Mrs. B Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 For a light prescription, is it worth extra $$ to upgrade to a wider peripheral viewing field? Especially for a homeschool mom who reads on the iPad, from books, or piano sheet music all the time? I wasn't given the option when I purchased my 1st pair of progressives at Costco 3 years ago. I didn't even know there were so many options until shopping around other places now that I have a newer prescription. I was told basic progressives have about a 50 cent piece sized focused viewing area for reading. I was told more of the reading page would be in focus with the lens upgrade that offers a wider peripheral viewing area. This is supposed to prevent having to move one's head so much when reading. Haven't BTDT, but wanted to know if others notice that big of difference worth spending over $100 for the upgrade. There is also the option to purchase high index plastic lenses which has a wider viewing field as well.. I was told that generally people like high index plastic better than polycarbonate for progressives. But does this matter with a lighter prescription? I like the idea of having polycarbonate in case of accidental high impact while mowing, trimming, playing ball with the kids, and the like. The optician says the high index plastic has enough impact resistance for normal adult life. ETA: after reading below posts, I am not sure peripheral view is the correct word for what I am describing. It may be just a wider focus area I am talking about. Someone with more knowledge is welcome to enlighten me 😉 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starr Posted April 24, 2015 Share Posted April 24, 2015 I am way behind in getting new glasses. Mine are ten years old and I am fine with the old design. I thought the invisible line on my progressives went all the way across. I can't tell if I have any limited peripheral vision or not. The cost of glasses with the latest upgrades is crazy. Let us know what you decide. I'm trying to make decisions as well for new glasses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annie G Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I had no idea there was an upgrade to improve the peripheral view- I would SO have upgraded. My latest glasses are less than a year old and bought from my pricey optometrist so I'm bummed to be reading about it here instead of having his office tell me! I don't know if the field varies based on the prescription but my newest glasses are just awful- I have a TINY window of clear vision when reading. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klmama Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I haven't heard about a wider focus field. Interesting. I do have the more expensive material lenses, though, and for me they made a huge difference. Same prescription, less distortion. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. B Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 Seeing if this link works for a picture of what I am talking about a wider view. I am trying to find the chart Walmart and Sam's optical dept. showed me about the Zeiss lens they sell, but no such luck. The chart they have gives the option of choosing the traditional standard view of the progressive reading area and 2 choices for a wider reading focus area with pictures showing how much wider the view is supposed to be with the upgrade. The price is about $150 more to get the best viewing area. This is new to me, I can't find out much about it online, and I don't know anyone IRL that has paid more for a wider focus area in the progressive lens. It must be new technology offered ???, IDK. My husband doesn't wear glasses, but doesn't understand why I wouldn't want to pay more for a wider reading area. I don't like to spend extra money for anything unless I hear from someone other than the salesperson that it is worth it. http://www.zeiss.com/vision-care/en_us/better-vision/products---technologies/zeiss-lenses/zeiss-progressive-individual--2.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nevergiveup Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I had no idea there was an upgrade to improve the peripheral view- I would SO have upgraded. My latest glasses are less than a year old and bought from my pricey optometrist so I'm bummed to be reading about it here instead of having his office tell me! I don't know if the field varies based on the prescription but my newest glasses are just awful- I have a TINY window of clear vision when reading. This is me exactly!! No one told me about a wider reading area. Mine stink! And, I thought they were all that way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyThreeSons Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I always get my glasses at Sam's club. I've never been offered any upgrades like that. My brother in law is an optometrist. I'll try to remember to ask when I talk to my sister later today. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I have a new pair and can definitely tell the difference. My thought was to purchase a second backup pair, but I'm enjoying the wider reading, distance and even screen vision too much to use my old pair. (Same perscription btw and the old pair are less than 2 years old.) Disclaimer...My glasses are not a light prescription; I wear them all day everyday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. B Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 I have a new pair and can definitely tell the difference. My thought was to purchase a second backup pair, but I'm enjoy the wider reading, distance and even screen vision too much to use my old pair. (Same perscription btw and the old pair are less than 2 years old.) Disclaimer...My glasses are not a light prescription; I wear them all day everyday. Do you mind sharing which lenses you have? Are they polycarbonate or high index? The wider viewing range Zeiss is the same price as the basic high index Nikon that is supposed to have a similiar viewing range. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tammyla Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 Do you mind sharing which lenses you have? Are they polycarbonate or high index? The wider viewing range Zeiss is the same price as the basic high index Nikon that is supposed to have a similiar viewing range. I have the Zeiss now. At first I purchased the Nikon lenses, but had problems with reading. They redid the lenses in the Zeiss and I really like them. My sunglasses are the less expensive ones, and I can tell the difference. However, I have eyes that are different scripts with an astigmatism and that makes getting everything just right tricky. The tech mentioned some people are more aware or sensitive than others. That may have been a nice way to tell me how fussy I was, but vision is important and don't want to waste money on glasses that will stay in the case. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LizzyBee Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 I have the wider reading area - they're called computer glasses by the place I buy them from. In your case, I would do it for the piano music. For other things, I wouldn't say it makes a lot of difference. