I had mine done around a year ago. Amazing the difference. I have found determining focus to be much easier and some shots I thought were soft aren't. Although I noticed a change in my perception of color, looking back at processed images this didn't cause my pre-op images to be off color or WB to be off. For me the result was great, astigmatism gone, and for the first time I can read the bottom line on the eye chart.
Thanks so much to all contributors on this thread.
Following a poor visual performance at my most recent shooting match, I am convinced this is now the time for me to correct the vision in my right eye. I've had floaters to deal with for years, waiting for their trails to clear to break clean shots. But now the cataract has started to obscure and diffuse the lower center of my right eye's vision at shooting distances of 25 to 500 meters. This results in blurred vision in a portion of the vision needed for critical focusing/contrast.
I'm encouraged to check into getting this eye fixed, which has been slowly deteriorating from extreme sharpness since about 2005. I'm heading toward my 69th birthday this month.
Naturally, the same things that impede my critically sharp focus are also the same factors associated with my photography (contrast, micro-focusing), as well as my oil painting (contrast, hues). So, a fix to one is a fix to all!
Many thanks for your detailed reply, @rjones. I really appreciate your advice and hope I didn't put you "on the spot" too much. It will certainly help in the discussion that's coming. I do need to decide particularly on near or far correction. As I'm not used to wearing reading glasses, maybe near would suit better, but I do like the idea of not wearing glasses for driving, hiking in the rain, etc. Then again having to wear reading glasses to check the camera screen and menus would be a pain ... there is no universally correct answer of course, other than becoming young again!
Interestingly I checked my colour vision and shade discrimination using the X-rite tool mentioned somewhere in the thread above (https://www.xrite.com/hue-test), and scored zero (perfect) which is unusual at 67.
nputtick wrote:
As I'm not used to wearing reading glasses, maybe near would suit better, but I do like the idea of not wearing glasses for driving, hiking in the rain, etc. Then again having to wear reading glasses to check the camera screen and menus would be a pain...
Besides having to wear readers to use your camera, think about other activities those who are older, and near-sighted, take for granted and do without wearing glasses: applying make-up or shaving, trimming your nails, reading at night in bed, checking medication bottles, selecting a bottle of rinse vs shampoo in the shower, or various hobbies and crafts.
It's one thing for a 20 year old to have Lasik and not worry about being near-sighted. They can still accommodate until they're 40 and won't notice a difference. But a near-sighted, over 60 adult who suddenly changes from being near-sighted (myopic) to emmetropic (distance without glasses) is often unhappy at being forced to use glasses for near tasks.
(The average age for cataract surgery in the US is ~69 years old.)
Wow this is a fantastic topic. I am glad I found it it. I am currently 69 so right in that time zone and have noticed some issue with at least one eye when out doing photography and seeing things sharply. I avoided going to get my eyes checked because of COVid but going to book an appointment immediately.
Gunzorro wrote:
Thanks so much to all contributors on this thread.
Following a poor visual performance at my most recent shooting match, I am convinced this is now the time for me to correct the vision in my right eye. I've had floaters to deal with for years, waiting for their trails to clear to break clean shots. But now the cataract has started to obscure and diffuse the lower center of my right eye's vision at shooting distances of 25 to 500 meters. This results in blurred vision in a portion of the vision needed for critical focusing/contrast.
I'm encouraged to check into getting this eye fixed, which has been slowly deteriorating from extreme sharpness since about 2005. I'm heading toward my 69th birthday this month.
Naturally, the same things that impede my critically sharp focus are also the same factors associated with my photography (contrast, micro-focusing), as well as my oil painting (contrast, hues). So, a fix to one is a fix to all!
Thanks to all for the data and encouragement....Show more →
I don't have cataracts but just had surgery for a torn retina yesterday. Les floaters today but that seems pretty fast. As others mentioned here I hate wearing glasses.
I have 20/20 vision for distance but still need a boost so my HD 4K TV looks like HD. Pain in the but with progressives as the lower part of the screen can be OOF so I need to keep my head in a certain position. We don't want to raise the TV so I'm going to get a set for distance only.
