How to select your lenses

May 15, 2023 Kriti Singh

How to select your lenses

Most people spend a significant amount of time selecting the frames for their glasses. Few people realize, however, that they have a wide range of lenses available to them that provide eye protection as well as the clearest and sharpest vision.

While choosing frames is important for comfort and appearance, choosing the lenses that are best for your vision, lifestyle, and needs also takes time and consideration.

Normal vision occurs when light is focused directly on the retina rather than in front or behind it. A person with normal vision can see objects both close and far away clearly.

Close/Near Vision

Focusing within 35 cm from your face.

Reading from paper documents or books, using your phone, or handwriting are all common tasks.

Short-distance glasses, such as reading glasses, and/or bifocals, trifocals, or varifocals, can help with your close vision.

Distance Vision

Focusing beyond arm’s length

Common activities include watching television, driving, and participating in sports.

You can improve your intermediate vision by wearing distance glasses and/or bifocals, trifocals, or varifocals.

Every day, your eyes and eyeglasses must work together to provide the clearest vision while remaining comfortable. This is why it is critical to select the lenses that are best suited for you. Your glasses' lenses are designed to correct, protect, and enhance your vision. Here are some of the lenses you can choose from:

Progressive lenses

Progressive lenses incorporate three prescriptions into a single pair of glasses. This allows you to do close-up work (such as reading a book), middle-distance work (such as browsing a website on a computer), and distance viewing (such as driving) without changing your glasses. They are also known as multifocal lenses.

Progressive lenses are a modernized version of bifocal and trifocal lenses. The lenses of both of these more traditional types of glasses have distinct lines. Progressives have a unified appearance. They're sometimes referred to as "no-line bifocals," but that's not quite correct. It is more accurate to refer to progressive lenses as "no-line trifocals."

Bifocal lenses

Bifocal eyeglass lenses have two lens powers to help you see objects at all distances after you lose your ability to naturally change the focus of your eyes as you get older, also known as presbyopia. Because of this specific function, bifocal lenses are most commonly prescribed to people over the age of 40 to help compensate for the natural deterioration of vision that occurs as a result of the ageing process.

Bifocals all work the same way, regardless of why you need a prescription for near-vision correction. The power required to correct your near vision is contained in a small portion of the lens in the lower part of the lens. The remainder of the lens is usually used for distance vision.

Tinted glasses

Blue light is blocked by lens tints. Blue light scatters more easily than other colors due to its shorter wavelength, making it difficult to focus on objects. Getting rid of blue light improves sharpness and depth perception while also reducing eye fatigue. These tints do cause some color distortion, though brown/bronze lenses cause far less than the others.

People who drive a lot prefer brown and copper tints because they improve visual clarity and also enhance the color red. Because the brake lights, stop lights, and tail lights are all red, they'll stand out even more. The more easily these critical warning signals can be identified, the faster reaction times can be achieved.

Baseball players, golfers, cyclists, and hunters frequently favour yellow and amber hues. The extra water vapour in the air increases the scattering of blue light in overcast and hazy conditions. This has a negative impact on visual acuity and depth perception. As a result, the eyes must work harder, resulting in eye fatigue and, in some cases, headaches. In these conditions, yellow and amber tints reduce the impact of blue light.

Yellow-tinted lenses are also advantageous for anyone who spends a significant amount of time in front of a computer screen. Computers, game consoles, smartphones, and other electronic devices emit a lot of blue light. Wearing yellow/amber tinted eyewear helps to reduce eye fatigue and strain by blocking the blue light.

Polarized lenses

To filter light, polarized lenses are treated with a special chemical. The molecules of the chemical are precisely aligned to prevent some of the light from passing through the lens. Consider it a miniblind that hangs in front of a window. Only light passing through the blind's openings is visible.

When Should You Wear Polarized Glasses?

People who wear polarized sunglasses frequently report feeling less tired after hours of battling sun glare. Polarized sunglasses are a good choice for the majority of everyday situations. Here are a few examples of when polarized sunglasses may be especially useful:

Fishing: Anglers find that polarized sunglasses significantly reduce glare and allow them to see deeper into the water.

Boating: Eye strain can occur after a long day on the water. 2You may also be able to see beneath the surface of the water more clearly, which is important if you are driving a boat.

Golfing: Some golfers believe that wearing polarized lenses makes it difficult to read greens when putting, but studies haven't all agreed on this point. Many golfers find that polarized lenses reduce glare on the fairway, and you can remove polarized sunglasses when putting if you prefer. Another advantage? Even if it never happens to you, golf balls that end up in water hazards are easier to spot when wearing polarized lenses.

Most snowy environments: Because snow causes glare, polarized sunglasses are usually a good choice. When it comes to snow, polarized sunglasses may not be the best option.

Mirror coat

Mirrored sunglasses have a reflective optical coating (also known as a mirror coating or flash coating) on the outside of the lenses that makes them appear to be small mirrors. The lenses typically impart a brown or grey tint to the wearer's vision. The mirror coating reduces the amount of light passing through the tinted lens by an additional 10–60%, making it especially useful in the sand, water, snow, and higher altitudes.

Transitions lenses

Light Transitions Intelligent lenses adapt to changing lighting conditions automatically.

They intelligently change from clear to dark when you go outside and back to clear when you return indoors, responding to the light around you.

High index lenses

High index lenses are made of a type of plastic that bends light more than standard CR39 lenses. As a result, it can be made thinner and lighter, resulting in more cosmetically appealing and comfortable-to-wear glasses.

Premium Coats

Hard coat - Hard coat provides lenses with scratch-proof and durability.
UV + Hard coat - Ultraviolet Coat + Hard coat
Anti Glare + Hard Coating (Recommended) - These are recommended for cutting glares and scratches. It enhances the clarity of your vision by minimizing reflections from bright surfaces. Ideal for outdoor activities.
Blue blockers + Hard coat (Recommended for Computer use) - Ideal for computer users. It has an anti-glare coating to prevent digital eye strain.
Anti Glare + Hydrophobic - They are fog-proof. It prevents your eyeglasses from fogging up when you return indoors from the cold, as well as when perspiring.
Crizal by Essilor - Crizal lenses are the best quality lens. They protect against glare, scratches, smudges, dust, water and contribute to preventing the harmful effects of UV rays and Blue-Violet Light.