About to get new glasses. What coatings to get? (1 Viewer)

Craig Chatterton · Mar 21, 2002

I'm going this Friday to get an eye test for a new pair. I've heard before that there are certain coatings you *shouldn't* get, especially if you're a HT nut. So what recommendations anyone?

In case this matters, my vision is 20/800 (don't know the + number). I'm getting High Index lenses, and I want to get frames made out of that spring steel that can't be bent out of shape.

Alex Spindler · Mar 21, 2002

I only get the scratch resistant coating, but I've never taken the glare coating.

No idea on the HT impacts of my choices however.

Chuck C · Mar 21, 2002

Mine have an anti-glare coating. Since it's all I've ever had, I don't know what it's like to live with non-coated glasses. However, I hear it's a really bugger to go without it. Anyway, in the right light, glasses with anti-glare coating have a distinct green or purple reflection in them. (We learned why in phyiscs back when I was in high school). My first pair were green, my new pair are purple...go figure!

Philip Hamm · Mar 21, 2002

Ugh! I got some glasses with the anti-glare coating a few years ago when it forst came out and I hated them! Others love it, but I can't stand it. If you get the anti-glare coating you have to clean them all the time, and MAKE SURE you never wipe them while dry!!! That will cause scratches bigtime.

JohnRice · Mar 21, 2002

I have always gotten scratch resistent coating since I first got plastic lenses. I also have pretty bad vision and my latest pair are the highest refractive index material. There are two or three different levels. The glasses I got a year ago are the first I have gotten with reflective coating and I have had none of the problems Philip talks about. I imagine the non reflective coatings can vary a great deal. I wipe them off dry with a cotton t-shirt all the time and no scratches. You do need to use a special cleaner to get them truly clean with no streaks.

andrew markworthy · Mar 21, 2002

I have anti-glare coating, and wouldn't do without it.

Craig Chatterton · Mar 21, 2002

Thanks guys! So it's pretty much standard - scratch resistant and I'll probably go with Anti-glare coating. One of the coatings I usually get tends to wear off after a while and if you look at it in the right light, the glasses look splotchy. I'll ask about that this time.

Ron C · Mar 21, 2002

I just bought new glasses (needed stronger lenses) and got the scratch resistant and anti-glare stuff. Let me tell you this, I HATE the anti-glare material. It doesn't clean at all (always leaves a cloudy film) and worst of all, it puts a sort of "tint" around everything. For example, if I look at an edge of an object, there is a little yellow or blue (depending on the angle) glow around it. My old glasses never did that, and these new ones are annoying the hell out of it. Or maybe I'm just being punished for buying glasses at Wal-Mart.
One thing I should point out, I'm very receptive of color. I can easily discern the color loss of wearing glasses (and I don't wear tinted glasses either.) Some (even most) people can't tell the difference, so it may not bother you. I'd love to get lasik and ditch glasses, but I'm too young for that :frowning:

JohnRice · Mar 21, 2002

Or maybe I'm just being punished for buying glasses at Wal-Mart.

Maybe? You get what you pay for. I should add, my glasses didn't come from a discount place. They were over $100 per lens. I think it is worth the price.

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DonaldB · Mar 21, 2002

I used to work in an optical lab and can tell you that scratch coating is already applied to all high-index lenses. It must be, because that kind of plastic is very soft and prone to scratching. Don't let yourself be charged extra for it; don't even ask for it, it'll already be included.

Though some love anti-reflective coatings, I recommend against getting one, especially on high-index lenses, since it doesn't adhere to that material very well and tends to wear off before too long, taking the scratch coating with it. It's also a pain to clean. I've worn glasses most of my life and have never regretted not having AR coating; glare has never been a problem for me.

Chuck C · Mar 21, 2002

I agree that my anti-glare coated glasses have not been clean since the day I bought them :frowning:

DonnyD · Mar 21, 2002

I simply refuse to wear anything but glass. They always try to talk me out of it and yes, I catch s*** but I cannot stand the plastics. I've been wearing glasses for 35 years, always the photo-sensitive darkening type and the plastic cannot come anywhere close in shading. AND, glass doesn't scratch anywhere nearly as easy as plastic........ those anti-scratch lens just aren't......

