Rusty Lens

I have cataracts & am having trouble really brinmg precise in what I'm doing both when I take photos & in post processing. Everything is soft and slightly fuzzy. For example, I think my Tamron 150-600 lens is slightly off but can't really tell for sure. Is it my eyes or the lens? I have cataract surgery scheduled in a couple of week. So here is my question for those who have gone thru this before me. Will it really help to see things better & let me tell the difference between a sharp photo & one that is close but not quite there? Will my color judgement be a bit more precise? Any advice anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Ched49 Loc: Pittsburgh, Pa.

I think your color judgement will be more precise, for me, the biggest improvement was everything looked much brighter. Before eye surgery, everything had a brownish tint to it. I don't need glasses to drive anymore. You'll see the great improvement's after surgery and btw, the surgery itself was a breeze.

Dug E Pi

Eventually. It will remove a fog from the lens in your eye (1/3 to 1/2 stop of haze). It takes weeks though before the healing process is over and a new glasses correction can be fine tuned. You will be very glad you went through it then, but for now please use any swear words you are comfortable with. Doug, ABOC. Optician btw. (the ABOC technically stands for Ass Backward Optician Certification) actually American Board Opticianary Certification might be the real one.

TheShoe Loc: Lacey, WA

100% agreement. Now, I only need glasses for reading in low light, if the fonts are too small, or when there is insufficient contrast.

LFingar Loc: Claverack, NY

Do cataracts impede vision more on bright, sunny days?

Kmgw9v Loc: Miami, Florida

Advice: Google Cataract surgery. Read about it.

rgrenaderphoto Loc: Hollywood, CA

My Father, at 93 had the surgery. He called me the week after eye #2 was done and asked what was wrong with his cable TV connection. I don't know Dad, I'll bite, what's wrong?"

"Why everything is so bright and easy to see," he says

"I wouldn't worry about it," says dutiful Son

MrBob Loc: lookout Mtn. NE Alabama

Rusty, I just had my second eye done on the 23rd. and the first was done on the 16th. I should of had it done a long time ago when I first noticed things getting fuzzy.. I CANNOT EMPHASIZE ENOUGH what a difference replacement lenses make. The diff. is not only in sharpness but also in the way color tones look. Sharpness is back to prob. the best I have EVER seen and color is now very true... White is now pure white as opposed to a yellow brownish white as cataracts are yellow brown in color anyway. ALL the colors are now pure and pristine. Absolutely NO pain; anyone putting it off because of anxiety etc... needs to just have it done. I feel like a miracle has occurred. My monitor is now so sharp I have a renewed interest in PP. Now its on to hip replacement in a few weeks and hopefully I can then get out and take some clicks with my newly acquired DP2 Merrill which I have not been able to do. Good luck and DON't put it off ! Bob

pmorin Loc: Huntington Beach, Palm Springs

My wife has had the surgery for cataracts and opted for the upgraded lens. It improved both her near and far vision. The insurance would only pay for either a near or a far vision lens. If you can, upgrade to the better lens. You won’t be sorry. She was in surgery for less than an hour and we were on the way back home in 2. Good luck and speedy recovery.

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

I had cataract surgery, for both eyes, earlier this year. I have gone from wearing seperate glasses for reading and driving to no glases at all. My vision now is 20/20.

robertjerl Loc: Corona, California

I was born near sighted. So have never known what 20/20 is like.
My long time optometrist (now retired but she trained her replacement herself-she is just as good) and also a professor of optometry at a local university used to give me contact lenses set up like she used herself (this was at least 15 years ago, she didn't recommend surgery yet, she wanted to see what complications might pop up).

Since I, like her, had one eye much more near sighted than the other and was used to using one eye at a time for many things she gave me a contact Rx for near work for one eye and far work for the other eye. For a while I also had glasses for use with the contacts, they corrected both eyes for driving and had over size aviator frames and lenses that were photo sensitive and became great sunglasses. The last several years I have gone back to just glasses but am considering contacts again for use with my cameras.

I have my annual ophthalmology checkup at Kaiser next month. Last year I had the beginning stage of cataracts and was told it is too early to try surgery. Then in Dec I have my regular annual eye check up. My retiree benefits from LA Unified School District has both full Kaiser and VSP vision plans. The two doctors have me obtain digital files of the other's checkup so they can compare and advise. So I go to my eye checkups with a new blank usb thumb drive in my pocket.

jdubu Loc: San Jose, CA

I had both eyes done at the same time a few years ago and it was the single best improvement I can remember having done.

The crystal clear view through my viewfinder now versus before cannot be described. Sorta like you have always looked at the world through dirty, smudged glasses and one day you cleaned them. I can enjoy performances of the arts so much more now because I can read the opera supertitles sharper and faster and see the performers finally.

It is a game changer and your appreciation of how it will facilitate your enjoyment of photography will only be matched by how it will also enrich your daily life. My wife is still amazed at the things I can see and read in the distance that she cannot.

pdsdville Loc: Midlothian, Tx

Unfortunately I still need glasses but the change in color was amazing. I'd been getting comments on my photos about being too vivid or bright. They looked great to me. After the procedure I could tell they were right and my photos were suffering. Everything is brighter and clearer. Downside, lots of "floaties" and occasional temporary distortion, kind of like a sheet of water down a windowpane. There is a chance that you might need a Yag laser treatment sometime after your procedure but it's a nothing thing that is done in the office correcting any fogginess that might develop. Would I do it again? You bet I would. It's made a world of difference. There are three levels of I guess you would call quality of the lens itself. My doctor advised that the least expensive one was the right one for me, so that's what I went with. Like I mentioned I'd do it again without hesitation.

sodapop Loc: Bel Air, MD

I had it done, it was a breeze and all the other quotes in this post are exactly correct. It did not take more than several days to "recover".

Ufauxreal

I had cataract surgery done on both eyes (a month apart) and I am thrilled with the improvement in my vision. I have had to wear glasses or contacts for distance vision since the age of 11... no more. Now I only need something for close up vision. Mostly I wear one contact lens to correct reading, and nothing in the other eye. The last time I renewed my driver’s license I asked them to test my vision, and I no longer have the corrective lens restriction on it. Oh, and the surgery itself was a breeze and totally pain free.