I made the mistake of getting lenses that darken outside. That won't happen again. Clip-ons only next time. I already have clip-ons because in the car the darkening lenses don't darken. It's a pain shooting on a sunny day.
Zenon Char wrote:
I don't have cataracts but just had surgery for a torn retina yesterday. Les floaters today but that seems pretty fast. As others mentioned here I hate wearing glasses.
I have 20/20 vision for distance but still need a boost so my HD 4K TV looks like HD. Pain in the but with progressives as the lower part of the screen can be OOF so I need to keep my head in a certain position. We don't want to raise the TV so I'm going to get a set for distance only.
I made the mistake of getting lenses that darken outside. That won't happen again. Clip-ons only next time. I already have clip-ons because in the car the darkening lenses don't darken. It's a pain shooting on a sunny day. ...Show more →
I had a detached retina a few years ago, though I was fortunate to be able to get it repaired without surgery. (It involves a freezing probe, a small gas bubble, but I won't go into details here except that I regard the treatment as being miraculous.)
I've never had 20/20 distance vision, so I wore glasses for that since I was a pre-teen. Later, as is entirely normal, I developed the usual loss of close-focusing ability due to aging eyes.
If you spend a lot of time in front of a screen, it may be worthwhile to get a pair of single vision glasses that focus on the screen distance. After putting up with the need to move my head to get the right part of the screen in focus (a bigger problem with large monitors than with a phone or laptop), I finally bit the bullet and got a pair, and it makes all the difference for my work at the computer.
I've never had the glasses that respond to sunlight, though my wife has... and she has warned me about the issue with driving the you mention. For photography I like to use clip-ons, too, since I can easily remove them and place them in a pocket while I'm photographing... since seeing things more like they actually are seems important.
However, for some outdoor activities (and for driving) I'm less thrilled with them since clip-ons can produce more internal reflections and provide twice as much surface that can get smudged. So I invested in a separate pair of very good corrected sunglasses, too. Fortunately for me, my close-vision, while not as good as it once was, is good enough that I can see everything I need to see on a tripod-mounted camera, including the rear screen for manual focus.
Yeah, that's where you end up — lots of glasses for different purposes!
I opted to set the focus point at Distance - final result was a pretty close (20-15 uncorrected) with a little bit of residual astigmatism than when corrected allows me to get about half of the 20-10 line.
So similar to what @gdanmitchell mentions, I got a pair of glasses for intermediate (+1.0 diopters - 1 Meter away) and another for near (+2.0 diopers - 1/2 Meter away) ... which works really well for me.
gdanmitchell wrote:
I had a detached retina a few years ago, though I was fortunate to be able to get it repaired without surgery. (It involves a freezing probe, a small gas bubble, but I won't go into details here except that I regard the treatment as being miraculous.)
I've never had 20/20 distance vision, so I wore glasses for that since I was a pre-teen. Later, as is entirely normal, I developed the usual loss of close-focusing ability due to aging eyes.
If you spend a lot of time in front of a screen, it may be worthwhile to get a pair of single vision glasses that focus on the screen distance. After putting up with the need to move my head to get the right part of the screen in focus (a bigger problem with large monitors than with a phone or laptop), I finally bit the bullet and got a pair, and it makes all the difference for my work at the computer.
I've never had the glasses that respond to sunlight, though my wife has... and she has warned me about the issue with driving the you mention. For photography I like to use clip-ons, too, since I can easily remove them and place them in a pocket while I'm photographing... since seeing things more like they actually are seems important.
However, for some outdoor activities (and for driving) I'm less thrilled with them since clip-ons can produce more internal reflections and provide twice as much surface that can get smudged. So I invested in a separate pair of very good corrected sunglasses, too. Fortunately for me, my close-vision, while not as good as it once was, is good enough that I can see everything I need to see on a tripod-mounted camera, including the rear screen for manual focus.
Yeah, that's where you end up — lots of glasses for different purposes!...Show more →
I'll look into that. I should have said I had laser surgery. The fellow across the street had two detached retinas, one a few weeks ago. He told me about the gas bubble and he can't fly for a month. No restrictions for me as it was just a tear.
