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Marcio Paes

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Prescription Transition and Polarized Sunglass
December 04, 2010, 05:07:14 AM
http://www.drivewearlens.com/home.php

and

http://www.framesdirect.com/PatientInfo.asp?id={EF47EDE6-0231-4810-ACB4-D1BF659394CB}&camefrom=lens

Product Selected:
Serengeti Prescription RX Bocca
Color: Shiny Black
Lens Color: Drivers Polarized Photochromatic
Lens Material: Trivex 1.53 PHD
Size: 61/19-125

Best regards,

Marcio.

Aaron Concord

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Marcio,

I worked for an optical company here in Australia for 8 years.
During that time, I too searched for Rx glasses that had a decent polarized lens.

Fast forward 10 years and I'd have to say that there will still never be a perfect lens for all situations, though the best I have found, for raising the bar are Maui Jim.
I have worn their bronze and Maui Rose lenses now since 2004 and they are excellent.
The neutral grey and green lenses that were my only options 10-15 years ago are now, thankfully, a thing of the past!
Another company that makes nice prescription glasses are Spotters and they do photochromatic lenses in their range.  The darkness changes with the amount of light that hits the lenses.

I remember when Transitions lenses came out!  They were great in idea though fell short on performance.
They fell short since they were too dark for inside usage and too light in tint for serious outdoor work.
Also, they had a cycle life time, which meant that after so many cycles of going from dark to light and back, they would just stay dark all the time.
These lenses have improved, though I have had none of my old optics mates tell me that they are a better way to go over a proper dedicated polarised sunglass in an appropriate tint.

Unless there is someone else out there who has worn Spotters, Hidefspecs, Maui Jim's, Ray Bans, Oakley, Bolle and Serengeti in Rx or standard off the shelf lenses and have seen a vast improvement in the performance of "Transition style" lenses , then my opinion is to stick with a brand that specializes in polarised lenses and stick to rose/vermilion lenses for the best colour punch and contrast you will ever get.
I have heard of good reviews from H20 Optics, Cost del Mar etc from USA though I have never worn them and I no of no one who does, so there is my limit of my experience.

The other thing I will say about my Maui Jims is this: for most prescription wearers, we have to be content with a lens that has no mirror front coats or antireflective rear coatings on the lens since most sunglass companies do not take the small amount of prescription wearers into account.......Maui DO, so we benefit the same as an off the rack pair.
The lenses you try out before you order are the same as you get in your prescription glasses..........and there are few that do that!

Cheers

Aaron.

Doug Lindsay

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Hi Aaron,
Thanks for answering a question I was about to ask as well!!! I have a mild prescription, but wearing std sunnies, I lose that crispness of long distance vision that is so critical for offshore fishing. I had done a tiny bit of research and thought Spotters would be the go, but now will check out the Maui Jims a well.
Re transitions, I got a pair about 7-8 years ago, but was devastated to learn they work on UV light to operate. Most windscreens in cars have a UV filter, so the lenses stay clear  :( Not sure if this is still the case?
Thanks again for your info.
Cheers
Doug

Greg Burt

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I tried the prescription way in the 1980s and gave it away as a waist of money, I know technology has changed a lot since then but still prefer the Transition Scrips  and 'poly' Fit-over Sunny's. The 'Ugly Fish' are a good low profile lightweight brand, and the 'Fit-Over' brand are slightly larger framed top marine glasses.
Greg 'FFF' Burt

Tom Slater

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Marcio,

I worked for an optical company here in Australia for 8 years.
During that time, I too searched for Rx glasses that had a decent polarized lens.

Fast forward 10 years and I'd have to say that there will still never be a perfect lens for all situations, though the best I have found, for raising the bar are Maui Jim.
I have worn their bronze and Maui Rose lenses now since 2004 and they are excellent.
The neutral grey and green lenses that were my only options 10-15 years ago are now, thankfully, a thing of the past!
Another company that makes nice prescription glasses are Spotters and they do photochromatic lenses in their range.  The darkness changes with the amount of light that hits the lenses.

