Eye Glasses for a videophile?



Quote:
Originally Posted by NextGen /forum/post/15398419


I have no idea where to post this but, figured this as good a place as any.


I wear eye glasses, I can't stand contacts, so I'm doing some research to try and find the best type of lenses I should look for. I've done some research and found that High Index glass lenses are supposed to be the best type you can get. They supposedly let in 99.5% of light and have anti-reflective coatings but, I'd like to hear from someone that owns a pair or perhaps there are other types of lenses I've not heard of that are better.


It's been almost 10 years since I have changed my eye glass prescription.


Is this true that High Index lenses are the best?


Do they come with anti-reflective coatings?


Who makes the best ones?


Do they work for people that are farsighted?


Are they scratch resistant?


Do I want glass or polycarbonate?


Is there something else I need to look for in a new set of glasses?

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The high index lenses will make them not as thick and coke bottle like. Depending on how strong your Rx is. If you want them as thin and light as possible then yes, the high index is a good option. polycarb will also make them thin and light...


The AR will include the anti-scratch...



www dot crizalpro dot com / avance / Crizal Avance with Scotchgard from essilor.. DONT SETTLE FOR ANYTHING ELSE!!! this is a requirement.. high index, poly, etc.. they can all be optional.. but take it from someone who will order a vpl-vw80 from australia just to side by side with an hw10 while waiting for an 810 to be installed in his bedroom.. I can get anything I want, and have tried evertyhing.. NOTHING compares to the Crizal Avance.. not the pentax stuff, nothing....


I would reccomend the polycarb as well, keeps them thin and light... there are various polycarbs... I can't recall the one I have, but I will call doctor and find out and repost on here.

NextGen those are some very good questions...

A lot of what agyg said is correct.

Crizal is a wonderful AR coating.

High Index lenses will indeed make for thinner and lighter lenses as will Polycarb. There are some important differences between the two. Poly has more problems with distortion. They therefore make a Poly Aspheric lens to counter this problem. I am not a big fan of regular Poly.

Depending on how strong your prescription is, these may not be needed. There are many who feel their vision is better through std CR39 (plastic). If you need a bifocal and that is what you mean by" farsighted"... then a lot of the newer designs of Progressive bifocals are available in High Index. The main problem with "glass" is weight... but optically again many prefer it to all the above.

A lot of places will package the lens and coatings together while some don't. This makes comparisons difficult. I myself just got a new set of glasses. I chose to get crizal on reg plastic lenses. My prescription really isn't bad enough to get High Index. I personally don't like glass lenses because of the weight issues that go with them. However glass won't scratch as easily as any of the various types of plastic lenses.

I would recommend getting your new glasses at a place that you are comfortable with the care you get and trust what they have to say.... and as always you usually get what you pay for. Crizal isn't cheap but it is one of the best. If you need a bifocal then this really rings true... don't get a cheap bifocal pay a little more and get a newer designed lens you will be a lot happier.

Hopes this helps

I just got glasses for the first time earlier this year and had to get them swapped twice before I was happy. Avoid polycarbonate lenses at all costs. They may be tougher than other materials, but the optical quality really suffers for it. Chromatic aberrations were very obvious with them.


Higher index (thinner) lenses are generally worse optically as well. From all the research I did, it seems that CR-39 lenses are the best you can get aside from optical glass. (which my optician refuses to sell as it's far more likely to damage your eye if they're broken while you're wearing them)


You want the highest Abbe (V number) that you can get: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Correct...roperty_tables



I have to admit, I did prefer how my higher index lenses looked/felt (they were lighter) but the optics weren't that good. I'd still like something better than what I have now, but I'm told there's not really anything better available. (and I haven't found anything else from looking around)

WOW. Really surprised I got such good responses. Thank you guys, it means alot to get responses from other videophiles. I appreciate it.


My eyesight isn't that bad, I just have a sever astigmatism which is correctable with glasses and contacts. Although I've yet to try a pair of contacts that do a good a job as glasses but, I have found contacts that make it worse. And I'm nearsighted as in a can't see distant objects very well but, half of that problem is the astigmatism.


And I meant to post that I am nearsighted, so it's really distant objects I have trouble with. I don't know much about glasses, I wasn't a videophile 10 years ago, and never gave them much thought. I just wanted my astigmatism corrected.


What I hate the most about glasses is the glare and the scratches. So I wanted to do some research and see what I can do to eliminate those two issues with my next pair.