I should have mentioned the flying restrictions may not matter anyway. Not sure if we are going to leave the country next month. I was so looking forward to some birding. Dead around here this time of year.
Both eyes set for distance in cataract surgery. NO glasses for driving and I see the dashboard perfectly. For photography I set the viewfinder diopter to suit. Never any problems. I use glasses only for reading now. I do have computer glasses set for the screen distance and reading.
Exactly. Thanks for reminding me - everyone seems to assume I would prefer distance correction. When I was still working in the OR I would definitely have preferred to keep my near vision without glasses. But you’re right - at the moment I only need my glasses for distance (which includes watching TV). I would like both eyes to be equal though.
Regards, Nigel rljones wrote:
Besides having to wear readers to use your camera, think about other activities those who are older, and near-sighted, take for granted and do without wearing glasses: applying make-up or shaving, trimming your nails, reading at night in bed, checking medication bottles, selecting a bottle of rinse vs shampoo in the shower, or various hobbies and crafts.
It's one thing for a 20 year old to have Lasik and not worry about being near-sighted. They can still accommodate until they're 40 and won't notice a difference. But a near-sighted, over 60 adult who suddenly changes from being near-sighted (myopic) to emmetropic (distance without glasses) is often unhappy at being forced to use glasses for near tasks.
(The average age for cataract surgery in the US is ~69 years old.)...Show more →
runamuck wrote:
Both eyes set for distance in cataract surgery. NO glasses for driving and I see the dashboard perfectly. For photography I set the viewfinder diopter to suit. Never any problems. I use glasses only for reading now. I do have computer glasses set for the screen distance and reading.
Yes my progressives don't work at the computer desk. I use reading glasses.
Jeff wrote:
I was thrilled at my last eye appointment, as my doctor informed me she could see the very beginning of cataracts forming (not unusual here in CO at my age). Technology is moving pretty quick with this stuff these days, and I look forward to finally having perfect vision (hopefully a result like Bruce had).
You sound like me! I’m here in CO and at almost 60 have the beginnings of cataracts! I’m excited to get the surgery when ever I can…. I have floaters so bad that when I do get the surgery they can remove them as well. No more seeing lots of things in the sky or landscape along with what ever I’m trying to take a photo of!
I had my left eye done a month ago and my right about 2 hours ago. I was thrilled with the way my left eye went and can't wait to see the difference now that both eyes are done.
This has been my experience also. Chose the more expensive procedure for cataracts and lenses for long distance. Cheapo close up glasses for reading aid. The procedure was super easy for this 78-year-old and celebrated by coming back to Canon and RF, still have my 1D (not a misprint).
I had my left eye done 2 weeks ago and i would have to say the change is pretty close to miraculous. I chose the long distance lens as i mentioned earlier in the thread, but i seem to have come out with a focus distance around 2-3m. Apparently this happens sometimes, but since i've gone from functionally blind to being able to see, i have no complaints. I'll get a new set of glasses in 6 weeks and all should be good.
Tollefsen wrote:
You sound like me! I’m here in CO and at almost 60 have the beginnings of cataracts! I’m excited to get the surgery when ever I can…. I have floaters so bad that when I do get the surgery they can remove them as well. No more seeing lots of things in the sky or landscape along with what ever I’m trying to take a photo of!
I had cataracts removed in both eyes. Vision is 20/20 for distance but I require reading glasses for anything closer than my steering wheel.
As far as floaters is concerned my surgeon mentioned that these are at the back of the eye and can’t be removed with a cataract operation. Perhaps there is some other intervention?
15Bit wrote:
I had my left eye done 2 weeks ago and i would have to say the change is pretty close to miraculous. I chose the long distance lens as i mentioned earlier in the thread, but i seem to have come out with a focus distance around 2-3m. Apparently this happens sometimes, but since i've gone from functionally blind to being able to see, i have no complaints. I'll get a new set of glasses in 6 weeks and all should be good.
If you were shooting for plano (at distance), then 2-3 meters is only "missing" the refractive target by 1/2-1/3 diopter (minus 1/6 if you want to nitpick since typical eye test is at 20 feet) ... which is pretty decent results. Better to undershoot rather than overshoot.
