Does taking photos affect your eyesight???

I've now been using my K20d for around a month and loving every minute of it. Previously i had used a bridge camera and a point and shoot so for 99% of the time, i used the live view on the screen to compose and shoot shots.

Having switched to a DSLR, i have only taken one shot using live view mode, the rest have all been composed through the viewfinder. I've also used the information in the viewfinder when adjusting settings etc.

The problem i have, is that for a while after i take a few shots, i find it harder to focus my right eye on distant objects. It returns to normal after a while but i'm worried that there might be some lasting effect on my eyesight. Anyone else experiencing this?

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Pentax K20D, Pentax 18-55mm II, Pentax M 50mm 1: 1.7, Super Paragon 1: 2.8 24mm Macro, Pentax smc DA 50-200 mm F4-5.6 ED
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There is not normally any detrimental effect.

I would check the dioptre setting by aiming the camera at a blank wall or sky and adjusting the viewfinder until the etched lines on the screen are sharpest. Then you are focusing your eye on the screen with your eye at comfortable rest.

You might be straining with a basically misadjusted viewfinder and your eye is taking a while to readjust afterwards.

Having said that, if you have a problem with your eye the first person to see is your optician or doctor or both just to check it out.

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Best regards, John

i'll check out the diopter... really hope this isn't the first sign of my eyes going!!!!!!

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Pentax K20D, Pentax 18-55mm II, Pentax M 50mm 1: 1.7, Super Paragon 1: 2.8 24mm Macro, Pentax smc DA 50-200 mm F4-5.6 ED
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i have the same thing, i have also seen something about this on another forum, can't remember where. but it seems to be pretty common. i think its just where you tend to screw your eye up when concentrating on looking thrugh the viewfinder, i read that plenty of people seem to get it anyway. i try now to relax my other eye a bit more when looking through the viewfinder.

I use my right eye to look through the view-finder, and suffer a little from this problem too.

Luckily, the K20D diopter adjustments affect me a lot less than did the Sony A200 which I sold recently.

I wear milk-bottle bottoms for specs, but after using the Sony, my right eye became as sharp as a pin for about 15 minutes, whilst my left eye got a lot worse!!!

Alan.

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Camera: K20D.
Lenses: Pentax DA* 55mm f1.4 SDM, Pentax DA* 16-50 SDM, Pentax 18-250 SMC DA, Pentax-M 50mm f1.7, Sigma 70-300 F4-5.6 DG macro.
Flash: Pentax AF360.

Try keeping both eyes open. It reqires a little practice but soon becomes second nature.

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Ken
“We must avoid however, snapping away, shooting quickly and without thought, overloading ourselves with unnecessary images that clutter our memory and diminish the clarity of the whole.” - Henri Cartier-Bresson -

I agree with keeping both eyes open too.

Also helps tracking moving subjects.

Yes, keep both eyes open. It will help you see what is going on as you take the shot. Something good might also be about to happen. It`s a good technique for tracking motion too. Practice looking at flying aircraft. If you have an eye test the eye not being tested is covered otherwise you have the symptoms you describe.

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Enjoy life

Taking photos does not affect your eyesight. - Nor do other solitary activities alleged to do so. Just old wives tales! - I mean... If they were true, I ought to be completely blind by now!

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No man is worth his salt, who has not been banned from at least one Forum, and two Flickr groups.

Mowog.

You mean reading books late?

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Kind regards,
Michal R. Hoffmann
K20D, DA 16-45mm, A 50mm F/1:1.4, DA 55-300mm; flash Pentax AF240Z