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.