I remember when Transitions lenses came out!  They were great in idea though fell short on performance.
They fell short since they were too dark for inside usage and too light in tint for serious outdoor work.
Also, they had a cycle life time, which meant that after so many cycles of going from dark to light and back, they would just stay dark all the time.
These lenses have improved, though I have had none of my old optics mates tell me that they are a better way to go over a proper dedicated polarised sunglass in an appropriate tint.

Unless there is someone else out there who has worn Spotters, Hidefspecs, Maui Jim's, Ray Bans, Oakley, Bolle and Serengeti in Rx or standard off the shelf lenses and have seen a vast improvement in the performance of "Transition style" lenses , then my opinion is to stick with a brand that specializes in polarised lenses and stick to rose/vermilion lenses for the best colour punch and contrast you will ever get.
I have heard of good reviews from H20 Optics, Cost del Mar etc from USA though I have never worn them and I no of no one who does, so there is my limit of my experience.

The other thing I will say about my Maui Jims is this: for most prescription wearers, we have to be content with a lens that has no mirror front coats or antireflective rear coatings on the lens since most sunglass companies do not take the small amount of prescription wearers into account.......Maui DO, so we benefit the same as an off the rack pair.
The lenses you try out before you order are the same as you get in your prescription glasses..........and there are few that do that!

Cheers

Aaron.

You are just a wealth of information Donkey!
When we catching that blue? haha

Aaron Concord

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Bun,
I feel your pain mate, I really do.  Having said that, you gave it away in the 80's when the options for a prescription wearer was VERY limited.  The explosion of quality products has really been in this decade.
There are a LOT of frustrated prescription glass wearers out there who were buying the UV Fitovers from me at OPSM in the 1990's though, after making it a pet project to find something sharper and better suited to fishing, I was making my own Rx lenses out of 'blanks' sold to me by Direct Optical Supplies.
These lenses were then turned into the Stalker range of glasses which were great.
Many who trusted my judgement were put into Stalkers and never looked back..........ever!
It was a huge relief for these clients to find a brand that specialised in polarised glasses.

Spotters are another step up again and at least they offer a range of tints to suit the various needs of darkness of tint, depending on whether it is a bright day, early/late afternoon or dull/overcast.
Lets not forget too, that it is also a much larger problem for people who need bifocals or multifocals.
There are companies, such as Hidefspecs, that do a terrific lens in a multifocal that are no less in performance than the original lenses...........we don't miss out on the excellent coatings that are applied to the lenses like we did 5-10 years ago.
Trust me Bun!  There are far better ways to get the vision YOU want these days..........though at a higher price than a pair of Fitovers.

Doug,
You are 100% correct.  The Transitions lenses that I was selling fed off UV light to get the tint to activate.
Therefore, many who were hoping to use there Transitions lenses in the car were very disappointed with the performance.  The car's roof acts as a big hat/sunshade and the windscreens do filter out UV as well, so the lenses would stay clear, which is very uncomfortable in high glare!
I don't believe there has been a change to this.  My understanding is the cycle life is higher and the lenses have a better ability to stay clear indoors and darker outside.........with a caveat on any UV removing or adding light source having its say on performance.
Spotters are a good starting point, particularly if you are looking for bang-for-buck, as these are around $500 a pair for single vision GLASS lenses...........the Maui's are $750-850..........not cheap but as I said, the best I have found. 

I mentioned glass in capitals as I still believe in the harsh,crusty environment we wear glasses in, nothing stands up to scratching better than glass.  I replaced more lenses due to scratches than all of the lenses broken from being dropped by a long mile.  Yes, resin lenses are more safe from impact, though again, I feel that glass is a better option in the long term.  It's a personal choice.

