Reduce eyestrain with Kodak Digital Varifocal lenses

Kodak lenses incorporate the latest digital technology to actively reduce eyestrain. This short film explains how:

Oakley TrueDigital Lenses

Oakley True Digital lenses now come as standard with all Oakley prescription sunglasses. After a cross-over period during which both traditional Oakley lenses and OTD lenses were available, as of the beginning of the year, Oakley has decided to concentrate on purely digital lens products.

True Digital lenses are designed for sportspeople, athletes and all those who demand the best possible vision in wrap-around sunglasses and sports eyewear. Traditional lenses often cause blurring and distortion, especially in the peripheral vision area. Oakley True Digital lenses are individually made, taking account of the unique combination of frame angles and dimensions as well as your prescription and how the frame fits your face. The result is a lens that provides pin-sharp vision from the central field to the far periphery.

In order to obtain all the benefits of this technology, however, it's essential that the lenses are fitted properly by the optician. Normally, lenses are ordered using the lens powers (shown on your prescription) and your PD (pupillary distance) measurement. OTD lenses can be ordered using just these measurements, but for the best results, your optician should take a measurement known as OC heights. This is the vertical measure of where your eye sits behind the frame. When this measurement is included, the very best performance will be attained, with minimum distortion at the extreme periphery of your vision.

NHS Optical Vouchers

OPTICAL VOUCHERS

It's really easy to use your NHS voucher whether you buy online or in the high street. Many online opticians accept NHS vouchers for full or part payment of glasses, prescription sunglasses or reglazing glasses you already own. To search for a high-street optician that does NHS sight tests and will accept NHS Optical Vouchers, follow this link to the NHS website optician search

You can claim between £37.10 and £81.60 off the cost of your new glasses or lenses for glasses.

You can either use your voucher to cover the full cost of your specs, or you can use it as part payment and top up with your own money to buy something really special.

 

Are you entitled to help with the cost of glasses or lenses for glasses? 

The NHS has published a guide to claiming help with the cost of glasses and other prescription items, called the HC11. You can obtain a copy of this guide from your optician, local DSS office, or download a PDF of the HC11.

Transitions, SunSensors and other photochromic (light reactive) lenses

The eagle-eyed amongst you will have noticed that we only offer genuine Transitions® lenses, amongst the many different brands of photochromic (light-reactive) lenses available. There's a good reason for this. We personally test every new lens product we can get hold of and based on our experience, we believe they're the best type of photochromic lens you can buy. In this blog post, we'll explain why.




A bit of history...

All photochromic lenses perform the same function: they go dark in the sun. The original photochromic lens, Reactolite, was introduced by Corning in the 1960s and proved to be hugely popular.

Although popular at the time, the original Reactolites has some notable limitations. Being made from glass, the original Reactolite lenses were heavy, particularly with higher prescriptions, and there are of course the usual safety issues associated with any glass lens. Also, they never faded back to clear, always having a light grey or brown tint.

Fast forward to 1991, and Transitions introduced the first plastic photochromic lens combining the benefits of a thin, lightweight plastic lens with photochromic technology. And, for the first time, Transitions provided a lens that would become virtually clear indoors and at night. Over the last 20 years, they've continued to develop the technology so today's Transitions lenses react to bright light in seconds, and fade back within a minute or two. As the longest-established product of its type, Transitions technology is now available in the widest range of different lens types, giving you the most choice, from single vision to the latest varifocals. 

For a technical explanation of how photochromic lenses work click here.

And today...

The market didn't stand still, of course, and other manufacturers have fought back. In 1999, Corning introduced their first plastic photochromic, SunSensors. Less expensive than Transitions, SunSensors has been popular with high street opticians and online glasses suppliers alike. However, in common with other non-Transitions products, they're relatively slow and always have that residual tint, like the original Reactolite lenses. This permanent tint can absorb up to 20% of the available light, which can be a problem, especially when driving at night.

We still recommend Transitions lenses though, because:

• SPEED - They go dark faster than any other lens we've ever tested - in some cases MUCH faster
• CLARITY - They fade to almost completely clear indoors and at night - other photochromics - especially the cheaper copies, have a noticeable tint all the time
• VERSATILITY - They're available in the broadest range of lens types, including varifocals and superthin lenses.

New Oakley Nosepad and Earsock Kits

To ensure the best performance at all times, Oakley recommends changing the nosepads and earsocks on your Oakley eyewear every 12 months. Over time, the soft rubber compounds absorb sweat and oils from the skin and lose their grip, resulting in poor stability and fit. Fortunately these consumable parts are quick to replace.

To see what's involved in fitting nosepads and earsocks, please watch our instructional video on Youtube:

How to Choose Thinner Lenses

Why are some lenses thinner than others, for the same prescription?

All things being equal, the thickness of your finished lenses depends on the refractive index of the physical material from which the lens is made. The higher the refractive index number, the more strongly the lens material bends light, and the thinner your lenses will be. These are the approximate refractive index values of a few materials:

Material	Index	Comments
Water Ice	1.3
Human eye's lens	1.4
CR39	1.5	Standard plastic spectacle lens
Crown Glass	1.5	Standard glass spectacle lens
MR8	1.6	Thin plastic lens
MR10	1.67	Superthin plastic lens
MR174	1.74	Ultrathin plastic lens
Thinnest glass	2.14	Thinnest possible glass*
Diamond	2.4

* The highest index currently available in a spectacle lens is 1.9.

If you were to make a lens out of pure diamond it could be very thin indeed, not to mention virtually scratch-proof. Fortunately there are some much cheaper alternatives that can still provide you with impressively thin, light lenses.

In the real world, how much difference does lens material really make?

To show the difference made by changing only the refractive index of a lens, we made four pairs of identical specs to a -6.00D prescription. In each case, everything is the same apart from the lens material. These are actual lenses in real spectacle frames, not a simulated demonstration:

1.5    -    1.6    -    1.67    -    1.74

As you can see, in the real prescription lenses we've fitted here, the 1.74 index lens is less than half the thickness of the standard plastic lens. Also, because there's less physical lens material, the thinner lenses are much lighter and more comfortable to wear, especially if you wear a high prescription. 

So which should you buy?

Because you see the most benefit from high index thin lenses with the higher prescriptions, we recommend you consider choosing lenses as follows:

Prescriptions above 2.00D - 1.6 index
Prescriptions above 3.00D - 1.67 index
Prescriptions above 4.00D - 1.74 index

Amazing new OPTIFOG Lenses - anti-fogging technology that actually works

At last - a spectacle lens technology we've all be waiting for...


Antifog that actually works!

We've been testing these new lenses for the last couple of months and the results are astounding. They simply refuse to steam up, whether you're cooking over a hot stove or coming indoors...or even deliberately breathing on the lenses to try and force them to fog (yes, we tried!), they remain stubbornly clear.

Read more about OPTIFOG technology and see promo videos on www.optifog.com


Or buy OPTIFOG lenses for your glasses or spectacle frame from thespecsplace.com