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Help with glasses!
Hello to all
I have very recently become interested in astronomy. I am starting to identify the constellations and have picked out andromeda galaxy just lately. My Fiancée is keen to learn also and I've tried to point out certain things to her, including andromeda as it seems so prominent at the moment, however I can't tell if we're seeing the same things. We are using a reasonable pair of 10x50's that I find very easy to use, however my good lady wears glasses (she has astigmatism and slight short sightedness) and is struggling to focus the binoculars. Is it best that she keeps her glasses on and tries to shield out the extra light that comes in or would she do better taking them off (obviously this means that I can't get the focus about right for her)? Any help is greatly appreciated. Many thanks Steve |
#2
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Help with glasses!
If those Binos are of a good brand, at lest one of the eyepieces should be
able to be adjusted so that she doesn't need the glasses. I have a pair of 20 x 80's and once I adjust the rightside eye view, I then refouce the whole pair and most of the time have good views. -- The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond Telescope Buyers FAQ http://home.inreach.com/starlord Sidewalk Astronomy www.sidewalkastronomy.info Astronomy Net Online Gift Shop http://www.cafepress.com/astronomy_net In Garden Online Gift Shop http://www.cafepress.com/ingarden Blast Off Online Gift Shop http://www.cafepress.com/starlords Astro Blog http://starlord.bloggerteam.com/ "Steve & Lizzie" wrote in message ... Hello to all I have very recently become interested in astronomy. I am starting to identify the constellations and have picked out andromeda galaxy just lately. My Fiancée is keen to learn also and I've tried to point out certain things to her, including andromeda as it seems so prominent at the moment, however I can't tell if we're seeing the same things. We are using a reasonable pair of 10x50's that I find very easy to use, however my good lady wears glasses (she has astigmatism and slight short sightedness) and is struggling to focus the binoculars. Is it best that she keeps her glasses on and tries to shield out the extra light that comes in or would she do better taking them off (obviously this means that I can't get the focus about right for her)? Any help is greatly appreciated. Many thanks Steve |
#3
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Help with glasses!
Starlord wrote:
If those Binos are of a good brand, at lest one of the eyepieces should be able to be adjusted so that she doesn't need the glasses. I have a pair of 20 x 80's and once I adjust the rightside eye view, I then refouce the whole pair and most of the time have good views. That will work as long as her astigmatism is mild. Binoculars don't play well with an observer's astigmatism because the exit pupil is so large. I personally haven't had a problem with stray light with my glasses on (although I do admit to liking the view better with them off), but that might just be a matter of where I'm observing from. -- Brian Tung The Astronomy Corner at http://astro.isi.edu/ Unofficial C5+ Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/c5plus/ The PleiadAtlas Home Page at http://astro.isi.edu/pleiadatlas/ My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.html |
#4
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Help with glasses!
We are using a reasonable pair of 10x50's that I find very easy to use,
however my good lady wears glasses (she has astigmatism and slight short sightedness) and is struggling to focus the binoculars. Is it best that she keeps her glasses on and tries to shield out the extra light that comes in or would she do better taking them off (obviously this means that I can't get the focus about right for her)? Hi Steve, The focus adjustment of binoculars will correct for short and near sightedness. The other issue is astigmatism which binocular focus will not adjust for. It might be easier if your lady friend first try the binoculars in daylight. Have her remove her glasses see if she can focus the binos on a distant mountain or building. Something a mile or more away. Then, without changing the focus setting of the binos, have her try them at night. ..Florian |
#5
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Help with glasses!
Steve & Lizzie wrote:
Hello to all I have very recently become interested in astronomy. I am starting to identify the constellations and have picked out andromeda galaxy just lately. My Fiancée is keen to learn also and I've tried to point out certain things to her, including andromeda as it seems so prominent at the moment, however I can't tell if we're seeing the same things. With binos, a stable mount (like a parallelogram mount) is best. That way you can be certain you are looking at the same view. Phil |
#6
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Help with glasses!
On Tue, 19 Sep 2006 15:13:24 -0700, "Starlord"
wrote: If those Binos are of a good brand, at lest one of the eyepieces should be able to be adjusted so that she doesn't need the glasses. I have a pair of 20 x 80's and once I adjust the rightside eye view, I then refouce the whole pair and most of the time have good views. It depends. The original poster said she has some astigmatism, which means she'd want to keep her glasses on. If she has a lot of correction for sphere she might not be able to get binoculars to focus on distant objects. Most binos can accommodate +/- 6 diopters. If her correction is more she'll need to keep her glasses on while using the binoculars. -- The night is just the shadow of the Earth. |
#7
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Help with glasses!
If it's not to bad it should be ok, I know, as I have it too and yet I can
take off my glasses and use my binos just fine. -- The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond Telescope Buyers FAQ http://home.inreach.com/starlord Sidewalk Astronomy www.sidewalkastronomy.info Astronomy Net Online Gift Shop http://www.cafepress.com/astronomy_net In Garden Online Gift Shop http://www.cafepress.com/ingarden Blast Off Online Gift Shop http://www.cafepress.com/starlords Astro Blog http://starlord.bloggerteam.com/ "William Hamblen" wrote in message ... On Tue, 19 Sep 2006 15:13:24 -0700, "Starlord" wrote: If those Binos are of a good brand, at lest one of the eyepieces should be able to be adjusted so that she doesn't need the glasses. I have a pair of 20 x 80's and once I adjust the rightside eye view, I then refouce the whole pair and most of the time have good views. It depends. The original poster said she has some astigmatism, which means she'd want to keep her glasses on. If she has a lot of correction for sphere she might not be able to get binoculars to focus on distant objects. Most binos can accommodate +/- 6 diopters. If her correction is more she'll need to keep her glasses on while using the binoculars. -- The night is just the shadow of the Earth. |
#8
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Help with glasses!
