Spectacle Lens Types

Choosing the right lenses for you
Selecting the right frame is just half the story. It is essential that the lenses you choose compliment the frame and provide you with excellent and comfortable vision. We will guide you through the many types of lenses available, but here is a brief overview:

The simplest form of spectacle or contact lens is the single-vision lens, made to a single prescription to correct a particular eyesight problem. The curvature of the lens, its thickness and weight will depend on the amount of long or short sight it is designed to correct. The lens material will also influence the thickness and weight of your lenses, as will the size and shape of the spectacle frame you choose. Spectacle lenses used to be made of glass but most lenses are now lightweight plastic and there is a wide range of materials available to suit your prescription and lifestyle.

Thanks to a unique, breakthrough technology called Eyecode, Eyesite can offer you spectacle lenses that are an astonishing five times more precise than before. As lenses are traditionally manufactured to give optimum vision when looking straight ahead, your vision may not be as sharp when you look sideways or down. Eyecode measures your individual eye rotation centre so that we can digitally manufacture your spectacle lenses to work better for you, giving you precise vision at all times.

Another popular lens option offered by Eyesite is the Transitions lens which can take the strain off your eyes by automatically regulating the light that reaches it. Using intuitive photochromic technology, the lenses adjust from ultra clear indoors or at night to dark when outside, so your eyes feel more comfortable and less tired.

Bifocal lenses contain two optical corrections with a distinct dividing line between the two parts. The most common use for bifocals is for correcting presbyopia. This is the condition that tends to occur with age when the eyes become less able to focus at close distances, meaning two different prescriptions are needed. Although varifocals are generally preferred to bifocals, certain prescriptions and lifestyles are better corrected using a bifocal lens.

Varifocal lenses, or progressive lenses, are also used for correcting presbyopia but, unlike bifocal lenses, have no visible dividing lines between the different corrections. Instead they have a graduated section in which the power of the lens progresses smoothly from one prescription to the other, allowing the wearer to see clearly at all distances. To find out more about varifocals, click here.