Hello NextGen,


The kind of lens you want really depends on your prescription. Everything is a tradeoff however. You say that this is your first prescription change in 10 years, meaning obviously that your correction is stable (a wonderful thing! I'm severely nearsighted but just got my latest pair after 8 years stable.) I would like to warn you that no lenses with AR antireflective coating will last 10 years or even 5. If you do further research, you will see that even though the labs promise "non-scratch" coating to go with your AR (both at additional cost), AR coating leads to a lot of additional scratching and will wear off after 2-3 years max, rendering the lenses unusable. (the dirt and water-repellent properties of premium AR last 3 to 4 months). They often come with a warranty, but the warranty is for the "life of the prescription" (= 1 year, meaning you must pay for an opthalmologist visit to have the warranty extended, and if they should find an additional -.25, your warranty has expired. I will take a little glare any day in exchange for knowing that my glasses will last as long as my correction is stable (and I can still keep them as emergency spares). I personally have high-index (1.8) glass lenses without AR and have fantastic vision with the new pair. A helpful pointer: the smaller your frame, the thinner and lighter your lenses will be. Finally, glass lenses basically do not scratch, but must be stored carefully to make sure they do not fall and potentially break.

Good luck!

dr4u2c -- I'm surprised that you even mentioned "Progressive" lenses or "Bifocals". Those are fine for regular use, but not for critical HT watching. With my projector and 106" screen, My progressive lens glasses are absolutely terrible. Fortunately I have a pair of "computer" glasses (single prescription) which, due to changes in my eyes, turn out to be perfect for movie watching in my HT (11' from my screen, and 13' from my 32" HDTV set).


BTW, I've been wearing glasses even since grade school. I started using progressive lenses for the last 8 years, and I still haven't really gotten used to the distortion that they create when trying to resolve a large area. I'm seriously considering either going back to bifocals or have them completely redo the progressive setup that they have given me (with less focus shift and a lower transition line).

NextGen -- I had been using my progressive lenses, and was wondering why I got eyestrain after an hour or two. I switched to my single prescription "computer" glasses and was pleasantly surprised that the picture was perfectly sharp with no distortion (which the progressive lenses were giving me). I can now watch without eye fatigue.

NOTE: I am quite nearsighted - I can't see any sharp detail beyond about 2', but I can read perfectly at 18" or less without corrective lenses (even with my slight astigmatism). My "computer" glasses were supposed to be for viewing at 18" to 36", but they turned out to be a bit stronger than that, and were actually too strong for normal computer use, so I just kept them for backup purposes. They don't give me long distance clarity (beyond about 20', or so) but work just fine around the house (and are excellent for TV & HT use, as I said).

The Bottom Line: Don't get any specialized lenses (Progressive, Bifocals, etc.)! Ge a single prescription pair with the necessary corrections. They will be lighter than any other kind (in either glass or plastic). BTW, my "glasses" are the plastic versions, and whatever the standard ones from LensCrafters are.

PS -- Thanks NextGen for starting this thread, There are lots of us that wear corrective glasses (or contacts), and we need somewhere to post our experiences and get suggestions. I, for one, had not heard of the special materials and coatings that are available. Thank you "guys" for bringing these options to my attention. It gives me some more options to explore.

Just to add my observations as a glasses wearer....


After many years (waaaayyy too many years, maybe close to 16 years!) I replaced my older plastic lens glasses with a new pair. The new glasses are polycarbonate (reasonably strong prescription) with the anti-glare, anti-scratch, etc. coatings and also includes the lens darkening in UV light (auto-chrome?... was called photosun many years ago). I have to wear the glasses all the time and did not want the hassle of having to carry around a second pair of glasses for sunglasses, therefore the "auto" tinting option.


The new lenses sharpened up my vision a bit (the older lenses were covered with small scratches and therefore smeared things a bit) and made my new Pioneer PRO111 look even sharper! But these lenses have what I consider to be gross amount of chromatic abberation (as noted in a previous post by andrewfee), any angles off of a small dead centre area cause red and blue fringing on objects. I can notice a small red/blue fringe on each side of my 50 inch plasma screen at a viewing distance of 7-8 feet! Not disasterous, but I can see it, trough I am becomming used to it afer a couple months of wearing.


I do not know if the fringing is due solely to the lenses or the coatings (if you look at the lenses at the correct angle you can see green/red colour swirls on the surface, like that seen on a layer of oil on water) or if the UV darkening tint (pretty much colourless or very light grey indoors to a dark blue-grey when outdoors) makes the effect more noticable. The lenses are a bit on the larger size, stylewise, and maybe that is why there is so much interest in the very small lens sizes, less lens, less noticable colour fringes??. My old lenses had some chromatic aberration, but only at the very edges or looking through at severe angles......maybe there should be a videophile option for lenses.....


