goofybruce

I had the multi-focus lenses put in nearly a decade ago and have had no problems with them since. I paid the extra (insurance only paid the Medicare amount) and am glad I did. I chose that option because in my work, I'm looking at my phone/computer, then to notes on my desk top then often to talk with someone across the room as we sat at our desk. I didn't want to be putting on/taking off/putting on/squinting all the time.
In photography, the multi-focus lenses have not been a problem at all and I can shift (attention) focus from something on the bark of a tree beside the trail to a deer trying to sneak away in the distance to a hawk circling above the trees, as if I had a zoom focus lens on my camera.
Good luck and whichever direction you go, you will be amazed at what you see the day after surgery.

mikenolan Loc: Lincoln Nebraska

Another thing I learned as a result of the cataract surgery is that the flomax medicine my urologist prescribed damages the muscles that control the iris in your eyes, making it harder for them to dilate, so things look darker. (Photographers should relate to that.)

Ront53 Loc: Maryland

My wife and I had ours done. Really great....My eye doctor ask me how did I like the results. So I told him that I went outside and saw in a tree 200 yards away, a squirrel and it was a male. It took him a while to stop laughing and he was glad the surgery was good.

je13quincy

We just went through the process of deciding which lens to get for my wife. She uses glasses for reading and watching TV, I researched the Pan Optix made by Alcon which gives you close-up, intermediate and far distance vision and has a 99% satisfaction rating on the internet. Our doctor told us the reason for the cataract surgery is to remove the cataracts, and everyone's eyes are different so you may or may not need to continue to wear glasses afterwards. The lenses are expensive and not covered by insurance, but we figured it's her eyes and luckily we could afford the upgrade and she's happy she did. Good luck to you.

Iron Sight Loc: Utah

I had cataract surgery in both eyes at age 63 I am 79 now. Chose distance lens’s Big positive difference.
As soon as I noted how good the 1st eye was I Opted to get the other one done in 30 days. Was not so
much about photography at that time but fishing and fly-tying. My tying improved a lot as well as
seeing my on the water presentation. Colors were much better. Older now I wear glasses for improved
distance and the prescription has been modified twice. Within a couple months of the surgery one eye
required a 5-minute laser procedure, no other processes since have been needed. There was for me a
time of healing along with more vision improvement for me. Others I know have had cataract surgery
and due to other existing eye problems, the results were not as helpful as mine. Their doctor had forewarned
them of the situation.

Has to be positive for photography!

revhen Loc: By the beautiful Hudson

Had the cataract operation and use trifocal glasses. No problems with camera viewer.

WAstinkbug Loc: Silverdale, WA, U.S.A.

I had cataract surgery a few years ago and decided to go with the multi-focal length lenses. I lost a teeny bit of distance clarity on my better eye but after recovery, I don't use reading glasses. My main challenge with these is starbursting with single light sources, like oncoming headlights when driving. It's pretty significant... kind of "trippy" (although I never went on one!). :-P I also have problems with overhead lighting but have Fuch's disease (found out a few years ago) which can give a person added glare issues when their eyes are irritated and the cornea swollen. It can sometimes be like looking through a filmy windshield.

So... I don't know how life would have been with the single focal length lens. I'd be wearing reading glasses always, but I suspect the starbursts and halos would be less (from what I've read). Picking an optical lens is like buying a camera... there's no perfect solution... just trade-offs.

Color perception is definitely the first thing ... my "white balance" got reset to cooler. The lenses seem to enhance blues a bit more than I recall with my normal vision. I also get a lavender cast during the blue hour that I never saw with my own lenses. My doctor says I must be a color sensitive person... she doesn't usually hear people report that sort of thing. I think my brain remembers color so I know the sky doesn't really look like that... even if it is pretty. :-) If I take a photo of said sky and look at that on computer, the lavender tones would not show up there.

