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Which eye do you use to look through the viewfinder?

Which eye do you use to look through the viewfinder?

  • Nikon - Left Eye

    Votes: 10 12.8%

  • Nikon - Right Eye

    Votes: 18 23.1%

  • Canon - Left Eye

    Votes: 19 24.4%

  • Canon - Right Eye

    Votes: 20 25.6%

  • Other - Left Eye

    Votes: 4 5.1%

  • Other - Right Eye

    Votes: 7 9.0%
  • Total voters
    78
mulo

mulo

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Aug 22, 2010
2,267
5
Behind you
Which eye do you use to look through the viewfinder, on which brand and why?
pros cons?

I use my left eye which means I have a hard time using the buttons while holding the camera up to my eye, but I can get my eye closer to the viewfinder, and thus see better.

Edit: accidentally wrote right instead of left.
 
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I look through with my left but keep my right eye open - its probably an odd way of doing it, but it helps me frame the picture better.
 
I use my right eye because it is my good one. Camera brand isn't relivent so I didn't vote. Most people have a dominate eye. Hold a paper tube at arms length and focus on something. Keep it centered and slowly bring the tube back to your face until it touches you. It will wind up at either your right or left eye and seldom in the center.

Dale
 
Left eye. I think I believe I see better out of it though they're both perfect.
 
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Right always because the viewfinder is adjusted to that eye
 
Left eye.... because I have an early stage cataract forming in the right eye, and it throws the colours off.

My optometrist loves to see me, my eyes fascinate him. When I first started seeing him I was doing a fair bit of colour darkroom work and my colour perception was highly honed. I had a cataract forming in my left eye at the time, and he insisted that nobody at my stage would notice anything. I told him the 4 different colour weirdnesses that I had noticed, and that told me I needed to come in early to see him. We still have great visits...he does extra tests on my eyes because he is fascinated by how sensitive I am to visual stimuli.... I get to play with some cool equipment. And by "play" I mean have beams of light shone into my eyes, or to stare at flickering squiggles for minutes at end.
 
I voted left eye on Canon, because that's what I primarily shoot with but I use my left eye with all cameras, guns, bows, telescopes, microscopes, and anything else that requires one eye to look through.

As was mentioned earlier everyone has a dominant eye which often, but not always, as for me, is the same as your dominant hand.

The poll is interesting, or if it had a very large sample, could find some possible correlation between brand and dominant eye. Although it would probably be one of those "correlation does not imply causation" situations.
 
emorydunn said:
I voted left eye on Canon, because that's what I primarily shoot with but I use my left eye with all cameras, guns, bows, telescopes, microscopes, and anything else that requires one eye to look through.

As was mentioned earlier everyone has a dominant eye which often, but not always, as for me, is the same as your dominant hand.

The poll is interesting, or if it had a very large sample, could find some possible correlation between brand and dominant eye. Although it would probably be one of those "correlation does not imply causation" situations.
Click to expand...
Yes. Brand has nothing to do with this. I have shot Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Fuji and Exacta, all with my right eye dominate. I have worked with a twin lens reflex and a view camera and both used two eyes.

Dale
 
Designer Dale said:
Yes. Brand has nothing to do with this. I have shot Canon, Nikon, Panasonic, Fuji and Exacta, all with my right eye dominate. I have worked with a twin lens reflex and a view camera and both used two eyes.

Dale
Click to expand...

Agreed, but maybe there will be an interesting correlation between which eye is dominant and which brand people prefer? haha.
 
What's missing is whether it correlates to being left handed or right handed.
 
maflynn said:
What's missing is whether it correlates to being left handed or right handed.
Click to expand...

This is not exactly scientific, but I'm left-handed and left-eyed.
This makes for a mess because when I look through my Nikon viewfinder, my nose smudges all over the screen!!! I've tried to change to the right eye, but just can't seem to master it.
 
Designer Dale said:
Camera brand isn't relivent so I didn't vote. Most people have a dominate eye.
Click to expand...

Well I think it may be, read on why :)

emorydunn said:
The poll is interesting, or if it had a very large sample, could find some possible correlation between brand and dominant eye. Although it would probably be one of those "correlation does not imply causation" situations.
Click to expand...

It is, but I don't think we can take it quite that far.

However I think we could possibly see a correlation between interface friendliness and eye usage. ie. Nikon users might have an easier time accessing the buttons while holding the camera up, despite using their left eye, compared to canon users.

I'm considering teaching myself to use my right eye, so that I may access the buttons, and adjust focus without taking the camera away form my eye. My Left eye is however my dominant, and I am right handed.
 
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Left-handed, right eye is my dominant eye, I have equal vision in both eyes, yet look through the viewfinder with my left.
 
Don't some Leica cameras have the view finder over on the left so you would have to use your right eye. This leaves it possible to still use your left eye. Would be handy for shooting BIF I guess.
 
Unless there is a specific reason for it (like as some people state, they have vision irregularities in a particular eye) people will use their dominant eye in the viewfinder.

I am not positive the two are related, but IIRC like right-handedness, right-eye dominance seems to be more prevalent/common in the general population, so I expect the poll results to reflect this.

Designer Dale's test or other similar ones like that will very often result in you identifying the same eye you use to shoot through the viewfinder.

It has nothing to do with brand, I'm not sure why you structured the poll like that.
 
Unless there is a specific reason for it (like as some people state, they have vision irregularities in a particular eye) people will use their dominant eye in the viewfinder.
Click to expand...
There of course will be exceptions, as I am one of them... I wonder how common (or uncommon) it is for somebody to naturally look through the viewfinder with their non-dominant eye (that is, holding constant for vision disparities, physical configuration of the camera itself, etc.).
 
Left eye dominant, look with my left eye. Happen to use Canon.

More interestingly, perhaps, sometimes I close my right eye (landscapes, static scenery), sometimes keep it open (dynamic scenes).

For photography, wish I had learned right-eye. Not going to change at this point.
 
Sometimes the camera can be an issue. Take the Sony NEX for example. In an earlier thread a poster had a problem with the center position of the viewfinder on the Oly OMD and suggested that it should be positioned to the left, a la the Sony NEX, so that street shooters can use their left eye to survey the site. That may not be comfortable for a left-eye dominate photog.

To OP: is there a result, etc., that you are trying to glean from your question? I have always assumed that folks used their dominate eye and chose gear that best suited them.

P.S. - re-reading a prior post my comments will equally apply the new Fujifilm and classic Leica cameras.
 
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