Maybe I need to find a birding dispensing optician !!
I do actually know one, Mike, a contact lens specialist at that!! Every case is individual & as I say in dealing with hundreds of glasses wearers the majority are OK or can be sorted with a little advice. A small minority have problems, sorry John if that is you
Mike Crawley said
Wed Dec 2 4:56 PM, 2015
Thanks Doc, I might take you up on that - I'm pretty sure that it's a matter of getting the position correct because "fiddling around" whilst watching a perched bird has improved things.
Cheers John, I've occasionally wondered about contacts too.
Maybe I need to find a birding dispensing optician !!
John Rayner said
Wed Dec 2 1:52 PM, 2015
Mike Crawley wrote:
I'm very short sighted and Ive worn spectacles for nearly 50 years and have always worn them for birding. Over the last few years Ive become a varifocal wearer.
Recently I upgraded to some swish and fashionable new specs with quite big lenses (not in the Deirdre Barlow category !!) and suddenly Im experiencing some problems.
I suspect it's the large lenses that are the problem but welcome any comments.
I suspect the answer is some cheap, small, frames.
My previous specs have been small lenses both with and without varifocal.
Any comments ?
varifocal v single vision ?
Cheers
Hi Mike,
I too am very short sighted and have worn spectacles for over 40 years, at least half of that time wearing bifocals. I have tried varifocals but never got on with them. My solution was 'executive' bifocals (ie lenses divided horizontally rather than separate circular areas in the corners). It is important to get frames that allow sufficient height to accommodate a fairly large upper area (long distance) which is, of course, the area you put binoculars up to. I have tried and failed with the technique of raising my specs when using binoculars but found it too fiddly.
However, none of the above addresses problems in viewing due to rain drops on the lenses, so, if I may widen the discussion, does anyone use contact lenses specifically when going out birding?
In an attempt to surmount the rain drop problem I tried soft contact lenses many years ago but, troubled by severe astigmatism, it was another failed experiment. They have probably improved greatly since then though, particularly in the area disposable contact lenses, so I would be interested to hear comments from any contact lens wearing birders who would otherwise need bifocals.
Cheers John
Doc Brewster said
Wed Dec 2 1:36 PM, 2015
Hi Mike, hope I can comment both as a retailer of optics, so I see all varieties of glasses etc on our customers when trying bins, and as I studied Visual Physiology as part of my undergrad degree, some 'visual phys' also coming into my PhD.
The vast majority of customers with glasses (and I am talking about a sample size of hundreds here, possibly into 4 figures!) get on fine with binoculars when keeping their specs on. Any problems seem to be unrelated to whether the specs are single vision or varifocal prescriptions. I switched from single vision lenses to varifocal about 5 years ago without a problem & my specs are not small. All binoculars now are tailored towards glasses use unlike the case about 20 years ago. The eye relief, eyecup type etc are all designed to make use with glasses very easy. In fact non-glasses wearers have to do more alterations to a pair of bins out of the box than glasses wearers (e.g. eyecups to 'up' and dioptre adjustment).
The problem could lie from exactly where you position the bins on your glasses. If it as the interface of the varifocal then I can see how that would compromise the image. Maybe try moving them up a little & see if the image gets better. From years of birding you probably have a preferred position & it is hard to change that, I know. If you did want to pop in and see me I could have a look at the whole problem. From the side I can see things like object pupil size & where the light is falling on your pupils and advise. Just give a call in advance to check when I am in. Worth alittle more research before going to the expense of an alternative set of frames
Mike Crawley said
Wed Dec 2 12:23 PM, 2015
I'm very short sighted and Ive worn spectacles for nearly 50 years and have always worn them for birding. Over the last few years Ive become a varifocal wearer.
Recently I upgraded to some swish and fashionable new specs with quite big lenses (not in the Deirdre Barlow category !!) and suddenly Im experiencing some problems.
I suspect it's the large lenses that are the problem but welcome any comments.
I suspect the answer is some cheap, small, frames.
My previous specs have been small lenses both with and without varifocal.
I do actually know one, Mike, a contact lens specialist at that!! Every case is individual & as I say in dealing with hundreds of glasses wearers the majority are OK or can be sorted with a little advice. A small minority have problems, sorry John if that is you
Cheers John, I've occasionally wondered about contacts too.
Maybe I need to find a birding dispensing optician !!
Hi Mike,
I too am very short sighted and have worn spectacles for over 40 years, at least half of that time wearing bifocals. I have tried varifocals but never got on with them. My solution was 'executive' bifocals (ie lenses divided horizontally rather than separate circular areas in the corners). It is important to get frames that allow sufficient height to accommodate a fairly large upper area (long distance) which is, of course, the area you put binoculars up to. I have tried and failed with the technique of raising my specs when using binoculars but found it too fiddly.
However, none of the above addresses problems in viewing due to rain drops on the lenses, so, if I may widen the discussion, does anyone use contact lenses specifically when going out birding?
In an attempt to surmount the rain drop problem I tried soft contact lenses many years ago but, troubled by severe astigmatism, it was another failed experiment. They have probably improved greatly since then though, particularly in the area disposable contact lenses, so I would be interested to hear comments from any contact lens wearing birders who would otherwise need bifocals.
Cheers John
Hi Mike, hope I can comment both as a retailer of optics, so I see all varieties of glasses etc on our customers when trying bins, and as I studied Visual Physiology as part of my undergrad degree, some 'visual phys' also coming into my PhD.
The vast majority of customers with glasses (and I am talking about a sample size of hundreds here, possibly into 4 figures!) get on fine with binoculars when keeping their specs on. Any problems seem to be unrelated to whether the specs are single vision or varifocal prescriptions. I switched from single vision lenses to varifocal about 5 years ago without a problem & my specs are not small. All binoculars now are tailored towards glasses use unlike the case about 20 years ago. The eye relief, eyecup type etc are all designed to make use with glasses very easy. In fact non-glasses wearers have to do more alterations to a pair of bins out of the box than glasses wearers (e.g. eyecups to 'up' and dioptre adjustment).
The problem could lie from exactly where you position the bins on your glasses. If it as the interface of the varifocal then I can see how that would compromise the image. Maybe try moving them up a little & see if the image gets better. From years of birding you probably have a preferred position & it is hard to change that, I know. If you did want to pop in and see me I could have a look at the whole problem. From the side I can see things like object pupil size & where the light is falling on your pupils and advise. Just give a call in advance to check when I am in. Worth alittle more research before going to the expense of an alternative set of frames
I'm very short sighted and Ive worn spectacles for nearly 50 years and have always worn them for birding. Over the last few years Ive become a varifocal wearer.
Recently I upgraded to some swish and fashionable new specs with quite big lenses (not in the Deirdre Barlow category !!) and suddenly Im experiencing some problems.
I suspect it's the large lenses that are the problem but welcome any comments.
I suspect the answer is some cheap, small, frames.
My previous specs have been small lenses both with and without varifocal.
Any comments ?
varifocal v single vision ?
Cheers