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. B Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 I have the Zeiss now. At first I purchased the Nikon lenses, but had problems with reading. They redid the lenses in the Zeiss and I really like them. My sunglasses are the less expensive ones, and I can tell the difference. However, I have eyes that are different scripts with an astigmatism and that makes getting everything just right tricky. The tech mentioned some people are more aware or sensitive than others. That may have been a nice way to tell me how fussy I was, but vision is important and don't want to waste money on glasses that will stay in the case. I just got back from purchasing the Nikon lenses, before I read your reply. The optician thought I would be more satisfied with the Nikon and assured me I could switch to the Zeiss without a problem if I didn't think it was a significant improvement from the polycarbonate lenses I currently own. I also have astigmatism that is different in each eye, but it isn't that bad. Enough to give me headaches if I read much without glasses. Thanks to all of you for your input. Will report back in a couple weeks after I get the glasses. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Zeiss makes eyeglass lenses? NIkon? Wider peripheral viewing area? The optometrist has been holding out on me. I have progressive lenses and hate them. They are hardly ever in focus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Anyone know what "digital lenses" are? After all my googling, I've determined that they're either a) made digitally, or b ) are useful for reading digital devices. Given that I've run into both these explanations from what look like good knowledgable sources (based on their impressive graphs and photos on the site), I'm inclined to think it's eyeglass hocus pocus meant to extract money out of the customer, not a real thing. How can one figure out if the field of view of a lens is going to be wider other than just having the eyeglass place tell you and you having to trust what they're saying? I'm finding that I have less and less trust in eyeglass places to tell me the truth. Too many bad experiences with glasses that didn't work and people in white lab coats who obviously knew nothing. Recently, I've been buying eyeglasses online because they're so much cheap (SO much cheaper), and because they've been better at actually filling my prescription rather than some other random numbers. I don't actually trust brick and mortar places to get it right anymore. But what this means, is that there is a wider field of vision available, I'd need to know what terms to look for. I've kind of given up on progressive lenses as the one glasses I can use for everything. And I'm guessing that even a wider field of vision isn't going to make that better. I'll still need computer/piano glasses because I need to not only look sideways at a certain distance but up and down as well. But, it still would be great if the reading portion of my glasses actually was bigger than the tiny little sliver they currently are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Piper Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Caveat before I add my two cents: I have no idea what brand my lenses are, besides "Expensive-O" :tongue_smilie: and I do wear mine all day. It is not a light prescription, and since we had vision insurance at the time, I got them at a private optician practice, not Sam's Club or Lenscrafters or whatever. Having said that: when I first got this prescription, the focus area for reading drove me up. the. wall. I could not handle having to move my head side to side just to read one line of an average book! My optician allowed one free do-over (the word "upgrade" was never used) so they re-ground the prescription to give a wider reading focus area, and it has made all the difference for me. It was the difference between "I can finally see properly!" and "I don't know how I can ever see properly again!" I guess what I'm saying is, if you have the option to upgrade to a wider viewing area, and you can afford it - totally go for it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 I have the wider reading area - they're called computer glasses by the place I buy them from. In your case, I would do it for the piano music. For other things, I wouldn't say it makes a lot of difference. See, I can't see these actually working as piano/computer glasses for anyone who has a lot of correction needed. If they're progressive then, by definition, a lot of area has to be taken up with lens devoted to distance and close up. So it doesn't seem to me that the area left for mid range would be all that useful. Unless the lenses actually morphed (physically) if it knew what you were looking at. Is there something I'm missing? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted April 26, 2015 Share Posted April 26, 2015 Caveat before I add my two cents: I have no idea what brand my lenses are, besides "Expensive-O" :tongue_smilie: and I do wear mine all day. It is not a light prescription, and since we had vision insurance at the time, I got them at a private optician practice, not Sam's Club or Lenscrafters or whatever. Having said that: when I first got this prescription, the focus area for reading drove me up. the. wall. I could not handle having to move my head side to side just to read one line of an average book! My optician allowed one free do-over (the word "upgrade" was never used) so they re-ground the prescription to give a wider reading focus area, and it has made all the difference for me. It was the difference between "I can finally see properly!" and "I don't know how I can ever see properly again!" I guess what I'm saying is, if you have the option to upgrade to a wider viewing area, and you can afford it - totally go for it! What I don't get about this is why they don't do this as the default. I'm not seeing any reason why anyone would not want a wider field of view. Or why it would cost more to provide. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs. B Posted April 26, 2015 Author Share Posted April 26, 2015 What I don't get about this is why they don't do this as the default. I'm not seeing any reason why anyone would not want a wider field of view. Or why it would cost more to provide. I was amazed to see the chart that showed the tiny focus area for the distance, nearness, and reading vision on my current progressives. I have only worn glasses for 3 years, so have nothing to compare to this narrow view. I agree, the wider area should be default! I was tempted to switch to lined bifocals before I found out about the wider viewing option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingiguana Posted April 27, 2015 Share Posted April 27, 2015 http://www.opticampus.com/cecourse.php?url=progressive_lenses/ This was all I was able to find googling. Way down the page is this: Harder designs. A "harder" progressive lens design concentrates the unwanted astigmatism into smaller areas of the lens surface, thereby expanding the areas of perfectly clear vision at the expense of higher levels of blur and distortion. Consequently, harder progressive lenses generally exhibit the following characteristics: wider distance zones, wider near zones, and higher, more rapidly increasing levels of surface astigmatism (closely spaced contours). Softer designs. A "softer" progressive design spreads the unwanted astigmatism across larger areas of the lens surface, thereby reducing the overall magnitude of blur at the expense of narrowing the zones of perfectly clear vision. The astigmatic error may even encroach well into the distance zone. Consequently, softer progressive lenses generally exhibit these characteristics: narrower distance zones, narrower near zones, and lower, more slowly increasing levels of astigmatism (widely spaced contours). (I don't think they're referring to the person's individual astigmatism, but the astigmatism inherent in the lens) So perhaps there are constraints. You can get the wider field of view, but only at the expense of more distortion in the peripheral areas. Unless there's some new technology. But it would be nice to see that explained, if that's what has happened. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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