Buy Glasses Like a Pro: Frames, Lenses, Coatings, and More

Once you&#;ve picked a lens type, you&#;ll need to choose which of the available coatings you want. Some options are useful, and others are less so.

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Scratch-resistant: This helps to enhance the durability of the more scratch-prone types of lenses and is standard on glasses from a variety of retailers, including Costco Optical, Warby Parker, and Zenni Optical. Estimated cost: $16 to $40.*

Anti-reflective (AR): The key advantage is that lenses with antireflective treatment allow more light to reach your eyes, according to Drenen at the optical technology program at Cuyahoga Community College. That&#;s especially beneficial for older people, whose eyes naturally let in less light, and for driving at night, when the light is already low. The stronger your prescription, the more important this feature, because stronger prescriptions tend to reflect more light, Drenen says.

One downside, according to Natasha Herz, MD, clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology, is that this coating can wear off over time, which can lead to your glasses seeming permanently smudged. But most AR coatings should last for the lifetime of the prescription (most prescriptions are valid for one or two years), Vitale says. Proper lens care will also help with longevity, so use lens cleaner and a lens cloth to wipe your lenses off, rather than your T-shirt or a paper towel.

While basic AR coating is becoming standard on many lenses, premium anti-reflective coatings are also available. Several experts tell us these are likely to be more durable. Premium AR coatings also tend to include additional features such as smudge resistance and anti-fog coating. Estimated cost: $75 to $150.*

UV protection: These days, a coating that protects eyes from ultraviolet light is included with many lenses&#; but it&#;s a must to add if the glasses you&#;re buying don&#;t have this. &#;You can&#;t put sunscreen on the surface of the eye or on your eyelids,&#; Herz says, and it&#;s possible to develop skin cancer in those areas. UV light can also contribute to the development of cataracts. Estimated cost: $10 to $25.*

Blue-light blocking: A popular add-on for eyeglasses these days, this coating&#;which is sometimes yellow-tinted&#;is meant to filter out blue-colored light. It&#;s touted to reduce eye strain (from all-day computer use), enhance sleep, and even improve eye health. Some evidence suggests that blocking blue light might indeed be useful for improving sleep (because blue light affects the circadian rhythms that govern sleep), but there&#;s insufficient evidence that this can ease eye strain or reduce the risk of eye diseases such as macular degeneration.

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And although adding blue-blocking to your glasses isn&#;t harmful, Berkeley&#;s Moy says there are other, cheaper ways of achieving the same effect. For instance, you can choose the &#;night mode&#; on electronic devices, which filters out blue light at the source. (Estimated costs are not available because this coating isn&#;t associated with a specific medical billing code.)

*Source: The Vision Council; prices may vary further.

Peter Figen

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I used to be like you - insisting that I needed a filter on every lens no matter what anyone said but that was back in the film days when you actually needed a variety of filters unless you shot color neg. You've been given a lot of good advice by my and others - advice based on practical experience and science but you're apparently choosing to ignore it for some reason that's stuck in your head that you aren't letting us in on. There's a website out there that did real comparisons between a dozen or so different UV filters. Search for it. It's there. Buy whatever the hell you think will work. Hoya's are fine, but remember that the markup on filters is insane so stores are happy to sell you as many as your credit card will handle, and that's the only reason they try and sell you that shit. How would I know that? Yeah. In another lifetime I sold shitloads of filters to people like you and make a ton of money doing it.

As has been mentioned by myself and others - if, and that's a big IF, you're shooting in totally crappy conditions, and a couple examples have been mentioned, then there are valid reason for owning them but you almost never want to actually use them - y'know - unless you meet those conditions, but you haven't given an inkling of what you shoot or under what conditions.

The idea of this thread is not only to tell you what might be a good brand but also to educate you as to what you may not have considered. To me this is the same as some idiot who puts 91 octane in their Corolla just because someone told them premium is better. Only if you want to spend more than you need or if you have a car that truly needs it - y'know - like that ol' 911 parked in the garage.

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