Cataract Surgery Implants and Photography

[JerryF]

I finally got my non dominant eye done about two months ago. It just was scary to think about my original lens being disintegrated and sucked out of my eye. But it was fantastic and didnt hurt at all. I opted for the panoptix multi focal lens and I can now see uncorrected 20/20 out of that eye. And I mostly can do everything now without the need for any glasses. I used to have progressive lens glasses and could not drive at night safely. I can drive at night now but the imporvement of my night and low contrast vision did not seem to improve all that much. It may be due to the brain integrating the image and trying to balance the brightness of both eyes. Another thing that improved dramatically is my vision with sunglasses. If you hate having to have glasses then its worth the extra cost to get multifocal in my case anyway.

 

[ScubaChuck]

First of all, I am a retired ophthalmologist and probably have the only worthwhile answer here. Sorry, but it’s true. No offense.
when you remove a cataract you are removing the lens of the eye. If nothing else is done, you still can’t see clearly. Fifty years ago, the only option was to wear very thick cataract glasses. You could see but there was significant distortion. Next came contact lenses. There corrected the vision without distortion but there was oftentimes difficulty putting them in and taking them out.
‘I the seventies the intra ocular lens started being used with success. Although a lot of academic ophthalmologists were not convinced. With improved results everyone was convinced they were the answer.
‘The big problem now is many ophthalmologists try to upsell lenses that Medicare doesn’t cover and the patient has to pay out of pocket. Pure profit. Be very careful.
The lens Medicare approves is a single focus lens that can be focused for distance or near. Because we are dealing with a biological system the preoperative measurements may not be 100% on the mark and a small glasses prescription may be needed for the best vision.
‘This may sound strange, but it is possible to focus one eye for near and one for distance. It does work and the patient hardly notices the difference. Many people do this with contacts.
‘Unfortunately , there is no correct answer. Just be careful that you are not being sold something you don’t need.
How did you take picture before all this? Did you were reading glasses to use the camera? Or were you a little near sighted and could see the camera without anything.
‘If you have any questions , please write. Good luck.

 

[Texspeel]

I’ve had cataract surgery on both eyes with lenses for distance in both. No problem seeing camera settings, reading newspapers, etc. and with the lenses I’m 20/25 in both eyes.

 

[hawk19]

Mike, there have been a couple of threads more or less on this topic. There might be something helpful in them. I had cataract surgery some years ago and a touch up in one eye eight months ago. When I had the original procedure done, I didn't need to change the diopter setting at all on my DSLR.

Cataract Surgery

Cataract surgery Over the past 5 years my cataracts had been getting progressively worse. I was reluctant to get surgery because I only have one good eye, my right one. The left eye was at best 20/60 with glasses and that was before cataracts developed. It reached the point where driving at...

bcgforums.com

Cataracts & Photography #2

Please forgive me for starting another thread on this topic, but I’d like to ask anyone who has had cataract surgery recently about what lens implant you opted for, and what your specific outcomes were. I’d be especially interested in hearing from anyone who may have moderate astigmatism. I just...

bcgforums.com

I'm evaluating different lens implant options as I consider cataract surgery. Some lenses correct for near; others for far; and one potentially does it all (but quite expensive). My question is if I am corrected for distance, I potentially won't be able to read the settings in my viewfinder? Yes, there is a diopter adjustment on the viewfinder (Sony A1), but it changes the focus of both the subject I am shooting and also the camera settings around the sides of the image. Can someone who has had cataract surgery/implants give me some guidance on how they dealt with this? I will be seeing the eye surgeon in about a month, so I'm trying to do a lot of homework so I am prepared to have a knowledgeable discussion with the doctor. Thanks in advance for any perspectives you can share.

 

[GG1]

I'm evaluating different lens implant options as I consider cataract surgery. Some lenses correct for near; others for far; and one potentially does it all (but quite expensive). My question is if I am corrected for distance, I potentially won't be able to read the settings in my viewfinder? Yes, there is a diopter adjustment on the viewfinder (Sony A1), but it changes the focus of both the subject I am shooting and also the camera settings around the sides of the image. Can someone who has had cataract surgery/implants give me some guidance on how they dealt with this? I will be seeing the eye surgeon in about a month, so I'm trying to do a lot of homework so I am prepared to have a knowledgeable discussion with the doctor. Thanks in advance for any perspectives you can share.

I have had both eyes done and have single vision implants. I have no problems seeing my camera info nor reading a book. I have a little trouble with the book in dim light but otherwise no problems at all.

 

[rloeb]

I'm evaluating different lens implant options as I consider cataract surgery. Some lenses correct for near; others for far; and one potentially does it all (but quite expensive). My question is if I am corrected for distance, I potentially won't be able to read the settings in my viewfinder? Yes, there is a diopter adjustment on the viewfinder (Sony A1), but it changes the focus of both the subject I am shooting and also the camera settings around the sides of the image. Can someone who has had cataract surgery/implants give me some guidance on how they dealt with this? I will be seeing the eye surgeon in about a month, so I'm trying to do a lot of homework so I am prepared to have a knowledgeable discussion with the doctor. Thanks in advance for any perspectives you can share.

