Lenses are the most important part of any pair of glasses. The frame is what people notice first, but it’s what you don’t see that matters most — reflections, distortions, thick edges. The right lens choices sharpen your vision and, especially in stronger prescriptions, make the whole pair look better.
Lens manufacturing has caught up with high-definition screens. These lenses correct aberrations that conventional eyewear leaves in, which can mean sharper vision than you’d otherwise get — better in all lighting conditions, and with less glare on night drives and other low-light tasks. They also cut the aberrations behind starbursts, halos and the comet-shaped smears you see around lights at night. The result is sharper image quality, better low-contrast vision and better peripheral vision. Each lens is surfaced from your prescription on computer-controlled equipment that’s far more precise than conventional tooling.
Hi-index is a plastic that bends light more efficiently than regular plastic, so it takes less material to hit the same prescription strength. That means a thinner, lighter lens. In strong prescriptions the difference is dramatic — a 30 to 40% reduction in thickness, with very low distortion. If you want the thinnest lens available and the best cosmetic result, this is it.
Polycarbonate is thinner and lighter than regular plastic and up to ten times more impact-resistant, with UV protection built in. The optical quality is good, though not quite the equal of hi-index or standard plastic. That trade-off makes it the obvious choice for safety glasses, sports glasses and children’s eyewear, or for anyone who just wants something light and hard to break.
Progressives are the “no-line” bifocals and trifocals. They suit patients with presbyopia — the gradual loss of the ability to focus sharply on things up close. Where a bifocal or trifocal gives you two or three fixed distances, a progressive lets you focus across many, with a smooth transition between them and no visible lines dividing the lens. People see your eyes rather than your lens segments, which tends to knock years off the look of a pair of glasses.
Anti-reflective, or AR, coating is a multilayer coating applied to the front and back of the lens to cut glare and reflections. It improves both the vision through your glasses and the look of them, and it eases eye fatigue. It’s particularly useful for night driving, where it takes out the halos around headlights. Cosmetically it makes the lenses look almost invisible, so people can see your eyes clearly. We think AR coating is one of the most valuable options you can add to a pair of glasses, and we recommend it to just about everyone.
Photochromic lenses darken in ultraviolet light and clear again once the UV is gone. Transitions, made by PPG Industries, are lightweight plastic lenses that use a molecular technology on the lens surface to darken quickly outdoors and go nearly clear indoors and at night. They adjust continuously to the light around you, cutting glare and eyestrain while improving contrast. One thing to know: they don’t darken as much in the car, because the windshield blocks the UV light that triggers them. Worth considering if carrying a second pair of sunglasses isn’t practical for you.
Polarized lenses carry a filter that blocks light reflected off flat, smooth surfaces — water, snow, the road ahead of you. Those reflections are the source of that intense, hard-to-ignore glare. Polarized sunglasses make a real difference to visual comfort if you fish, boat, golf, bike or run, and to anyone who spends a lot of the day outside. Around here, that’s most people.
That’s a conversation, not a checkbox. Our opticians will look at your prescription, how you spend your day and what you want the glasses to look like, then talk you through the options. Come see us, or call (843) 796-1155.
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