Will Canon P viewfinder scratch eyeglasses?

[horacekenneth]

I read that the Canon P has a plastic eyepiece instead of the round metal eyepiece on a Canon 7. I understand that plastic will be easier on my eyeglass lenses than metal but can I expect the plastic eyepiece to protect them? Or will the plastic eyepiece just mean less scratching?

 

[Jim Jones]

In decades of shooting both SLR and RF cameras I've never seen scratches on glasses that appeared to be from camera eyepieces. Smooth plastic or metal shouldn't scratch, but grit from any source certainly can.

 

[AgX]

One can frame the eypiece window with a cut-out sheet of rubber or rubber-foam. But then the latter must be kept clean,

 

[railwayman3]

Years ago I remember my Dad complaining that the metal eyepiece frame of his Exakta Varex had badly scratced the plastic frame of his spectacles. IIRC, he later purchased some kind of accessory rubber eyepiece frame.

 

[jim10219]

In decades of shooting both SLR and RF cameras I've never seen scratches on glasses that appeared to be from camera eyepieces. Smooth plastic or metal shouldn't scratch, but grit from any source certainly can.

I can't speak for the Canon P, but I can tell you for a fact that the eyepiece on my Zorki 4 scratched my eyeglasses, even though my glasses were supposed to have an anti-scratch coating. It scratched them up pretty bad too. The Zorki isn't damaged either.

Most of my other cameras haven't given me a problem though. But I do use a diopter eyepiece on many of them, so I don't have to use my glasses that often with my cameras. Polycarbonate is very resistant to cracking or shattering, but scratches a lot easier than glass.

 

[AgX]

The first replies obviously were referring to mineral glass eyeglasses.

Using cameras with eyeglasses is the lesser option anyway, as one loses the chance of stabilizing the camera at ones forehead.
(But not all models yield features for eyesight correction.)

 

[Fixcinater]

I have poly lenses and while have suffered lots of scratches on other cameras, the P has not given any trouble.

The VF magnification on the 7 doesn't force me to shove my face right up against it so that hasn't been problematic, either. The V and earlier style with rotating VF prism (changing magnification) has been an issue due to the hard machined lip on the eye port.

 

[Steve Goldstein]

If you're worried, how about just cutting some thin strips of cellophane tape and putting them on the eyepiece frame?

That said, my Canon P hasn't scratched my polycarbonate eyeglass lenses, but polycarbonate is harder than the cheaper stuff...

 

[one90guy]

If you're worried, how about just cutting some thin strips of cellophane tape and putting them on the eyepiece frame?

That said, my Canon P hasn't scratched my polycarbonate eyeglass lenses, but polycarbonate is harder than the cheaper stuff...

I 2nd what Steve posted.


David

 

[macfred]

I had this problem with my Konica III - I found a small rubber sealing ring and glued it around the eyepice frame.

 

[Ronald Moravec]

Buy O Ring from hardware store for protection.

Metal WILL scratch plastic eyeglasses.

 

[Bill Burk]

In decades of shooting both SLR and RF cameras I've never seen scratches on glasses that appeared to be from camera eyepieces. Smooth plastic or metal shouldn't scratch, but grit from any source certainly can.

I, on the other hand, have many pair of glasses with fine scratches right where the viewfinders hits.

 

[wiltw]

In decades of shooting both SLR and RF cameras I've never seen scratches on glasses that appeared to be from camera eyepieces. Smooth plastic or metal shouldn't scratch, but grit from any source certainly can.

Do not forget that 4 decades ago, eyeglasses were ground from glass, where most today are ground from polucarbonate plastic, and they do scratch all too readily. I have a pair of clip-n reading lenses that I put on my glasses for reading the computer screen (when not using my monovision contact lenses) and the clip-ons use plastic for the clip, and the PLASTIC CLIPS have scarred the surface of the plastic lenses of the glasses!

 

[Bill Burk]

wiltw got me thinking. Why not look under a microscope? Sure enough there is some merit to Jim Jones’ claim. And some to mine as well.

What got trashed by cameras... the anti-reflection coating. Glass is largely untouched to the naked eye.

There are a few fine scratches and pits when my newest uncounted glass glasses are examined under the microscope, nothing like the carnage in this. Coated glass....

 

[wiltw]

View attachment 192731 wiltw got me thinking. Why not look under a microscope? Sure enough there is some merit to Jim Jones’ claim. And some to mine as well.

What got trashed by cameras... the anti-reflection coating. Glass is largely untouched to the naked eye.

There are a few fine scratches and pits when my newest uncounted glass glasses are examined under the microscope, nothing like the carnage in this. Coated glass....

My wife stopped using contact lenses and switched to glasses some years ago. She got coated lenses. At the end of about 4 years she noticed that although the surface of the plastic lenses were still in reasonable condition, the coating had deteriorated to the point of FORCING the purchase of new lenses (even if the Rx had not changed). She only had previously touched the surfaces to clean them as necessary of accumulated gunk (no contact with viewfinder eyepieces) yet the coaintins eroded ...Planned obsolescence. Her replacement plastic lens glasses got no extra-cost coatings after that experience.

 

[mgb74]

Zorkis and feds should be given out by eyeglass manufacturers; figure one pair ruined per roll of film.

Canon P is hard, smooth plastic. Mine has not caused noticeable damage. But easy to cover with a bit of tape.

 

[horacekenneth]

Thanks everyone, getting a Canon P for the eyeglasses.

Very interesting Bill, is that glass or polycarbonate?

 

[Bill Burk]

They are glass... I don't know the brand of coating. But I could tell through the microscope that all those scratches are "just" coating. The glass underneath each scratch is not damaged.

I think there are brands of coating now that better handle scratches. Too bad you can't specify "give me Pentax SMCT" coating, because that stuff never scratches. Why can't our eyeglasses be that good?

 

[Bill Burk]

To be fair, I think the optometry department argued with me about my order... I think they weren't sure how the coating would work with glass.

 

[jtk]

I read that the Canon P has a plastic eyepiece instead of the round metal eyepiece on a Canon 7. I understand that plastic will be easier on my eyeglass lenses than metal but can I expect the plastic eyepiece to protect them? Or will the plastic eyepiece just mean less scratching?

Depends on how you view the eyepiece. I pressed hard against my pair of Canon P and did scratch glasses. Wish I hadn't sold them!

 

[Cholentpot]

The right side of my glasses is brassed and the lens is losing it's coating. This happens to all my glasses.

 

[Army35mm]

When I would wear glasses(switched to contacts and have a PRK procedure scheduled) I would ruin them often. in fact I had to take my contacts out last Friday, and ended up wearing my glasses. put about 2 rolls through my M3, and I've got a few gnarly scratches now.

 

[Anirudha Ambekar]

I read that the Canon P has a plastic eyepiece instead of the round metal eyepiece on a Canon 7. I understand that plastic will be easier on my eyeglass lenses than metal but can I expect the plastic eyepiece to protect them? Or will the plastic eyepiece just mean less scratching?

My Canon-p has stripped the anti-glare coating off of my glasses!
Now I have a rangefinder and a pair of glasses that go just right with it.

 

[John Earley]

Neither of my Canon P's ever scratched my glasses but the diopter lever on my NICCA S2 did scratch them up quite a bit. A bit of work with a jewelers file smoothed out the offending part.