“Some digital cameras have a diopter adjustment that helps improve the clarity of the viewfinder. By adjusting a dial, lever or knob located near the viewfinder, sharpness and focus changes.” – Digicamhelp.com
I am often asked why a person can’t get anything sharp in the viewfinder. My first reply to that question is if the lens is on autofocus, are the captured photos are sharp?
If yes, then don’t blame the camera, read your manual. Who does that right? 98% of the time when you see blurry but the results are great when using autofocus it means your camera’s diopter is not adjusted for your eye. The other 2% of the time there is something wrong with the prism section of the camera which means send it in for repair.
The diopter is either a dial or slider switch located very close to the viewfinder. All SLR camera’s have one and many point & shoot camera’s have one.
Check out “How to Adjust a Diopter on a Camera” on eHow
So what happens if you don’t adjust your diopter? Well, if you are shooting on Manual focus then all of your photos, yes all of your photos, will be blurry. If you are shooting on Auto focus then you will most likely get lucky and find that there is something in focus most of the time. It may not be what you want however.
Adjusting your diopter is simple and should be done and checked often as sometimes you might accidentally change it. Or, if you lend your camera to someone you never know what they might touch.
Lastly, if you do a YouTube search for “camera diopter” you will see many videos of people showing you just how to do it. If you’re lucky you may even find your own camera.
So I hope that helps. Check your diopter, adjust it and have fun.
Thanks for reading and happy shooting,
Scott
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