flyingcrown1 wrote:
As I am now in my 70’s, my eyesight is weakening. I have been a photographer now for 50+ years and still love the craft.
My question is this; would anyone in hedgehog world have advice as to how to deal with this type handicap, ie: camera links to bigger viewfinders like ipads, etc.
Any suggestions are much welcomed.
I've had vision problems for many years, and dealt with them one at a time.
For focus with a TLR, SLR, or DSLR, there are usually diopter correction lenses made by the camera companies, or custom made by your optometrist, assuming you want to take off your glasses while you focus. interchangeable viewscreens, with split image or microprism focusing spots can help, too. Unfortunately these were only made for some cameras, and they are mostly outdated (or use film).
Mirrorless cameras do not have the rangefinder spot, since the viewfinder is an electronic image. They do offer a feature that outlines those areas which are in focus. I find this only useful on a few occasions, and annoying to use most of the time. My Sony has a 'dial-in" diopter feature, though, which helps get the view screen image sharp, if I don't bump it and screw up the setting. Unfortunately, it seems I bump it a lot. If it is slightly off, then everything is bad, and focusing accurately is impossible until I reset it.
Wearing glasses meant my eyeball was further away from the viewfinder window on SLRs than most camera designers allowed for. So I rarely could see the entire image in one glance. Accurate full-frame composition calls for a lot of twisting. A tripod really helps when I need accuracy. Otherwise, I shoot more and more with wide angle lenses, and crop the images. Often the added 'features' in the edges of the picture, which I couldn't see at the time of the exposure, remain.
Years ago I gravitated Leicas, and found that the frame lines in those viewfinders were easy to see while wearing glasses. Also the rangefinders were super easy to use for critical focus, and fast enough for sports photos. So I made my living for years using these cameras mostly. Waistlevel finders on Rolleiflex and Hasselblad cameras, with magnifiers, were convenient, too. But almost no one makes a waist level finder for a digital camera. A flip up rear screen could be adapted, but you would need to make a sunshield and add a magnifying lens on your own.
I fought with focusing the Sony. The small eyepiece worked OK when I wear contact lenses, but not so well with glasses. Auto focus was pretty good, most of the time. All too often it was just a little off--enough to annoy me. I suspect it is because the lens was f/3.5, and at that maximum aperture the depth of field made the autofocusing happy, even if I wanted something more critically in focus.
I bit the bullet and went back to Leica. It was not cheap, but at least I had plenty of lenses from my film camera that fit, and they focus great. Plus the bright line viewfinder lets me see an entire frame with 35mm, 50 and 90 mm lenses., with glasses or contacts. those are my most used lenses, so all is happy.
Even happier, I bought the electronic visoflex for the Leica M11. It has a huge viewfinder, similar to the high viewpoint Nikon finder from the mid 70s, and enough eye relief that I can see corner to corner with eyeglasses on. And, joy of joys, it flips up to serve as a nice waist level finder ! And it has the built in diopter correction. I was considering carrying a pocket full of viewfinders for my wide-angle lenses, but this was actually cheaper.
Honestly, there are very few photographers who own this system and do not use it strictly professionally, where their business pays for it. I'm now an amateur, and the only 'business' photography I do is for a monthly amateur woodworking newsletter I edit. I hesitate to recommend this for anyone else, but Leicas kept me in business as a photographer, and they still make it easy for me to take sharp photos. You'll get a thousand opinions saying there are cheaper alternatives, and I am sure they are all correct--for those people.
Good luck finding the gear that best suits your personal challenges. There are plenty of good brands, and each line has models with different features. Try as many as you can.