rscheffler wrote:
I'll add that I'm left-handed writing and throwing. But play hockey right-handed because when I was a kid, the hand-me-down hockey sticks from older cousins were right-handed. This also means I golf right-handed and bat right-handed. In grade school I was forced to learn use right-handed scissors because of the dire lack of left-handed ones in the classroom. In hindsight, this was for the better as scissors seem by default to be right-handed. Also right-handed computer mouse user.
Which is something of a drag. I wear glasses, and on many cameras the viewfinder eyepiece is not offset far enough to the rear of the camera to prevent my right thumb from rubbing against my right eyeglass piece, smearing it with thumb grease.
This was less of an issue with most 1-series models, and more recently with my R6 IIs. Now that I'm shooting more with the R8, I'm back to dealing with this annoyance again.
Best fix I've found is to wear an elastic thumb sleeve, the kind you'd use for a sprain.
Oddly specific issue, I know, but you'd be surprised how annoying this can become, haha.
Which is something of a drag. I wear glasses, and on many cameras the viewfinder eyepiece is not offset far enough to the rear of the camera to prevent my right thumb from rubbing against my right eyeglass piece, smearing it with thumb grease.
This was less of an issue with most 1-series models, and more recently with my R6 IIs. Now that I'm shooting more with the R8, I'm back to dealing with this annoyance again.
Best fix I've found is to wear an elastic thumb sleeve, the kind you'd use for a sprain.
Oddly specific issue, I know, but you'd be surprised how annoying this can become, haha....Show more →
Gary,
You might want to look for an extended eyepiece from china. I buy these for my cameras because they include the tiny screws which are very easily lost/dropped on location when removing the eyepiece to put in my water housings. I'm sure they might have a similar one for the R8 somewhere, but this might help your cause by extending you farther back. Interestingly enough I've never had any issues shooting with my left eye and nothing seems close to my right hand or thumb. So I just picked the camera up and realized maybe it's because I have some pretty big cro-magnon eyebrows and my eyes are pretty recessed? The camera eyepiece rests against my eyebrow and I'm not even close to my right hand/thumb, even with the stock eyepiece.. If extending your eyepiece won't affect anything you do with your camera (other than a little bigger footprint in your bag), you might want to take a look for one. These come with two screws and a tittle screw driver to use in the field:
I’m going through the same thing with the R8. Thanks for the tip!
garyvot wrote:
Always been a left-eyed shooter.
Which is something of a drag. I wear glasses, and on many cameras the viewfinder eyepiece is not offset far enough to the rear of the camera to prevent my right thumb from rubbing against my right eyeglass piece, smearing it with thumb grease.
This was less of an issue with most 1-series models, and more recently with my R6 IIs. Now that I'm shooting more with the R8, I'm back to dealing with this annoyance again.
Best fix I've found is to wear an elastic thumb sleeve, the kind you'd use for a sprain.
Oddly specific issue, I know, but you'd be surprised how annoying this can become, haha....Show more →
You might want to look for an extended eyepiece from china. I buy these for my cameras because they include the tiny screws which are very easily lost/dropped on location when removing the eyepiece to put in my water housings. I'm sure they might have a similar one for the R8 somewhere, but this might help your cause by extending you farther back. Interestingly enough I've never had any issues shooting with my left eye and nothing seems close to my right hand or thumb. So I just picked the camera up and realized maybe it's because I have some pretty big cro-magnon eyebrows and my eyes are pretty recessed? The camera eyepiece rests against my eyebrow and I'm not even close to my right hand/thumb, even with the stock eyepiece.. If extending your eyepiece won't affect anything you do with your camera (other than a little bigger footprint in your bag), you might want to take a look for one. These come with two screws and a tittle screw driver to use in the field:
I am right-handed and left-eye dominant too. I have always shot all of my cameras with my left eye. Using Leica M in portrait mode allows seeing the scene with right eye open
I do archery too, and it took me quite a while to aim with right eye and "override" the left eye dominance. But nowadays I can shoot archery with both eyes open.
My vision is equally perfect between the eyes, I don't know what makes left or right eye the dominant one. Interesting topic.
I use my right eye, and I'm left handed. I switched to my right eye because I see better with that eye. I have astigmatism in the left eye, and it's never completely corrected.
I wasn't sure which eye I was using when I first saw this question, because I used to be completely left-eye dominant, and for a while I tried to force myself to switch. I went out shooting the other day and found that I had successfully switched because I found myself unconsciously using my right eye.
I'm right-handed and left-eyed. Honestly my left eye is so dominant I might as well do without the right eye. I'm right-brained on everything I process. I think visually but do have internal dialog (left-brained).
stanj wrote:
Right hand, right foot, left eye (and for the two times I played golf, "left handed" but you can't really call it playing golf)
I thought I was the rare strange one...
- Right handed for one hand sports (squash, tennis).
- Left for two hand sports (golf, baseball etc).
- Throw and kick with either.
- Serious left eye preference (camera, shooting).
- Last second catching always left hand.
- Write with right hand but reach for everything with left.
- Drinking glasses on and with left.
- Can draw with left but not write - I have no idea what that means.
It's confusing to some people
Jul 13, 2026 at 06:48 PM
Steve Spencer Online • • • • • • • Upload & Sell: Off
I am so right eye dominant I can't even shut my right eye and keep my left eye open. I don't think there is any way I could shoot a camera with my left eye. I am super right side dominant in writing, sports, drawing, everything. I worked incredibly hard in basketball to shoot layups and dribble with my left hand, but never was able to do it very well at all. In fact, in basketball my free throw percentage was always way higher than my uncontested left hand layup percentage. If there was a camera that required me to shoot with my left eye, it would be ruled out for me immediately as I can't even imagine trying to do that.
'In the general population, eye dominance is heavily skewed toward the right side. Research indicates that approximately 60% to 70% of people are right-eye dominant, 25% to 35% are left-eye dominant, and a small minority of about 1% to 5% have mixed, central, or alternating dominance.'
'Left eye dominance means your brain relies more on the left eye for processing visual information. Often linked to higher creativity, cross-dominance (e.g., right-handed but left-eye dominant), and unique visual perception.'
'Online discussions highlight a tendency for left-eye dominant individuals to identify as strong-willed, out-of-the-box thinkers who enjoy creative problem-solving.'
Does it matter? >
'Between 20% and 50% of the human cerebral cortex is devoted to visual processing. This far outweighs other senses, like touch (8%) and hearing (3%). Because visual processing is heavily intertwined with memory, emotion, and spatial awareness, some neurological estimates suggest up to 80% of the brain is involved in understanding visual input.'
'Ocular dominance starts in the visual cortex of the brain. This is where the nerve pathways from both eyes meet and process what you see. In most people, one of those pathways is slightly stronger or sends cleaner information, so the brain relies on that side more often. You do not get to choose which eye becomes dominant, and it rarely changes once it is established.'
'When your dominant eye and dominant hand are on the same side, your body naturally works together. Your line of sight, your shoulder, and your trigger hand all line up in a straight and comfortable path. But if your dominant eye and shooting hand are on opposite sides, known as cross-dominance, you end up fighting yourself without even realizing it.'
I'm right handed and left eye'd. I've thought about training my right eye but it really only matters on mechanical rangefinders when trying to get the eye fully seated on the eye cup to be able to see the entire viewfinder, and even still doesn't feel like that much of a hindrance.