Cheers,

P.E.H.

Well, I'm just not sure what to do. The pair of lenses I have now are crizal that are supposed to be scratch resistant but, ofcourse they are scratched. Still for 10 years of use they have held up well.


So I'm still unsure as to what to do.

Do I get the Avance or not?

Quote:
Originally Posted by CT_Wiebe /forum/post/15402639


The Bottom Line: Don't get any specialized lenses (Progressive, Bifocals, etc.)! Get a single prescription pair with the necessary corrections. They will be lighter than any other kind (in either glass or plastic). BTW, my "glasses" are the plastic versions, and whatever the standard ones from LensCrafters are.

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This is what I have now except they have the crizal scratch resistant or whatever on them. I like them I just wish they didn't have the glare.



And it looks like the Avance is the Crizal Alize with ClearGuard but, they put Scotchguard on it so this might be an option. I just don't want chromatic abberations as that would be worse. LOL I'd never be able to get convergence right on any tv with that.

NextGen....


I said I would post again...


The Trivex brand of Poly lens is what you want.. it is the only lens material developed to perform in all aspects of life, providing the perfect balance of performance characteristics at any given moment.


Trivex lens material provides:


Crisp, clear vision

Exceptional optical performance when precise visual acuity is needed.


Ultra-lightweight

Ulitmate comfort, there is no lighter-weight lens material available.


Strength and protection

Unsurpassed impact resistance, protection from breakage and 100% UV blockage...



If you ever do anything on someone elses advise on a whim... you _NEED_ to take my advise..


Go get yourself Avance AR coating on Trivex lenses...


Take this from someone who can't do anythign without glasses.. Take this from someone who does research on anything and everything before making a choice. First and foremost take this from someone who goes to the Mayo Clinic to visit his neuro opthamoogist for eye exams.. You won't be sad or let down.. and on the bright side, most if not all eye doctors I've ever been to.. they will replace your lenses with something else if you are not happy....


Please don't forget to thank me once you're happy with these trivex + avance lenses.. ;-)


Good Luck!

Agyg05,


Your posting is a cut-and-paste from the Trivex corporate site sales pitch:

http://corporateportal.ppg.com/NA/ch...ptical/Trivex/


It all depends how often NextGen is willing to replace his/her glasses and pay for eye exams, how s/he is willing to care for them, and whether whatever difference in vision s/he perceives is worth the planned obsolescence of the AR. A completely personal decision (when opticians say AR is right for all patients, it's just not true). As it stands, the Avancé has only been around for 11 months, and AR coatings do wear off after 2-3 years at best. As a non-AR wearer completely satisfied with my vision, I am pleased with my freedom to take an eye exam or replace my glasses whenever I choose; if it's another 8 years from now, so much the better!

Another way to cut down on glare is to take the very slightest pink tint available (so slight it's not visible to others and you can barely see it yourself when you examine your glasses). VERY effective in getting rid of halos, etc, plus it lasts!



Quote:
Originally Posted by GlassesWearer /forum/post/15411712


Agyg05,


Your posting is a cut-and-paste from the Trivex corporate site sales pitch:

http://corporateportal.ppg.com/NA/ch...ptical/Trivex/


It all depends how often NextGen is willing to replace his/her glasses and pay for eye exams, how s/he is willing to care for them, and whether whatever difference in vision s/he perceives is worth the planned obsolescence of the AR. A completely personal decision (when opticians say AR is right for all patients, it's just not true). As it stands, the Avancé has only been around for 11 months, and AR coatings do wear off after 2-3 years at best. As a non-AR wearer completely satisfied with my vision, I am pleased with my freedom to take an eye exam or replace my glasses whenever I choose; if it's another 8 years from now, so much the better!

Another way to cut down on glare is to take the very slightest pink tint available (so slight it's not visible to others and you can barely see it yourself when you examine your glasses). VERY effective in getting rid of halos, etc, plus it lasts!

Click to expand...

Actually I did type it, but yes. It is from their website. However I do attest to the Tirvex quality plus the Avance.


However, I personally wouldn't buy anything but Trivex + Avance. Until _YOU_ try it, don't tell me why it wont last... you have no idea. you also have no idea what your missing... until you own it and reveiw it, stop putting it down.


I clean them many times a day with my shirt, and I can still scribble all over them with sharpie and it beads up and wipes off, no problems.