It's a hard decision to make ... unless one just goes with what is covered by insurance. I had to pay out of pocket for those lenses. The doctor told me my vision would improve once both eyes were done and the brain adjusted ... and that was true. It's over about 6 months you notice continued improvement. At first I could hardly be outside without sunglasses on and I'd get a weird strobing effect when faced with bright light conditions. I wondered if some of that was the pupil not quite being back to speed on closing down its aperture. They have to dilate you and work through that opening and there's a bit of pupil recovery time for some of us. =:o

Good luck! I think overall, whatever you choose... you'll experience improvement in your vision.

Ghery Loc: Olympia, WA

Don't do the one eye near, the other eye far if you are a pilot. The FAA does not allow that on your medical. Just providing an information point. YMMV.

jonjacobik Loc: Quincy, MA

I've had both lenses replaced using the special lenses for astigmatism. Very good success and an improvement in my ability to spot birds and see more detail around me. I'm 20/20 for distance, and use drug store readers for the newspaper and small print. Most things, no glasses at all.
Good luc

Dean37 Loc: Fresno, CA

I had my cataract surgeries in 2010 at the Kaiser Permanente hospital, 4 weeks apart. Cost me $5.00 each. Wife had hers done in 2014 also at Kaiser cost her $250.00 each, the difference was caused by my Kaiser insurance and her Kaiser Medicare Advantage. Astigmatism corrective lenses were available for $1,200.00 and my left eye is astigmatic, but the doctor said no need as he would just "nudge" the lens for the correction. I asked if that was an accepted procedure and though he looked to be all of 18 years old, he was the head of the eye surgery department. He said the "nudging" of the lens to correct astigmatism is how they always did astigmatism correction before the lenses to do the correction were available. He told me after an examination that he got rid of 90% of the astigmatism.

Both my wife, 75, and I, 83, are very happy with the results. I needed vision correction and she did not. My vision is 20/20 right eye and 20/25 left eye with the new lenses. I can read all, but the smallest print so I use drugstore reading glasses for that and if I am going to read for an extended period of time. Having had to wear glasses most of my life 20/600 and 20/800, wearing reading glasses is natural to me.

Color brilliance was my first observation of the results. There seems to not be a difference with use of my cameras. I do take advantage of the built in correction adjustments on the cameras which may not be all that far off, as others have used my cameras and were satisfied with the settings.

I definitely recommend getting the cataract surgery, as being blind us not an option. As to the type of lens, that is between you and the doctor. My wife and I both went with the standard hers were none corrective and mine were for distance correction, with a "nudge" for the astigmatism.

Raptorlg Loc: New Jersey

I am 86 and had Cataract sergery last March. Had the Distance lens put in both eyes. I shoot evrery thing from Macro to portraits, to landscape, to birds, and I have had no problem shooting . The only thing is that I need to put on my glasses to set up the camera. After that, I remove the glasses to focus, and the rest is history, so to speak.
Since I back button Focus, even when I hurry to get the shot, everythng in clear.
I would get the distance lens.



















broblems.

burkphoto Loc: High Point, NC

Did both eyes in 2008. Total success... it was easy, but took a while for vision to stabilize. I have toric lenses (they correct for astigmatism). Both are set for distance. I wear progressive lenses for all-distance correction (8” to infinity).

MadMikeOne Loc: So. NJ Shore - a bit west of Atlantic City

That was the way I went thanks to all the helpful responses from fellow Hogs back in October of 2020. Couldn't be happier!

mffox Loc: Avon, CT

I've had both eyes done and it has improved my distance vision greatly, so my composing and focusing have improved.

WAstinkbug Loc: Silverdale, WA, U.S.A.

The people who get the lenses focused at infinity tend to be the most satisfied, and living with reading glasses isn't really that much of a pain.[/quote]


You're making me wonder if I should have gone the other route. It's hard to know what one would prefer without "trying them on." My doctor said she could replace them if I wasn't happy with them. Do you have much issue with driving at night... dealing with headlights, etc.? Does your distance vision look pretty much like it did before (only sharper)?