I've recently gotten rimless glasses that had Varilux Liberty
polycarbonate lenses w/Crizal AR in them. The first pair I got got had
a problem with chromatic abberation (seeing rainbows at the top
fringes of faraway objects). I had the lenses remade believing that
there was a mistake with the lenses themselves as the fitting height
was too high on the first pair, but the problem persists with the
second pair and the fitting height was corrected in these.
I don't have a strong Rx (see below), so I don't understand why I'm
having problems.
OD Sph: +0.50 Cyl: -0.75 Axis: 045 Add: +2.25
OS Sph: +0.25 Cyl: -0.50 Axis 133 Add: +2.25
Lenses are 54mm Wide x 37mm High.
My question: is this is a problem inherent with all polycarbonate due
to the low Abbe values, or is it a problem with the Varilux brand
themselves or the Crizal AR?
Do the other brands (like Zeiss or Nikon) have this problem with their
poly lenses also? And if so, what are my options for having these
rimless specs reglazed? I'd prefer a PAL with a wider corridor or a
free-form progressive, but don't know what's available for rimless
specs.
Thanks,
-=# Firewalker #=-
Mark A - 27 Mar 2009 09:13 GMT
> I've recently gotten rimless glasses that had Varilux Liberty
> polycarbonate lenses w/Crizal AR in them. The first pair I got got had
[quoted text clipped - 21 lines]
> Thanks,
> -=# Firewalker #=-
Polycarb has inherently poor optical qualities, especially chromatic
aberration. It is hard to say whether the problem has been aggravated by the
lens design, poor fitting (maybe too far from your eyes), etc, and whether
another lens design would be significantly better.
I would recommend the HOYALUX iD in Phoenix (Trivex) lens material from Hoya
Optical. Trivex has excellent optics, but is as strong as polycarb and is
excellent for drill mounts. This is freeform lens on front and back surface.
The slightly less expensive HOYALUX iD LifeStyle in Phoenix material is
another option. It has standardized vertical progression on the front
surface, and freeform on the backside of the lens.
http://63.96.3.231/index.php?SID=49cc86d08d0dd158501765&page_id=7884
I have never heard of Crizal AR causing optical problems like you describe,
but maybe others have, but it seems unlikely to me. Hoya has their own
excellent AR coat called SUPER HiVision Anti-Reflective that comes standard
with the above lenses I mentioned.