As I said earlier, there is no ONE pair that will do it all, though if I were to buy one for GT popping and be happy 85-90% of the time when doing other lure casting in rivers, bays and offshore, the rose/vermilion colour lenses provide the best definition, contrast and also make greens, browns and yellows more vivid/prominent.

Cheers

Aaron.

PS.
Tom-Tom........the blue marlin have to wait until the weather is better than crap!  I think the freshwater will push them closer to New Cal after this rain :(

Greg Burt

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Thanks Buddy, as I have two completely different eye scrips [one damaged by a nail 45 years ago and improving  ???] which need updating every two years these days, I'll stick to 1/2 Doz pair of fit-overs  8).
Greg 'FFF' Burt

Aaron Concord

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Mine get updated every 2 years as well, Bun.

I figure that it's a small price to pay to keep my vision as good as I can.

Compared to the rest of the fishing gear, it's a cheap investment.

It also helps to actually land the popper in the water and not on the coral.  :o

Aaron.

Scott Maybury

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I have different prescriptions in each eye, one short sighted one long and so I have a lot of trouble wearing contacts and putting normal sunglasses over the top, which was my original plan....however, I have a pair of prescription glass lens Spotters which do the job really well and for about $450 they are a very sound investment for time on the water

Marcio Paes

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Thanks Aaron for your kindness and compleate answer.

I feel they are improving the technology... and may at the future: "the dream could became true".

I will try this "very fashion" (pink) Maui Jim... I hope to not be punished hard by my friends at the boat. :)

I also have to confess I'm tempted to buy a pair of sunglasses brand "transition sole" with any frame ...

Question : Do you really think that an Serengeti "transition and polirazed" (trivex 1.53 PHD) would be a waste of money?

Best regards,

Marcio.


Marcio Paes

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Aaron,

Please could you tell me the difference (or specifications) about :

 - VR28
 - G30

They are really specials? Or its only marketing...

The Iridiun coat (oakley) really works?

I must correct: the real transition brand name is :Transitions Solfx ... It could be a more advanced transition technology?

Best regards,

Marcio

Aaron Concord

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Marcio,

No worries!  Glad to be of help!  :D

If you were fishing with most of my mates, you would find them wearing Maui Jim 'rose' or 'bronze' lenses or Spotters 'Penetrator' lenses which are a copper/rose tint, so there would be no need to be punished by us, since we all wear the same glasses!

I am going to be hanging out with an old friend from my optics era this weekend, so I'll ask her about the Serengeti's for you.
She's a Maui Jim girl herself, though I will ask about the Serengeti's and the new Transitions for you.

I'd like her opinion, since she's been in optics for 20+ years now so I'll find out what she knows.

The Oakley iridium coating was primarily placed on the lens front to enhance certain colours and reflect certain wave Lents of light back away from the wearer.  There was plenty of marketing mumbo-jumbo about this coating when it was released.
How YOU perceived this benefit depended on the colour of the lens tint.......I didn't mind it myself though the old Oakley's were never polarised.  They do now offer this, though I have never worn them so I cannot give a proper assessment of them.

The Serengeti Transition/polarised lens sounds good on paper, that's for sure.
If the lenses ability to stay dark or light when REALLY needed has improved, then I'd say you would have to consider it.
I am still wary of transitions lens due to their lower performance levels that they offered a glasses wearer like me..............plenty of people like them due to their ability to cover the clear glasses/sunglasses simultaneously:it's more important for some to have flexibility rather than look at overall performance, where I was after something far better as a specialised product.

As with all of us who wear glasses, the almighty $$$$ can be a problem at times if you need distance glasses, reading glasses and sunglasses........It does add up to a lot of money, so looking at something that seems to do everything has loads of appeal...........I prefer the benefit of dedicated sunglasses for the job.

Cheers

Aaron.



Marcio Paes

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Thanks Aaron,

I'll wait (eagerly) for the answers and advices (about Trivex, VR28, G30 and new transitions polirized) from your friend.

Thanks again,

Marcio.