SLR to M6 - Left Eye to Right ?

stormbytes · 02-02-2012

A recent (as in, 10 minutes ago!) transplant from the world of SLR photography, it seems as if the M6 has been designed with a right-eyed shooter in mind. Is this just my perception? I shot SLRs for years with my left eye since it didn't matter much. I can see about the same out of both eyes (thankfully).

I can certainly shoot the M6 with my left eye, still I wonder: Should I re-train myself to shoot right-eyed ?

Mudman · 02-02-2012

I can't really see the reason (no pun intended). I shoot left eyed in every camera I own.

nikon_sam · 02-02-2012

I use my left eye regardless of what type of camera...that's the Eye I "See" with and as far as vision goes it's also my weaker eye...

tightsqueez · 02-02-2012

God gave you a pair… so why plant one in the back of the top plate? Besides, you'll be missing out on a lot of the world around you.

CNNY · 02-02-2012

Don't poke out your right eye with the winding lever. If you find yourself doing that, you will be in the market for a rapidwinder soon.

rxmd · 02-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by stormbytes

A recent (as in, 10 minutes ago!) transplant from the world of SLR photography, it seems as if the M6 has been designed with a right-eyed shooter in mind. Is this just my perception? I shot SLRs for years with my left eye since it didn't matter much. I can see about the same out of both eyes (thankfully).

I can certainly shoot the M6 with my left eye, still I wonder: Should I re-train myself to shoot right-eyed ?

Don't worry. I'm left eyed too and I shoot the Leica with my left eye. I find that keeping both eyes open doesn't work that well anyway at least with a 0.72x finder.

I guess it was just that Oskar Barnack was right-eyed and now people think it's the One True Way.

stormbytes · 02-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by tightsqueez

God gave you a pair… so why plant one in the back of the top plate? Besides, you'll be missing out on a lot of the world around you.

I've been training myself to focus/compose with my right eye all evening. The weirdness of it all is starting to wear off and I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.

I keep coming across this "use your left eye to look out" but when I try it (with my right eye still pressed to the vf) everything looks weird! I get this hybrid eye/vf picture in my brain and can't make any sense of it. Is there some trick to this? What am I missing?

stormbytes · 02-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by rxmd

I find that keeping both eyes open doesn't work that well anyway at least with a 0.72x finder.

I guess it was just that Oskar Barnack was right-eyed and now people think it's the One True Way.

Hah! Nice to NOT be alone!

For a moment there I thought there was yet *another* thing wrong with me! I am starting to get the hang of this right-eye composition thing. Its new. I like the challenge. And it beats the hell out of what some people are doing for thrills! (Like a year without sugar)

stormbytes · 02-02-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by CNNY

Don't poke out your right eye with the winding lever. If you find yourself doing that, you will be in the market for a rapidwinder soon.

After my recent foray into RF, the only thing I'm going to be "in the market" for, anytime soon, is a second job! (or maybe even a third...)

Moriturii · 02-02-2012

Meh, I use left as well, even if I put my right up to the viewfinder I still look out via the left eye which is funny. I've heard some people "train" their right use to use it but I can't be bothered, not a big deal, especially when you have a camera with a motor á hexar rf.

Stelios · 02-03-2012

I trained myself to use the right eye with the M6. Now I use both, whichever I feel like it. Works fine. Most cameras are designed for the right eyed. Try using an EOS 450D (or one of those lot) and change the aperture while using your right eye. It's more likely you use your nose than your fingers.

meandihagee · 02-03-2012

I used to be left eye also. I remember reading once that there is a small test when you're starting up archery to determine what is your "smart" eye, like with your foot in snowboarding or well, your writing hand.

it just felt natural for me to shoot left, can't say why. but one friend told me one day that I'm missing what's going around with my whole face behind the camera. I started to shoot right and it quickly became natural for me.

It's an easy switch.

EdwardKaraa · 02-03-2012

Anyhow, it is much easier to shoot with the left eye with RF than with SLR.

crispy12 · 02-11-2012

You can test which is your dominant eye by looking at your finger held out about arms length away and looking with both eyes open. Place the finger against a landmark (I used a lamp in my room), then close each eye one by one and see if the object moves relative to your finger.

