Lens Technology

... read more

Progressive powered lenses (PALs) come in many different designs and qualities. The choice is incredibly large, with the cheapest options costing from under NZ$240 and the most expensive ones going up to well over a thousand dollars for a pair of lenses. So where is the difference and what makes some lenses better than others? All progressive lenses have one thing in common, their top part of the lens is designed to allow for viewing in the distance, the bottom for viewing in near distances. Apart from the lens material, the tint and coatings, that is pretty much where the similarities end. All manufacturers carry a variety of progressive addition lenses from budget to top end quality. I guess the bottom end lenses all seem to be pretty similar in design and performance. It’s the high end designs that seem to vary because of the different approach taken to provide the best possible viewing experience. ... read more

Providing great and personal service must be right on top of the list of our priorities. Often it’s the litlle things that are appreciated most. Thist doesn’t only include free replacement of screws and nose pads, it also includes fitting new lenses into customers own frames. This is sometimes required when the prescription of only 1 lens needs to be, or the current frame is still fairly new and satisfactory. When this “lens replacement service” is required our aim is to do it in a way so the customer is not without her/his glasses for too long. Ideally we would use our in-house fitting service. We carry many high quality anti-reflective coated lenses in stock, and if at all possible, we try to manufacture the required prscription “on the day”. If, due to the required prescription and/or lens design, we are unable to do this, we use our state of the art frame tracer. ... read more

Earlier this week we had a client come to see us who required “only reading glasses”. These were his exact words and what he meant was that there was nothing wrong with his distance vision. In fact he could see really well in the long distance and was able and legally allowed to drive without glasses. However, he found that he was struggling to see close up and had come across the “arms are getting too short” syndrom a few years earlier already. We examined his eyes and found that indeed, he didn’t require a distance prescription and for his close distance (to read at a distance of 35 to 40cm) he required a correction of +2.25. Easy, right? Just get some +2.25 readers and the problem is solved, right? Well, as is our duty, we tried to find out a little more about his day to day work, just so we could confirm that this was indeed all he required. ... read more

The new buzz word in the world of optical spectacle lenses is “Freeform“. The term “Freeform” in relation to lenses is often misinterpreted as just a new design concept for progressive added lenses. This is actually not so. Strictly speaking, the term relates to an exciting new manufacturing process for spectacle lenses that allows to create optimised and individualised lens designs taking into consideration not only the actually required prescription of the wearer (say distance and/or near power), but also, amongst others, the frame parameters and, most importantly, the user’s lifestyle and work requirements. ... read more

Two questions we get asked quite often. Unfortunately there are no easy answers, in particular to the first part of the question. So why is this? Well, it’s a bit like asking “how much is a car and why are some more expensive than others?”. Even that question cannot be answered easily, because let’s face it, all cars, will get you from A to B, eventually, but some will do it more reliably than others, or in more comfort than others, or faster than others, or more economically than others. The list goes on. It’s a bit like that for progressive lenses as well. ... read more

Just the other day a client came into the shop complaining about little spots on his glasses. “There must be something wrong with the coating of my new lenses! Surely that shouldn’t happen. They are only new and I don’t work with chemicals!” I had a close look at the lenses and sure enough, the surface of the lenses showed small white dotts all over the front and back surface. ... read more

As mentioned in an earlier post, Kodak have introduced a new progressive lens with “Anti Fatigue Technology”. Claudia and I were invited to attend a seminar where the philosophy and manufacturing process of this new approach to “anti-fatigue” progressive lens design was explained. For us as practicioners it is very important that we stay on top of technological developments not only on frame design, but in also on lens design. This is particularly true for progressive addition lenses (PAL) because the manufacturing technology for these kind of lenses seems to be developing incredibly fast. ... read more

Yesterday Claudia and I attended a seminar dealing with new technological developments to reduce eyestrain for progressive lens wearers. The topic is interesting for several reasons. The first one is personal as I sometimes experience fatigue when I read for longer periods. Secondly, the idea of this new technology was developed by an optometrist who wanted to help his patients see better. It was then developed further by Kodak Lens and is now available in the newest Kodak Lens progressive lenses. Thirdly, amongst all the different progressive lenses on the market today, the idea of this one really stands out. So what is it all about? ... read more

Much has been written and said about progressive powered lenses. Today there are many different designs available from many different manufacturers. The choice is such, that many progressive lens wearers are starting to get confused. “What type of lens is the right one for me?” “Are they not all just the same anyway?” “Or are they just trying to sell me the most expensive one?” ... read more