BTW: MY wife was in Lenscrafters management for a long time.

Ken Wagner · Mar 21, 2002

I just got new glasses even though my prescription hadn't changed much. I work at a computer about 9 to 10 hours a day and then a couple of hours at home. My old glasses were bifocals that were clear at the top. I hated looking at the monitor through the clear glass. It seemed to distort the colors some and since I'm in the graphics field this sucked. My optomitrist suggested I try a new lens from Ziess. They were supposed to transmit more light than normal lenses. He also suggested my reading prescription at the bottom and a prescription for about 24 inches out for the monitor at the top. So far I love them at work. I don't find myself leaning into the monitor to see fine detail now like I used to. The only problem I've found was I have to take them off or look over the top when I look at someone or across the room. I'm not sure if this would help you just my experience.

RobertR · Mar 21, 2002

I simply refuse to wear anything but glass.

I used to have the same attitude, until I tried plastic lenses and found an ENORMOUS weight and comfort difference. The plastic lenses are featherweight and much smaller. The glass lenses caused a lot of nose and ear chafing. As for scratches, it's going on two years with plastic, and no scratches to be found.

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Alex Spindler · Mar 22, 2002

I see where you are coming from, Donny, but the desire to reduce the weight of my glasses far outweighs anything else. Not only are high index lenses my standard now, but frames with very small lens designs have also become the norm for me.

I found a really old pair of my glass glasses just this Christmas. The difference was incredible. My current ones are paperclips vs those paperweights.

Philip Hamm · Mar 22, 2002

One thing I should point out, I'm very receptive of color. I can easily discern the color loss of wearing glasses (and I don't wear tinted glasses either.) Some (even most) people can't tell the difference, so it may not bother you. I'd love to get lasik and ditch glasses, but I'm too young for that

Ron, I think LASIK would be very very bad for you. There are about a million doctor and LASIK industry websites and reports talking about how wonderful it is. However, check out the other side of the situation at places like www.lasikdisaster.com (particularly read about the extremely bad science that went into the FDA approval of the VISIX Star Laser), www.surgicaleyes.com (highly recommended - start with the image center), http://members.tripod.com/~lasik_facts/ , and www.lasiktruth.com .
Particularly important to you will be this page: http://www.refractivesource.com/doct...s/managing.htm which is NOT from one of the anti-LASIK sites, but an industry site. The article "Managing Patient Expectations", one of the "Yellow Lights in Laser Vision Candidates" is "Those who clean their glasses more than three times per day and hated AR coating" (emphasis mine).
Read about LASIK before even considering it for another minute.

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Craig Chatterton · Mar 22, 2002

Though some love anti-reflective coatings, I recommend against getting one, especially on high-index lenses, since it doesn't adhere to that material very well and tends to wear off before too long, taking the scratch coating with it. It's also a pain to clean. I've worn glasses most of my life and have never regretted not having AR coating; glare has never been a problem for me.

So that's what's been wearing off my glasses! It's happened on the last two pair (both had high index). So I'll try a pair without AR and see if I like it.
And geez Phillip, I'm just going to get a new pair of glasses, no need to scare the crap outta me.

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Kwang Suh · Mar 22, 2002

Scratch coatings and anti glare have come a long way recently. The glasses I have now are virtually imprenetrable. They're Nikon lenses. Also, different brands of coating have different tints to them, so be aware of that.

The best way to clean glasses with anti-glare coating is to use liquid soap and wipe with toilet paper or Kim wipes or other lens paper. I get a perfect clean doing it that way.

Michael St. Clair · Mar 22, 2002

Don't get 'featherlight' lenses if you are sensitive to color!

These ultra-thin polycarbonate lenses have a huge chromatic aberration effect (red and blue edges on everything that is off-axis). They make movies unwatchable to me, I feel like I need to fix convergence!

Philip Hamm · Mar 22, 2002

These ultra-thin polycarbonate lenses have a huge chromatic aberration effect (red and blue edges on everything that is off-axis). They make movies unwatchable to me, I feel like I need to fix convergence!

HA HA HA I notice that just a tiny bit (I have lenses like that) but it doesn't bother me. I know exactly what you mean about wanting to fix the convergence.

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