So here is the deal guys. Had my eye exam and my prescription is the same except for my astigmatism. The guy I went to did a really good job and taking the time to get the right setting for my astigmatism correction. So the eye exam itself went great.


My company paid for the whole thing as well and, even paid for a new set of rims.


So I talked to the doctor, and his helpers, about glasses and the only response the doctor would give me is that "we only use the best" and that sounded "fishy" to me. One of his helpers said she got the AR coating and has had it for over a year and loves it. I asked if it had the scotch guard coating, or if was the Avance' and she looked at me like she had no idea what I was talking about. So I asked the eye doctor and got the response that "we only use the best crizal coatings offered". Well, I'm thinking that would be Avance' but for some reason they didn't want to confirm that with me. It could be that they just had no clue but, they did confirm it was Crizal so I'll just hope they are Avance'. As for the lenses, I didn't know what to get but the lady taking the order said she had the High Index and really liked them, so I went ahead and got those upgraded too.


The entire ordeal only cost me about $100. The new frames and exam was free so I really can't complain. IF I don't like the lenses I'll either get an exchange, or keep them for driving or work, then get new "Trivex" lenses of with no coatings for the frames I have now or I'll order a pair of Trivex with the coating. I also get a free pair of glasses to use at work with the side shields and impact resistant glass or polycarb so maybe when I go back to order those I can try a different type of lense, unless I have to get polycarb.


My last question is how can I order glasses over the internet or with a different eye doctor myself? Can I get a copy of my exam with everything I need to order a pair of lenses with my astigmatism?

NexGen.. I have a pair of $1000 Chrome Hearts Frames from OSA (optical Shop of Aspen) and they put only the 'best' in.. which suck... I also had another place here tried to sell me pentax lenses. They're even worse..


Here's the deal with buying lenses online and buying the frames elsewhere... When you have a warranty issue it's a big mess. When the lenses get cut, if they're cut wrong and don't fit in the frames properly it's a big mess. If you change frames usually the optical shop that filled your Rx will re-do your lenses for a new pair of frames (keep in mind the lens doesn't cost them a lot, well for that matter the frame doesn't either... but they make their money on the frames and then a one time lens fee. After that the lens is very cheap for them to get a replacement for).


If you want an honest, end to end solution this is what you really should do...


Schedule a doctors visit with an Ophthalmologist... Preference towards one with a specialty in neurology.


They will do a top quality refraction. Make sure they numb your eye for the pressure test and don't use a machine. also make sure they dilate your eyes and don't use a machine to 'look inside'.


This is where it gets tricky.. You should find an optical shop that sells Avance + Trivex + frames you like and make sure they WILL replace the lens at no cost to you if there is an Rx change. (i.e. you try and don't like.. they change Rx usually a 30 day window after your glasses are given to you).


The reason I say optical shop is because most ophthalmology offices don't sell the trendiest of frames..


So find a frame you like from a store you like and couple that with a good doctor. Some good doctors will have a good selection of frames..


If they give you the best Cirzal then I think it's Avance, because they quit doing the Alize. However they could of just done basic Crizal... Don't trust the cleaning cloth and warranty card they give you... The Avance has a 2 year warranty, Crizal has a one....


Keep in mind, Crizal and Crizal Avance are the same product, the Avance just adds a sealer above the AR coating to seal the spaces and makes it easier to clean. no need for a micro cleaning cloth... also helps with anti-fog, anti-static.. the MOST noticable is less attraction and retention of dust.. if you wore Crizal for a day then Crizal Avance for a day you would notice a difference, I promise.


To answer your question... You can get a copy of your Rx and order lenses / frames from wherever you want.. It's valid for one year...


IF all you have is astigmatism, you might want to look at contacts, especially for movie watching...


As to what your post said...


Nobody only uses the best.. I'm sure they sell cr39, this that and the other.. it all depends on how much money they think you will spend... IF she had her AR coating for over a year it's not scotch guard / Avance because it's not been out that long... If they have no clue about the products they sell, why would you shop there? Would you buy a $100,000 Crestron system from someone who couldn't set it up so you could change the timeclock on your own? No, you would buy from someone who could tell you all about the prodcut...


I would of spent the money on Trivex over hi index... when she has what the lab sends her for free.. of course she will like it, because she knows no better.. you should see what OSA gives out for free... cr39 with basic ar coating.. it sucks..


As far as contacts... you can get the toric contacts for astigmatsim correction.. they provide better vision than glasses... I will post some pictures of trivex vs. non trivex lenes for you to see...