Those of you with eyeglasses: Who still wears glass lenses?

[rcbooth]

I always specify glass lenses and they always try to direct me to plastic. The weight doesn't bother me. I am frequently in gritty environments and haven't ever scratched a glass lens.

 

[Mark J]

Glasses, 50 years. Gas permeable hard lenses from 1975 to 1990. One set of plastic lenses 15 years ago. None since. The color and poorer acuity with the plastic lenses are very evident to me. Optician knows me and does not argue any more. -7 prescription. My wife wears plastic, but they must be replaced about every 2 years. I recently purchased plastic SAFETY glasses for some work sites. Banish the things, but that is what is required. I broke a glass lens one year ago when I dropped the glasses on a tile floor. Last broken lens was about 45 years before that. Request GLASS and stand firm. They are available and very difficult to scratch or break.

Mark J.

 

[Phil_F_NM]

I'm 35 now and have been wearing glasses for just over 20 years. I've always worn polycarbonate lenses until this year. I will usually scratch a fine, fuzzy orb into the left lens to the point that focusing becomes difficult.

So early this year I switched to glass lenses and couldn't be happier so far. Then the Veterans Administration just started diagnosing me with some more vision problems and I was issued a new prescription in glass with photogrey tint since it turns out that I have "photophobia" or sensitivity. Now that the VA has this straightened out I should be set with glass lenses for life.

Phil Forrest

 

[rumbliegeos]

Like rcbooth, I work in gritty environments frequently, and I really dislike seeing through scratched lenses so I have demanded glass lenses for many years. I also wear soft contact lenses and prefer to use them in photography. The only problem is that I have reached an age (58) when my near vision is so bad it requires the use of drugstore reading glasses for changing the settings on the cameras when I wear contacts for correcting my considerable myopia. I don't know if any members are opticians, but I would love to know the actual manufacturing cost of spectacle lenses, because the retail cost seems a bit high to me, and I know I pay a premium for glass.

 

[dct]

Like you, if I'm wearing contacts I then need reading glasses for close to vision, or I need to remove my perscription glasses if I'm wearing those. The trouble I have with wearing glasses when photographing, is I hate not being able to see the whole VF, so I end up with my glasses pushed up against my face then I am constantly cleaning them.
I've found a solution that works for me at any rate, give it a try I promise you will get used to it quite quickly. Just wear the one contact lens in your shooting eye, in my case my right, the left eye then does all the close reading work. Your normal non photography vision is compromised, but not as badly as you might think, it's not something I do if I was just out and about with a camera, but if I'm working in a studio or shooting a wedding, even for a portrait session I would find it difficult to work any other way now.

Excellent suggestion! I've tried it yesterday beeing out for a landscape session with different bodies. It is the perfect solution for me. No more fiddling around with glasses!
Thank you for sharing your experience, it was so simple but really usefull.

 

[Bike Tourist]

My "computer" glasses are glass, as are my "reading" glasses. My "everyday" bifocals are plastic and also my "bicycling" glasses. Talk about specialization!

I think any new ones will all be plastic. Scratching is a non-factor since I would never use my cameras without corrective eyepiece diopters. The availability of these even influences my choice of equipment.

 

[paulfish4570]

i just got new glasses for the first time in several years. i always have been able to see far very well unless my eyes were tired, especially at night. these bifocals are a blessing: no more displacement at distance, no glare, corrected back to 20/15. poly lenses, anti-glare and protective coatings. i can see like a hawk.