"Steve & Lizzie" wrote:
My Fiancée is keen to learn also and I've tried to point out certain things to her, including andromeda as it seems so prominent at the moment, however I can't tell if we're seeing the same things. A mount would remedy that problem -- and allow you to see more detail at the same time! We are using a reasonable pair of 10x50's that I find very easy to use, however my good lady wears glasses (she has astigmatism and slight short sightedness) and is struggling to focus the binoculars. Is it best that she keeps her glasses on and tries to shield out the extra light that comes in or would she do better taking them off (obviously this means that I can't get the focus about right for her)? Assuming the astigmatism is the cause behind the struggle to focus the binoculars, then yes, your lady should use the binoculars with her glasses on. This assumes that the eye relief of the binoculars allow for comfortable use with eye glasses. If this isn't the case, then it would be good for your lady to get her own pair of binoculars that are more suitable to her needs. If the binoculars were mounted, she would be able to drape a dark cloth over her head and the back of the binoculars to block out stray light. Alternatively, you could try to find a spot to observe from where a wall, building, tree, vehicle, etc. blocks offending lights. You *have* explained to her how to focus binoculars have you not? She should place a lens cap over one objective (the one who's eyepiece is individually adjustable), look through the binoculars and adjust the focus until stars are as small as they'll get; then transfer the lens cap to the other objective and use the individual eyepiece adjustment to adjust the focus of that eyepiece. Then, of course, remove the lens cap and she should be good to go -- until you re-focus for *your* eyes! Willie R. Meghar http://meghar.blogspot.com/ |
#9
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Help with glasses!
"Willie R. Meghar" wrote in message
... [snip] Assuming the astigmatism is the cause behind the struggle to focus the binoculars, then yes, your lady should use the binoculars with her glasses on. [snip] You *have* explained to her how to focus binoculars have you not? She should place a lens cap over one objective (the one who's eyepiece is individually adjustable), look through the binoculars and adjust the focus until stars are as small as they'll get; then transfer the lens cap to the other objective and use the individual eyepiece adjustment to adjust the focus of that eyepiece. Then, of course, remove the lens cap and she should be good to go -- until you re-focus for *your* eyes! Assuming that this lady wears her glasses when observing and ALSO assuming that those glasses restore her astigmatism AND nearsightedness CORRECTLY, the above procedure isn't really needed. I have -4.5/-4.75 and cylinder -1.0/-1.25. When I wear my glasses and focus my binos using the method above, the binos and my scope come up to "focus at infinity" and the adjustable eyepiece (on both my bino pairs) rests exactly at +/- 0. Therefore, my "focus at infinity" position with me WEARING my glasses (which perfectly correct my vision) is exactly the same as the "focus at infinity" for a person with 20/20 vision and no problems. Conversely, when vision is bad, either because the sky is twinkling or because my eyes are tired, I know I need to adjust ONLY the focus knob and not the separate eyepiece knob, because the focal difference between my eyes is going to be 0 when I wear my glasses. Thus, when I want visitors to come see through my scope or binos, I focus either, using myself WITH glasses, and then, when they look, for them the scope or binos are perfectly focused at infinity, so they see fine through the scopes. The above method you describe is needed only when a person doesn't wear his/her corrective eyeglasses or if the eyeglasses are old and don't restore vision perfectly. To summarize: A scope's focusing parameters for a person with pathological vision and with corrective glasses ON are going to be equivalent to the focusing parameters of a person with 20/20 vision, with the focusing knob set at "infinity" and the individual eyepiece knob set exactly at 0, provided the eyeglasses restore vision to 20/20. Put in different words: From the scope's optical point of view, an eyeglass corrected eye is equivalent to a 20/20 perfect vision eye, provided the eyeglass correctly restores the person's vision for that particular eye. The above has been my experience with many different viewers for my 11x80, 20x100 and my 60mm Tasco scope. Willie R. Meghar -- Ioannis ------- The best way to predict reality, is to know exactly what you DON'T want. |
#10
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Help with glasses!
Thanks everyone for all the good advice - looking forward to trying on the
next clear night! Steve "Steve & Lizzie" wrote in message ... Hello to all I have very recently become interested in astronomy. I am starting to identify the constellations and have picked out andromeda galaxy just lately. My Fiancée is keen to learn also and I've tried to point out certain things to her, including andromeda as it seems so prominent at the moment, however I can't tell if we're seeing the same things. We are using a reasonable pair of 10x50's that I find very easy to use, however my good lady wears glasses (she has astigmatism and slight short sightedness) and is struggling to focus the binoculars. Is it best that she keeps her glasses on and tries to shield out the extra light that comes in or would she do better taking them off (obviously this means that I can't get the focus about right for her)? Any help is greatly appreciated. Many thanks Steve |
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