I had both eyes done two years ago and chose the "expensive" lenses. They are worth the cost! I threw all my glasses away. I can read, shoot (cameras and guns), weld, garden, cook, and drive without glasses (other than sunglasses or protective lenses). Best thing I ever did. I'd been wearing glasses for almost 30 years, getting new lenses yearly. I had multiple pairs of glasses: reading, driving, etc. At one point, I was switching between four different pairs. I had a special lens made for my D850 viewfinder so I could see both the viewfinder/controls and the subject. What a nuisance. I highly recommend the expensive lenses. In my case, they paid for themselves by eliminating my annual outlay to replace the lenses in multiple pairs of glasses. [Your mileage may vary.]

 

[Archibald]

I had both eyes done two years ago and chose the "expensive" lenses. They are worth the cost! I threw all my glasses away. I can read, shoot (cameras and guns), weld, garden, cook, and drive without glasses (other than sunglasses or protective lenses). Best thing I ever did. I'd been wearing glasses for almost 30 years, getting new lenses yearly. I had multiple pairs of glasses: reading, driving, etc. At one point, I was switching between four different pairs. I had a special lens made for my D850 viewfinder so I could see both the viewfinder/controls and the subject. What a nuisance. I highly recommend the expensive lenses. In my case, they paid for themselves by eliminating my annual outlay to replace the lenses in multiple pairs of glasses. [Your mileage may vary.]

Did you do a comparison?

 

[Rossdmorrison]

I'm evaluating different lens implant options as I consider cataract surgery. Some lenses correct for near; others for far; and one potentially does it all (but quite expensive). My question is if I am corrected for distance, I potentially won't be able to read the settings in my viewfinder? Yes, there is a diopter adjustment on the viewfinder (Sony A1), but it changes the focus of both the subject I am shooting and also the camera settings around the sides of the image. Can someone who has had cataract surgery/implants give me some guidance on how they dealt with this? I will be seeing the eye surgeon in about a month, so I'm trying to do a lot of homework so I am prepared to have a knowledgeable discussion with the doctor. Thanks in advance for any perspectives you can share.

I recently had cataract surgery (on both eyes now) and decided to go for the all encompassing lenses called Vivity. I can focus anywhere from 14 inches away to infinity. They have been great for photography in that I can read the settings on my camera and have not required any adjustments to the viewfinder. While these lenses are expensive, they are about the same as a good quality camera lens. Also, they have less glare and fewer halos at night than other multifocal implants. Overall, very happy with them.

 

[Franb]

Hi Mike,
I had cataract surgery 3 years ago. I had my right eye ( my master eye) prescription set for distance and my left eye set for arms length,
I no longer need glasses for anything other than the tiniest of tiny print. Reading newspapers camera menus etc are a piece of cake !!
It does sound amazing that 2 different prescriptions do not confuse your sight . but the brain ( even mine ) works it all out, and welcome to a world with no glasses !!!.

I had something similar last November. Astigmatism in both eyes and moderate cataract. I am left eye dominant so had distance lense put in that eye and that is the eye I look through the viewfinder. The right eye got the reading lense. I no longer need glasses for anything but do have some for really close work like threading a sewing needle. It’s great not having to wear glasses for photography as I used to have problems with them fogging up

 

[Woody Meristem]

After my cataract surgery I still have "distance" lenses in my eyeglasses for walking around in the forest, walking in town and most photography. For woodworking, computer work, watching TV and reading I use old fashioned trifocals (not progressive lenses), the upper part with the "distance" prescription, the central with best focus at the fingertips of an outstretched arm, the lower portion focuses at about 18 inches. It took my brain about a half hour to adjust to the trifocals, after that half hour there's never been a need to "hunt" for the correct part of the lens to look through. Perhaps the fact that I prefer large aviator-type lenses made it easier to adapt to the trifocals.

 

[MikeInMI]

I had both eyes done two years ago and chose the "expensive" lenses. They are worth the cost! I threw all my glasses away. I can read, shoot (cameras and guns), weld, garden, cook, and drive without glasses (other than sunglasses or protective lenses). Best thing I ever did. I'd been wearing glasses for almost 30 years, getting new lenses yearly. I had multiple pairs of glasses: reading, driving, etc. At one point, I was switching between four different pairs. I had a special lens made for my D850 viewfinder so I could see both the viewfinder/controls and the subject. What a nuisance. I highly recommend the expensive lenses. In my case, they paid for themselves by eliminating my annual outlay to replace the lenses in multiple pairs of glasses. [Your mileage may vary.]

Are you expensive lenses the panoptix? Do you have a lot of glare or halos at night?

 

[Don Linn]

I'm evaluating different lens implant options as I consider cataract surgery. Some lenses correct for near; others for far; and one potentially does it all (but quite expensive). My question is if I am corrected for distance, I potentially won't be able to read the settings in my viewfinder? Yes, there is a diopter adjustment on the viewfinder (Sony A1), but it changes the focus of both the subject I am shooting and also the camera settings around the sides of the image. Can someone who has had cataract surgery/implants give me some guidance on how they dealt with this? I will be seeing the eye surgeon in about a month, so I'm trying to do a lot of homework so I am prepared to have a knowledgeable discussion with the doctor. Thanks in advance for any perspectives you can share.

I had cataract surgery about 9 mos ago. I had 20-70 before the surgery and now have 20-30. I decided to get glassed for reading and for my computer. No problems wih cameras.