It will shift when you close your dominant eye.

stormbytes · 02-21-2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by crispy12

It will shift when you close your dominant eye.

Hah! Neat! But weird... seems my dominant eye is the right. But I've been shooting with the left all my life!?

Then again, I was a little surprised how quickly I got used to composing with my right eye after forcing myself to do so for about a week.

menos · 03-31-2012

I have been shooting SLRs only with right eye.
When I bought my first RF, I shot only right eye.
At some point, I got a R-D1 and right eye shooting completely won me to an almost 100% RF shooter - you see the whole world around you - the bright lines of the RF are just floating within your vision - the perfect way, to shoot an RF!

The, I got more and more inconsistent with my focussing, leading me, to have my eyes checked.

It turns out, that I loose a lot of vision with my right eye, resulting me, to learn, to shoot with my left eye from then on.

Immediately focussing improved, while I needed a few weeks, to get used to the new shooting.

I now shoot everything with my left eye - RF, SLR, medium format, large format, everything.

I suggest you, to take a test for which eye has best critical vision and train yourself, to use that eye.

If it happens, to be your right eye, than I envy you lucky git!
Right eye shooting definitely has a few advantages, I really miss.

One advantage though, I see with left eye shooting a RF - new portrait subjects are easier to work with, as they do not automatically find your unhidden part of the face, including your left eye, to fix on, but end up magically, to look straight into the lens - this is quite nice.

I also find, that I can handhold very slow shutter speeds better with left eye shooting (1/4 1/8 sec), as I press the camera against my forehead - only exception is the plastic plugs on the back of a M3, which are annoying.

I prefer to wind my camera away form the face or use a Leicavit/ rapid winder, if weight and bulk is no issue.

celluloidprop · 03-31-2012

I feel like an oddity here - I can't find a comfortable way to shoot right-eyed with a SLR or left-eyed with a RF.

I don't have binocular vision, so I don't get any benefit from shooting right-eyed with a RF/RF-style camera, but it does let me get right up on that viewfinder.

Dylan Hope · 03-31-2012

For some reason I can shoot with both eyes open with an SLR, but with a x0.72 RF viewfinder I can only do it with one eye open. Been practising but still no real progress

Richard G · 03-31-2012

I am very left eye dominant and used that eye with an M2 for many years. It was when I got a 35 that I found I needed to be closer to the viewfind in my glasses to see e frame lines and in my late 30s or early 40s I trained myself to shoot with the right eye. I think it's best and if I can do it anyone can. I can't read text with my right eye much at all, but it is sharp and fine for photography.

Stuart John · 03-31-2012

I found it quite easy to train myself to use my right eye, now it comes natrually to shoot with my right eye. For the first few weeks it felt unatural but after that no problem. The reason I did it was to allow me to see around the camera body and shoot both eyes open.

Darthfeeble · 03-31-2012

Shot with DSLR using my left eye, it kept my big greasy nose out of the LCD better. Now I shoot RF with my right eye, using the afore mentioned big greasy nose to help steady the thing.

taemo · 04-06-2012

I shoot both dslr and rf with my left eye, it's more comfortable for me, maybe because I'm also left handed

semilog · 04-06-2012

Left-eyed. I shoot ambiocularly with an M6. Probably 70/30 left to right.

jaredangle · 06-06-2012

I shoot both SLR and RF with my right eye, leaving my left eye open. Most people only like doing this with a 50mm lens and .92x or 1.0x finder, but I find it works with any finder/focal length combination, leaving a floating frame inside your wider frame of vision.

It's a technique I learned from shooting rifles in the army.

pvdhaar · 06-07-2012

For ten years, I've vigorously tried getting used to right eye shooting with RFs. And after ten years of what essentially amounts to total failure and frustration, I've decided to just give up.. Maybe one of the reasons that it didn't work out, was that I also used SLRs and compacts that allowed easy left eye shooting. So, my advice would be to put the SLR in a closet, and don't take it out till you're a complete RF right eye shooting convert.