Lenses and Coatings
Understanding Lenses
As independent optometrists we use a range of spectacle lens manufacturers, including ZEISS, ESSILOR, HOYA, NIKON, NORVILLE, RODENSTOCK and SEIKO to ensure you get the correct lens to suit your prescription and budget. Our experts will advise you accordingly.
- Single vision lenses are used to correct either distance vision, reading vision, or sometimes in specialised computer or music distance.
- Bifocal lenses have two lens powers combined together with a distinct line to divide the distance and reading portions.
- Varifocal lenses are also known as progressives and are blended to give a smooth multifocal progression from distance through intermediate to reading vision (Scroll down to read more.)
Specialist lenses & coatings
- Clear coated: Lenses can be coated to be scratch resistant, anti-reflection; or anti-grease.
- Thinner: Lenses can be made up to 45% thinner using a hi-index plastic orspeciall Aspheric curves.
- Photochromatic: These lenses go darker in the sunlight and are available in grey or brown colours.
- Polarised: These lenses are effective at cutting out the glare to give the most comfortable vision.
- Tinted: Lenses can be tinted to most colours either as a fixed or graduated tint.
Varifocal Specialists
At Lesley Cree Opticians, our staff are specially trained on all aspects of varifocals and as as a team we have over 115 years of experience in working with varifocals.
What are varifocals?
Varifocals work by the lens changing gradually in power from the top of the lens to the bottom. The lens has progressive lens zones, with no dividing line, which makes the lens more cosmetically pleasing.
If you are looking into the distance then you look through the top of the lens which has been set at your exact pupil height. It is crucial that this measurement, taken in the practice, is done accurately with the frame on your face to ensure precision in your viewing areas. As the object you are looking at gets closer, you gradually look lower down the lens through the intermediate part of the lens, and if you look still further down the lens the close focus comes into view.
Why are some varifocals more expensive?
Premium varifocals can also be called “free-form” or “digitally surfaced” which means that the curvature on the lens surface is computer generated and custom-made to your exact prescription; the frame shape you choose; and your eye position within the frame. This gives the widest fields of view at all focal points with much less distortion at the edges of the lens, so minimising sideways head movement.
In a nut-shell the better the lens design, the wider the field of view you will get for all areas of the lens, and the less peripheral distortion, which makes the lens much more user-friendly and easier to adapt to.
Why come to us?
As you will be aware, varifocal lenses are now high-tech optically and as such it is important that they are dispensed correctly so you maximise the clear viewing areas on the lens.
It is essential that you get the best advice on the type of varifocal to suit your needs and budget; that the varifocal is measured accurately to the height and width of your pupils; and that your natural head posture has been accounted for. To ensure accuracy this needs to be done by an experienced optician or optical advisor.
Our staff have over 115 years of experience in Varifocal Lenses, so why not come to the experts?
All our varifocals come with a 30-day guarantee, so if you don’t get on with them, then we will swap you to another varifocal design, a bifocal, or distance and reading lenses.
We will always do our best to find a solution if for whatever reason you don’t get on with your varifocals.
As Independent Opticians we have access to a whole range of Varifocal designs and can source any brand of Varifocal.