life where my nearsighted vision is being complicated by a growing need for bifocals for close work. I'm told that getting stabilised will take a couple of years before I settle into a long term eyeglasses prescription.
This is causing me all sorts of issues when using my DSLR, because when I go to manual focus mode (which I really prefer over the auto focus stuff), what looks clear to me in the viewfinder ends up being slightly blurred in the final shot. It's driving me crazy and I've wrecked so many photos that would have otherwise been excellent compositions.
Tweaking the viewfinder clarity adjustment isn't helping much and using the screen on the back of the camera is a no go because that is also blurry, because my eye doctor and I haven't got the near vision thing sorted out yet.
Oh, is "viewfinder clarity adjustment" the same thing as "diopter?" If so, never mind. So far, changing my diopter as my eyes get worse has worked pretty well. then, you may have to shoot with glasses on..
I've had the same problem. I got my first pair of glasses a couple months ago and I'm pretty sure I shouldn't be shooting without them! As MaryBeth said...play with the diopter, that might help
The diopter... I couldn't remember the word for the clarity adjustment for trying. I'll keep fiddling with it, and hopefully, my vision will settle and I can get a pair of glasses that give me clear vision for good soon. I suppose that I could start doing purposeful soft focus stuff... *wry grin*
Have you tried a pair of cheap "readers"? They might not be perfect if your eyes, like mine, are different from each other, but it might get you close enough for focusing.
This is probably a stupid idea, but have you tried using autofocus to focus something and then adjusting the diopter while you know the lens is in focus? Does that even makes sense? I wear progressive lenses, but I always shoot with my naked eye.
Manual focusing through the viewfinder on a T1i or other DSLR with a similarly small viewfinder is extremely difficult even with excellent eyesight. I have relatively good eyesight and I've never managed to take a photo through the viewfinder that I would consider genuinely sharp while in manual focus mode, except at very small apertures where you have a lot of leeway.
You mention you have tried live view mode (using the back of the camera). Are you aware that you can zoom in on the live view mode to 10x, by pressing the zoom button (the same button you'd use to zoom a shot you've already taken) twice?
I use this method for most of my tripod-mounted landscapes and get pin-sharp results every time (except when I forget!). Even with less than perfect eyesight, by zooming in and focusing you might be able to get acceptably sharp photos?
You mention you don't like autofocus -- could this be a good opportunity to gain more familiarity with the autofocus system on the camera? The system has various settings, including selecting the right focus zones for the photo you're taking, and switching between with the different tracking modes (one-shot, ai servo, etc.). Looking at your photostream, there aren't any photos on there which should have caused the autofocus system too much difficulty, if correctly set up.
@abirkill Thank you very much for the advice. I'll explore "zooming" in on the live view mode and see if that works any better for me. I suppose that i should start trusting autofocus more. I never got the results I wanted on my old camera, and I must have carried the distrust over from that when I got my T1i.
@lisjam1 I don't think that's a stupid idea at all. I'll give that a try to adjust the diopter when I leave the office tonight.
@swguevin I do use a tripod except when I'm doing "drive-by" photos, but I do appreciate your advice.
@ronah That's a thought. I might give that a try this weekend. A co-worker who also does photography suggested that part of the problem is the progressive bifocal lenses in my current glasses, as the change area between distance and close vision could be distorting what I see through the viewfinder.
@espyetta and @shutterbugger Thanks for chiming in. I'll see what I can do with the diopter.
I really appreciate the input. I was getting so frustrated with it that I couldn't think of what to do. :-) Have a lovely first day of Summer/Winter (depending on your hemisphere)!
@abirkill Those were good tips you gave up there! I did not know that about zooming the live view screen. I don't use the live view screen...never figured it out and just got used to the view finder...I need to give that a try.
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You mention you have tried live view mode (using the back of the camera). Are you aware that you can zoom in on the live view mode to 10x, by pressing the zoom button (the same button you'd use to zoom a shot you've already taken) twice?
I use this method for most of my tripod-mounted landscapes and get pin-sharp results every time (except when I forget!). Even with less than perfect eyesight, by zooming in and focusing you might be able to get acceptably sharp photos?
You mention you don't like autofocus -- could this be a good opportunity to gain more familiarity with the autofocus system on the camera? The system has various settings, including selecting the right focus zones for the photo you're taking, and switching between with the different tracking modes (one-shot, ai servo, etc.). Looking at your photostream, there aren't any photos on there which should have caused the autofocus system too much difficulty, if correctly set up.
@lisjam1 I don't think that's a stupid idea at all. I'll give that a try to adjust the diopter when I leave the office tonight.
@swguevin I do use a tripod except when I'm doing "drive-by" photos, but I do appreciate your advice.
@ronah That's a thought. I might give that a try this weekend. A co-worker who also does photography suggested that part of the problem is the progressive bifocal lenses in my current glasses, as the change area between distance and close vision could be distorting what I see through the viewfinder.
@espyetta and @shutterbugger Thanks for chiming in. I'll see what I can do with the diopter.
I really appreciate the input. I was getting so frustrated with it that I couldn't think of what to do. :-) Have a lovely first day of Summer/Winter (depending on your hemisphere)!