how to correctly adjust the dioptric adjustment?

[Gregory]

I'm getting older and began to lose my close focus approx 2 years ago ;-)

I have been having problems getting accurate focus in some of my pictures, most of which are taken with manual focus and someone suggested that my diopter setting on the Viewer was out of sync with my eyes.

does anyone know the most ideal method for setting the dioptric adjustment?

regards,
Gregory

[francois]

I'm getting older and began to lose my close focus approx 2 years ago ;-)

I have been having problems getting accurate focus in some of my pictures, most of which are taken with manual focus and someone suggested that my diopter setting on the Viewer was out of sync with my eyes.

does anyone know the most ideal method for setting the dioptric adjustment?

regards,
Gregory
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I was told to do it without a lens attached to the camera. I'm not sure if this is correct but it seems to work perfectly for me.

[Jeremy Roussak]

I'm getting older and began to lose my close focus approx 2 years ago ;-)

I have been having problems getting accurate focus in some of my pictures, most of which are taken with manual focus and someone suggested that my diopter setting on the Viewer was out of sync with my eyes.
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I'm not sure that's possible. If the dioptre compensation is badly set, you won't be able to see the image on the ground glass clearly. It won't matter whether that image is in focus or not. Your inaccurate dioptre compensation can't make a blurred image look sharp: it will just make all images, whether focussed or not, look blurred.

I'd suggest focussing as best you can on something obviously textured, like a brick wall or a page with some text, then fiddling with the dioptre compensation until the image looks sharp. If the camera has autofocus, perhaps you could use that to start with.

Jeremy

[Hank]

Your manual should give directions.  All that I've read have some variation of this:

Mount a lens and twist it well out of focus.  Now adjust the diopter till it is in sharp focus.  

For aging eyes, be aware that they change with fatigue and often light level.  I'm in the habit of resetting the diopter several times a day.  It's amazing how different you'll find the settings late on a busy day of shooting compared to what was needed in the morning.

[Gregory]

For aging eyes, be aware that they change with fatigue and often light level.  I'm in the habit of resetting the diopter several times a day.  It's amazing how different you'll find the settings late on a busy day of shooting compared to what was needed in the morning.

now that you remind me, I am aware that my near-sight changes depending on how much sleep I've had, etc. so thank you for the note.

regards,
Gregory

[picnic]

For aging eyes, be aware that they change with fatigue and often light level.  I'm in the habit of resetting the diopter several times a day.  It's amazing how different you'll find the settings late on a busy day of shooting compared to what was needed in the morning.

now that you remind me, I am aware that my near-sight changes depending on how much sleep I've had, etc. so thank you for the note.

regards,
Gregory
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Someone suggested that you set the diopter by looking at the settings at the bottom of the viewfinder (5D).  I've found this to work pretty well.  I'm nearsighted--particularly one eyed--and 68, so I need about a 2.75 reading correction also.  I have tried focusing, then changing the diopter--that works also, but it is easier to see  (in something other than daylight) the digital readout.  I do find that I need to reset through a long day however.

Diane

[fennario]

1DIII manual says to adjust the diopiter such that the AF matrix on the focusing screen is sharp.  Also, if you require more than + or - 2 diopiter you will need a custom eyepiece to correct further.

[Lisa Nikodym]

I've found that the camera diopter adjustments are nowhere near enough for my bad eyes, so I've gotten accustomed to just leaving my glasses on when shooting.  Is there anything obviously nonoptimal about this method?

Lisa

[Eric Myrvaagnes]

I've found that the camera diopter adjustments are nowhere near enough for my bad eyes, so I've gotten accustomed to just leaving my glasses on when shooting.  Is there anything obviously nonoptimal about this method?

Lisa
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I have encountered two problems doing this (which is what I do all the time).
1.   With glasses on it is harder to see the entire viewfinder frame, since the eye is farther from the eyepiece, and
2.   My trifocals (oh, to be young and with good vision again!) give me a hrd time when one of the lens lines ends up in the middle of the finder. So I have to position my eye carefully to avoid this.

But I've gotten used to it, and it sure beats taking the time to remove the glasses before each shot, IMHO.

-Eric

[bart alexander]

I have encountered two problems doing this (which is what I do all the time).
1.   With glasses on it is harder to see the entire viewfinder frame, since the eye is farther from the eyepiece, and
2.   My trifocals (oh, to be young and with good vision again!) give me a hrd time when one of the lens lines ends up in the middle of the finder. So I have to position my eye carefully to avoid this.

But I've gotten used to it, and it sure beats taking the time to remove the glasses before each shot, IMHO.

-Eric
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"Me to!"
I agree with picnic about focussing on the readouts in de viewfinder for setting the diopter. Strangely enough this method doesn't need resetting the diopter when the older eyes get tired, where the method as described in the manual does. The manual method is for people with good eyes I guess. Another reliable method is using a tripod, focus with the eyes and capture the image. The captured image on the computer monitor will show where the exact focus point was. From there you can adjust the diopter until you see the same focus in the viewfinder as was shown in the captured pic. Once all cameras have live view, this won't be a hard job anymore. You can immediately adjust the diopter according to what you see (magnified) on the camera LCD.

[stever]

i also leave the glasses on so i can read the settings on the camera (really would be nice to have ISO in the viewfinder), but the rubber eye cup leaves nasty smears on my glasses even after i wash it thoroughly  - any tips?