Intermediate distance glasses are the best graphics upgrade I've had for ages!

[Angilion]

Gradual aging of my eyesight caught me out on that. I hadn't realised how suboptimal my other glasses had become for chair to monitor distance. Acclimatisation by slow change. Or Goldilocks with glasses - normal glasses were too far, reading glasses were too near, intermediate glasses were just right!

If you're old enough for your eyes to not be as flexible as they once were (>40, roughly, usually) a test might be worthwhile. You can go as far as measuring the distance and having glasses for that exact distance.

In my case it's not as big an upgrade as going from software rendering on a 486 to a Voodoo card, but it's bigger than going from a 1070 Ti to a 7800XT. Money well spent.

 

[moon man]

I find swapping strengths actually improves my eyes ,a bit like the near to far eye focus exercise maybe.
I've had a full eye test with retinal scan and I have just a slight need for reading glasses , just seems to me sticking to one strength you can guarantee you will need stronger.
Disclaimer,this works for me it's not advice ha

 

[ElliorR]

I have "computer" glasses here at work and a pair at home. They're better than using reading glasses for computer work.

I do, fondly, remember only needing one pair of single vision glasses for everything

 

[Feek]

I do, fondly, remember only needing one pair of single vision glasses for everything

I can still get away with that using varifocals.

 

[OspreyO]

Had a nightmare last year trying to get newer varifocals. First pair had the reading prescription too high in the lense, the second so much distortion they were unwearable for computer work. Got an intermediate pair, and they are so much better.

 

[Freefaller]

I'm on the cusp.of needing reading glasses but getting away without for now.

 

[ElliorR]

I have had varifocals in the past that have been good, but the last few pairs I've tried I had to return them and changed to distance and reading glasses due to just not working the way the first pair I had did.

 

[Ayahuasca]

Astigmatism says hi

The eye fatigue I get now is ridiculous, I have to take frequent breaks or I get tension headaches for hours.

I also have my eyes tested more often than every 2 years, so my current prescription is "right".

 

[Bassmansam]

what are intermediate distance glasses?

 

[Feek]

Had a nightmare last year trying to get newer varifocals.

I have had varifocals in the past that have been good, but the last few pairs I've tried I had to return them

Hmmm, interesting. Mine are a few years old and I tried to buy a new pair a while back. The lenses I have now are no longer available and I went through three different types of lens before my optician apologised and said they’d have to give me my money back.

Each time, the focal area was in the wrong place or the field of vision was too small. The ones I’ve got, I can very easily see my two screens in front of me on the desk without too much head movement and easily see distance when I look away. It’s as though lenses have gone backwards in terms of quality.

Astigmatism says hi

I have the maximum astigmatism in both eyes. It really doesn’t help.

 

[jpaul]

Had a nightmare last year trying to get newer varifocals. First pair had the reading prescription too high in the lense, the second so much distortion they were unwearable for computer work. Got an intermediate pair, and they are so much better.

what brands have you tried - problem to me is Specsaver monopolizing market in the UK without showing whose lenses you are really buying,
yes you can easily take their varifocals back, but if you then end up buying multiple pairs of glasses for different distances (like my parents) it becomes a pain,
versus putting one pair on for the day /end of story.

I'm imminently returning to my local independent for a fitment of varilux xr comfort , and will subsequently add to house insurance, as put in recent thread

whose varifocal have you tried ? i've had some hoya id's for ~10 years and currently looking at new prescription probably varilux xr comfort

 

[G J]

The most important question how is Ray Tracing?

 

[Angilion]

what are intermediate distance glasses?

Glasses that properly correct vision at a distance longer than very short distance and shorter than usual distance vision. Usually ~1m. Usually expressed as an offset from the distance vision correction.

As a person gets older, the lenses in their eyes become less flexible and that affects focusing at closer distances. So it's normal for older people (normally starting around 40-45) to need vision correction for very short distances ("reading glasses"), even if their vision isn't defective and they don't need vision correction past very short distances. Older people with defective eyesight will need two lenses - one for their normal vision correction and another for very short distances that's an offset of their normal vision correction. Sometimes an additional lens becomes necessary (or at least useful) as the flexibility of the lenses in their eyes reduces further as they age more, a lens that will correct their vision at an intermediate distance.

You can have multiple lenses in one pair of glasses (varifocals) but results vary. Some people find varifocals more convenient than swapping glasses for different distances (which is an inconvenience). Other people find varifocals disorientating because your focus changes depending on the direction your eyes are looking at. You have to get used to moving your head more and your eyes less. Other people go with contacts for normal distance vision and putting glasses on over the contacts for very short distance vision. Other people go with one pair of glasses for normal distance vision and a bifocal pair with intermediate lens further up and reading lens further down, often called occupational glasses because they can be a good fit to a desk job where you might be moving your vision between a screen that's ~1m away and some paperwork that's much closer. There are options, each with advantages and disadvantages.

 

[Pawnless Endgame]

Varifocals have been a godsend for me after using separate prescription glasses. 2 reasons really. 1st is that I can look down and see messages on my phone, then look up to see what's around me in pub / cafe / at home / when walking etc. 2nd is that I have never lost a pair of varifocals because they're the only pair I use, meaning it's either on me or on my bedside table (home and away) when in bed or showering. When I was using separate prescriptions, I ended up leaving one of the pairs behind at a conference centre by mistake. Or I think that's where I left them but they weren't returned when I queried it over the phone.

 

[D-Ranged]

Astigmatism says hi

The eye fatigue I get now is ridiculous, I have to take frequent breaks or I get tension headaches for hours.

I also have my eyes tested more often than every 2 years, so my current prescription is "right".

I have them in both eyes, and one of them is extremely bad.

I also suffer from tension headaches, fatigue and sometimes it feels like someone is pushing their finger in my right eye, which is the worse one. I need to get them checked in November to see if I need a new prescription!

 

[Dirk Diggler]

I've been considering getting "gaming glasses" because my reading glasses are fine for normal PC use but gaming in a dark room is awful due to glare. I've been sticking to "distance gaming" on my 4k TV for which I don't need glasses, but unfortunately missing out on enjoying my AW3423DF as I just avoid K&M games these days

 

[firstborn]

I'm needing a new pair of glasses. Varifocals, Oakley fames. Massive variation on prices 250 to 400 for what appears to be the same thing.

Any recommendations for the go to place?

Glassesdirect, glasses station, vision express etc. Oakley direct are the most expensive at 400.

 

[ianh]

As I passed 40-ish I noticed my close range eyesight (<30cm) dropped off a cliff whilst my medium/far seemed OK, but as I'm hitting 50 (and especially in low light) I'm finding lots more issues, but none that I consider "severe" enough to warrant glasses yet, except for a set of 4x magnification "close up work" glasses I've got for aircraft wiring where the identification text on the wires is about 2-3mm tall.

 

[koolpc]

My mate only realised how bad his eye sight was when he realised he had married a horse!

 

[jpaul]

I'm needing a new pair of glasses. Varifocals, Oakley fames. Massive variation on prices 250 to 400 for what appears to be the same thing.

Oakley don't make decent varifocals - they're not a top-tier hoyamessiah - where for £400 you could get a decent lens for that money for everyday use -
I have far fixed vision oakley polarised lenses in flaks that were billed at more than £400 in the EU and good for outdoor sports, or driving ,where I can see close instruments well enough.
I have subsequently wondered if polarised were a bad choice and degrade depth perception, as some advice says, especially on surface of snow (in addition to their failure on lcd displays)