Which eye do you shoot with?

[RS2021]

Speaking of dominant arms/eyes...

Just as when you enter a class room and vast majority of the chairs have the built in swing up writing tables placed optimally for right handed writers....the side on which the camera hand-hold or "grip" is placed asymetrically probably favors the dominant arm of majority of consumers... the right. That is what they will use to carry the camera or to swing into position. Left hand dominants will have to just adjust

This also places the right eye dominantly (not sure if right eye is dominant in most people or not) and ergonomically everything ends up favoring right handed folks.

[cayenne]

Left eye.  It's my dominant eye, meaning it's the primary eye that I use for vision.  This may come as a surprise to most readers, but nearly all of us have dominant eyes.  Normally, the dominant eye is on the same side of you as your dominant hand.  So, most right handed people are right eye dominant and vice versa.  I'm part of the 20% of the population that is cross-dominant, meaning that I'm right handed but my dominant eye is my left eye.   Curiously, my vision is weaker in my left eye than my right eye, although with glasses it corrects to 20/20.

Here's a simple test to determine which of your eyes is the dominant one.  Extend your dominant arm completely and raise the first finger.  Look at it with both eyes.  Close one eye while watching the finger.  Then, open that eye and close the other eye.  Does the finger appear to move when one of your eyes is closed and remain still when that eye is open and the other is closed?  When the finger doesn't appear to move you're looking at it with your dominant eye.

Yup, I was just about to chime in with the dominant eye aspect.

I found out about it when I was working with my eye Dr. about getting bifocal contacts, and we went for the 'mono vision' option...where my dominate eye (right)  is fully corrected for distance, but my other eye (left) is slightly under corrected for distance, allowing me to better see things up close.

It would sound like it would be weird, but after about 5 min, I stopped noticing anything, and could see distance and up close again with my contacts in.

The brain is an amazing thing....

cayenn

[Rienzphotoz]

Come to think of it I've actually never seen anyone using left eye to view through the VF or maybe I just haven't noticed ...looks like there are quite a few people on CR who use their left eye ... this is what I love about CR, always finding out some new interesting info. Now I'm really curious to observe everyone who with a DSLR.

[lol]

I ran a poll on another photo forum on the subject of which eye was used, and it was near enough 50/50. I also asked about handedness, where the results were within line with the general population whatever that ratio was. Obviously the two are not tied together.

[Stig]

Left... and since some time now with right eye mostly open

[Rat]

If dominant hand and eye are on the same side, I'm cross-dominant too - but I shoot with both eyes. Used to just shoot with my right eye, when a friend asked me which eye I favored, I checked, and found: both. Ever since it's whatever eye comes in handy I do have a tendency to close the other eye 

[edit]Coming to think of it, "normal" people do reason with the left half of their brain, emotion with the right... That would mean that left-eyed people have a more 'logical' style of shooting and righties would be more improvisational or something. Might be bs, might be an interesting research topic

[JonAustin]

I'm right-handed (and nowhere near ambidextrous), but have always looked through the viewfinder with my left eye, closing my right. I've tried using my right eye, but it just doesn't feel natural. I wish I did use my right eye (and I may have to practice / train myself to do so more), because I think I'd have less oil from my nose / cheek on the back LCD that way (maybe not).

I've been wearing reading glasses for about 10 years, and probably need to get prescription glasses, but have been putting that off (vanity). I don't like wearing glasses when shooting, and I have the diopters on my viewfinders adjusted all the way in one direction, so that the in-focus image in the VF is clear.

[jsexton]

Both eyes open, right on VF.

[Jeremy]

Left eye.  But I'm a righty...sort of.   I say that because my sister studied handedness in grad school.  And after a few tests, she said I was probably supposed to be a lefty but society nudged me to be a righty.  After hearing that, I really started to pay attention and found that for most tasks (except writing or throwing a ball) I have no dominant hand.

[BK]

I use my left eye. I find that I drop into a variation of Joe McNally's grip if I really need to reduce camera motion while handheld. That works much better with my left eye than my right. This basically involves using both hands to jam the camera into my left shoulder. A quick Google search of "Joe McNally Grip" will bring up a bunch of images and even a short video.

I had always instinctively shot with my right eye until I found this method and simply discovered that I prefer using my left eye after all.

I think comfort probably reigns supreme over any practical reasons for choosing one eye over the other though.

[BruinBear]

Left eye. I'm heavily left eye dominant but right handed. Works for cameras but not too much for that other type of shooting

[Kernuak]

I naturally use my right eye, probably because of the camera ergonomics, although noone has told me that's how it should be. Ironically, I'm right-handed, but left eye dominant and hadn't thought about that either. I'm naturally curious as a scientist, but it seems that curiosity doesn't extend to eyes, as I also hadb't thought about the lack of colour perception in the dark affecting the colours seen in Aurora .

[kubelik]

I am left eye dominant which has been further reinforced by an injury to my right eye, so I use the left eye in the viewfinder. it leaves smears on the LCD screen and mashes my glasses into my face, but it's still more comfortable than shooting right-eyed.

oddly I shoot pistol with both eyes open but I find that I naturally close my right eye when shooting with a camera.

[Jace]

Left eye with the right eye still open.

[Click]

Right eye.