kanuck said:
Interesting question chinokie I had the procedure done back in 2007 and did not notice any side effects although I wake up with dry eyes frequently. Other than that I don't have any problems photography wise. I even shoot a Leica rangefinder without any troubles although I'd love to add the 1.4 viewfinder for it to ease my troubles. I agree with golf007sd its been amazing and my only regret is that I didn't do it at least five years earlier. I have heard long term contact lens use leads to cataract risks when you get older because of the buildup of protein that sits on your eyes for hours on end. I was a user for 14 years (15-29):(

+1

Interesting question chinokie I had the procedure done back in 2007 and did not notice any side effects although I wake up with dry eyes frequently. Other than that I don't have any problems photography wise. I even shoot a Leica rangefinder without any troubles although I'd love to add the 1.4 viewfinder for it to ease my troubles. I agree with golf007sd its been amazing and my only regret is that I didn't do it at least five years earlier. I have heard long term contact lens use leads to cataract risks when you get older because of the buildup of protein that sits on your eyes for hours on end. I was a user for 14 years (15-29):(

I had this procedure done in 1993 and it was one of the best decision I made regarding my true lenses. Should need such a surgery have it done and begin to see the world in a whole new way.

Cheers

I had PRK http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photorefractive_keratectomy last October and am still not sure it was a good idea for me, mostly because of my age (53) AND because My left (dominant) eye has wrinkles on the retina (not good for any distance focus). Long story short If you are near-sited older and your work is closer than arms length think very hard about it... I have to wear reading glasses much of my time at work, flipping them on and off all the time (which I did not have to do before). I do cabling in a data center and was probably better off before the surgery. as far as photography goes with my right (non dominant) eye I see pretty well but rely heavily on auto focus... Just remember IT's PERMANENT.

I had the Lasik procedure done on my eyes last August. Best decision I have made in a long time. I went in and it took 9 minutes and i was good to go. There is always adjustment periods being that i had a huge astigmatism it took little longer to adjust then normal. First few weeks you tend to see hazy highlights especially looking at bright lights in the dark but that goes away in a month. Your usually take a few months to almost a year to fully adapt to the surgery. However even thought certain things took little time to adapt i did see 20/20 right after the surgery. Just make sure you do your research and go off of recommendations and price wise usually the same many will advertise cheaper deals but usually there is a catch to why its so cheap.

As for my photography it didnt really change anything took a little to get used to not having glasses but it was for the better. Not having to worry about smudging the glasses and being able to really put your eye into the viewfinder makes things nice. Worth it dont hesitate!

If my eyes ever stabilize for such a procedure, I do wonder how it would affect photography. My eyes are terrible (-8 and -10 diopters) so part of my enjoyment from photography comes from my camera and lenses being able to see far better than my own eyes and pick up details I may never catch through my eyes.

There is actually some strange statistical data on this -- baseball players. Everything is measured statistically in baseball, and batting average/contact rates are some of the easiest stats to get. The odd conclusion: laser eye surgery doesn't immediately help your vision the first season, but offers some improvements in seasons 2 and 3.

Photography is obviously a different application--we're not trying to hit a 90 mph pitch. But I've wondered if there is an adjustment period of months to a couple years to the new improvement in vision.

Now that said, I knew a very good amateur photographer who had the laser work done in one eye--totally wrecked his DOF in that eye. Not just for photography, but period. He got his $1200 back, but it was scant consolation.

How has LASIK or other corrective eye surgery affected your photography?
Were there only pluses or were there some things that you had to compensate for?

I'm assuming that it helps in almost all cases but wanted to hear from serious photographers.

Thanks...