Those who need reading glasses

[cliveh]

Not sure if posted in the correct area of the forum, but thought I would mention that some years ago I needed reading glasses. Having recently bought a Zeiss Ikonta, I find it difficult to read the numbers of aperture and speed without reading glasses and not wanting to take glasses with me when walking round with a camera, I bought one of those small flat plastic magnifiers based on the Fresnel screen principle. Cutting this in half gives me a 1” square bit of plastic that I carry attached to the strap to read the numbers. I thought this tip may be useful info to others who need reading glasses.

 

[semi-ambivalent]

Not sure if posted in the correct area of the forum, but thought I would mention that some years ago I needed reading glasses. Having recently bought a Zeiss Ikonta, I find it difficult to read the numbers of aperture and speed without reading glasses and not wanting to take glasses with me when walking round with a camera, I bought one of those small flat plastic magnifiers based on the Fresnel screen principle. Cutting this in half gives me a 1” square bit of plastic that I carry attached to the strap to read the numbers. I thought this tip may be useful info to others who need reading glasses.

Clive,

I've been thinking about painting the shutter speed numbers on my M3 in color groups, sort of like the (flash sync) color groups on a Nikon F. Made going without glasses much easier when I was still using that camera. Even in Leica-land I don't think a shutter speed dial would be too expensive. The aperture markings I can still figure out, for now, from their shape.

Life stumbles on,
s-a

 

[tony lockerbie]

I hear you! Why did they print them so small, and some of them with black on black! Your idea is a good one, I will give it a try.

 

[whowantstoast]

I need them for my meter, for the shutter speed, for the aperture, when winding my RH/10, for finding things in the bag, for finding the bag itself..... sigh. I actually keep a non-prescription pair in my bag and leave the good ones behind. This way I can beat them up, drop 'em, get them sweaty and not care. They also look a little like Ansel's glasses, and that's cool. I tried small magnifying sheets but I kept loosing them, and needed my glasses to hunt them down.

 

[benjiboy]

I wear glasses all the time, they have varifocal lenses, and I have no problems seeing at any distance.

 

[naeroscatu]

Good point; I find that a pair of non-prescription reading glasses in my photo bag helps a lot. That way if I break or lose them it will be only $10.

 

[pbromaghin]

Or 3 for $12 at Target. South of the border, that is.

 

[mosport72]

Pair of Hoodnam glasses with varifocal lens so I can see all the small numbers, and see what I am taking a picture and then flip them up to focus. Buy the time I am ready it has got dark out an have to start over.

 

[Curt]

With bifocals, Varilux, things are good. One problem I had was with "transitions" lenses. Out on a day that turned them into sunglasses, so to speak, when darkened it's impossible to see small dark numbers in lenses. Also in bright light but in a car on a nice day they don't turn dark enough. So clipon's are added.

Last eye exam my ophthalmologist took off the transitions so it's on and off with clipon's. He did say transitions would interfere with my photography. It does add a degree of interference. Noted.


Now for a Sub Category: Those who need hearing aids.
All the shop work and other loud environments have worked me over. Now for the three grand.

 

[semi-ambivalent]

Now for a Sub Category: Those who need hearing aids.
All the shop work and other loud environments have worked me over. Now for the three grand.

Curt,

As a younger man nail guns and Skil Saws worked me over too. I have a pair of fully-in-ear aids ($Big) paid for by my employer's insurance years after I had actually incurred the damage. Couple things:
1. If your hearing loss is not recent, you'll have to learn "how" to hear again. This can take some time. 'Be patient' my hearing aid person told me.
2. If loud noise damaged your hearing to a certain threshold the aids work by amplifying sound to some degree louder than that threshold. In my left ear that was 85dB. I thought it was crazy to blast my already damaged hearing with even louder noise so I stopped wearing them quite a while ago. Vanity also played a part too, I'm sure.

My hearing loss was in a rather narrow band of higher frequencies (the saws) and I can get by OK, but women's voices and sounds like 'H' often fall into that band and I don't hear them. My family is patient but it's a pain at times. Sometimes I think it's getting worse in my left but the right is pretty much that of a guy my age-also not pristine. The aids sit in the drawer and I'm hoping they find a drug that re-grows the hairs in my cochlea at that point where that saw sound impinged. Unlikely. You can do like me and be grateful you have your eyes: Looking at my family is often better than listening to them.

Good luck and hope this helps,
s-wha'?-a

 

[Curt]

Curt,

As a younger man nail guns and Skil Saws worked me over too. I have a pair of fully-in-ear aids ($Big) paid for by my employer's insurance years after I had actually incurred the damage. Couple things:
1. If your hearing loss is not recent, you'll have to learn "how" to hear again. This can take some time. 'Be patient' my hearing aid person told me.
2. If loud noise damaged your hearing to a certain threshold the aids work by amplifying sound to some degree louder than that threshold. In my left ear that was 85dB. I thought it was crazy to blast my already damaged hearing with even louder noise so I stopped wearing them quite a while ago. Vanity also played a part too, I'm sure.

My hearing loss was in a rather narrow band of higher frequencies (the saws) and I can get by OK, but women's voices and sounds like 'H' often fall into that band and I don't hear them. My family is patient but it's a pain at times. Sometimes I think it's getting worse in my left but the right is pretty much that of a guy my age-also not pristine. The aids sit in the drawer and I'm hoping they find a drug that re-grows the hairs in my cochlea at that point where that saw sound impinged. Unlikely. You can do like me and be grateful you have your eyes: Looking at my family is often better than listening to them.

Good luck and hope this helps,
s-wha'?-a

Thanks I appreciate it,

Mine is like an inverted bell curve. The mid range is at the bottom of the 'U' shaped curve so it is missing in a diminishing way. The biggest problem is in noisy places. I've always been pretty good at contextual understanding so if I hear the whole sentence or paragraph I can fill in a lost word. The expensive models have built in Bluetooth so my iPhone and anything else Bluetooth would be wireless. It's been a year so I need to get them. Both ears are the same, interestingly enough. There's an app for that! Iphone had an app called Sound Check. I downloaded it and remarkably the results were the same as the hearing test. It's good for those who want to know but font want to go get it checked. There are two negative aspects to hearing aids, first is the cost, second is vanity or stigma.

 

[Curt]

I graduated from the University of Washington School of Medicine, Department of Radiation Therapy as a Radiation Therapist. An implant is the hope of many people with profound hearing losses I've talked with. I would consider it. As a Vietnam Veteran I can apply to the VA in Seattle, another hospital I trained at. Or just take three grand from my retirement and go to Costco! I'm eligible for Medicare but I'm on my wife's insurance. It's from a hospital plan, you know, costs a lot and covers little. I'll have to do something soon, what?, what?, what?, you only get one, more than one "what?" tends to piss people off. Ever go through a drive up window and a teenage girl blasts out at Mach 5? What?, what?...

 

[wblynch]

Hi Silver0,

Do you have a link for that hybrid implant? It could really help my wife.

Thanks!

...she recommended certain people by name at the University of Washington Medical Center who were researching a hybrid cochlear implant under monitoring by the FDA. It's called hybrid due to the implant working in conjunction with an in-the-ear canal standard type of hearing aid....

 

[wblynch]

Thank you, Sir.

 

[grahamp]

I like flip up magnifying lenses from Fisherman's Eyewear. Since I use single vision glasses these work well for making adjustments to large format cameras, rough focusing on the ground glass, and other tasks. I can flip them up and have normal vision. At work they are handy when I have to work in the network closet or do other fine hardware operations.

At the moment I can still hear everything I want to hear...