Specsavers progressive lens choices

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#2538642 11-Aug-2020 15:17

MikeB4:

I worry about this topic. According to the advertisements one needs to go to Specsavers to be able to see if you are going to specsavers or not some random Ferris Wheel.

Apparently, you also need to visit Specsavers to determine if that is in fact, your wife or a farmyard animal of some description...

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#2924714 10-Jun-2022 13:36

Specsavers now have what they call SuperDigital Progressives at $785 which are $235 more than their Elite progressive lens

Has anyone used the Specsaver SuperDigitals?

These seem to be competing with the high end progressive lens for from Nikon etc (which I currently have)

Technofreak

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#2924729 10-Jun-2022 14:05

BlinkyBill:

I have had enough of progressive lenses, I am getting dedicated close work and distance work glasses. I got completely sick of having to arch my neck upwards to read the monitor and signs and so forth.

Or lasik.

I hear ya!!!!!

Some days when I'm working on something close up, especially at or above head height I feel like throwing my glasses in the rubbish bin. I have been known to go and get my old el cheapo pharmacy reading glasses out.

Progressives can be the best thing since sliced bread some days and on others an absolute pain in the a**e. I only need mine for reading, and as I often say, I only carry them on my nose the rest of the time as a way of carrying them around. I have them for work where taking glasses off and on to read stuff is not a very practical option.

If it wasn't for my job I'd probably settle for a good set of reading glasses and only wear them when necessary. I hate that I now have to turn my head to look at something rather than just swivel my eyeballs, yes I have the elite lenses which give the widest viewing angle.

My advice is that unless you need correction at more than just reading distance consider just getting reading glasses. Even in my situation when it comes time to renew my glasses I am considering having just a set of reading glasses for general use and a set of progressives for work, assuming Specsavers still run their two for one deal or what ever it is where the second set are cheaper.

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#2931227 17-Jun-2022 22:26

Be interested to see what the current opinions are with spec savers and progressive glasses. I’m in progressives at the moment with myopia, presbyopia and astigmatism in both eyes and my last pair from the optomitrist cost around $1300 all up. He reckons I’m likely to need to increase the reading power of the lens in a year so keen to see how they stack up.

I tried specsavers about 12 years ago and not only did I have to upgrade the frames to their most expensive pairs and nothing would fit my head, the various lens upgrades quickly made them just as expensive as a visit to my std optomitrist. In addition to that the lens had an awful yellow hue to them and both the lenses and frames felt “cheap”, within 18 months I went back to my optometrist where I’ve been since.

netspanner

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#2931468 18-Jun-2022 18:54

I spend $1000+ on progressive lenses each of the last 3 times or so at Specsavers. The first time I had them, after 3 years the lens coating wore off. I thought I must have done something wrong, and caused it, and bought a new set.

3 years later it happened again, damn. Must be my fault bought a new set.

4 years later of being very careful, no cleaner, no abrasives, just gently with glasses clothes, being really paranoid. Sure enough it happened again. I thought it must have been the salt water from kayaking, becuase when I cleaned them after a session the coating just dissolved away.

Went in and complained, and the response was "you were lucky it made it to 4 years most people only get 2 or 3 years". So stupidly enough I bought my current set.

Over that time my prescription has not changed much, but without a coating on them the glasses are useless. I asked if I could have them without a coating, and they said no, it had to have one.

This time I have learned my lesson, when my glasses are had it in 2 more years time I am going to a more expensive place and get better glasses.

Let this be a warning to anyone who opts for cheap price over quality.

I think opsm and specsavers are related, and specsavers are just cheaper options.

xlinknz

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#2931470 18-Jun-2022 19:02

@netspanner

Thank you for the reply and feedback on Specsavers coatings

Which Specsaver progressive lens did you get i.e. Standard, Premium, Elite or SuperDigital?

Which coatings were used?

FYI I've required a new prescription every 18-24 months so that issue may not be a problem for me but I haven't decided yet

BTW I've started (easy) Sea Kayaking in Feb

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#2931480 18-Jun-2022 19:55

netspanner:
I spend $1000+ on progressive lenses each of the last 3 times or so at Specsavers. The first time I had them, after 3 years the lens coating wore off. I thought I must have done something wrong, and caused it, and bought a new set.

3 years later it happened again, damn. Must be my fault bought a new set.

4 years later of being very careful, no cleaner, no abrasives, just gently with glasses clothes, being really paranoid. Sure enough it happened again. I thought it must have been the salt water from kayaking, becuase when I cleaned them after a session the coating just dissolved away.

Went in and complained, and the response was "you were lucky it made it to 4 years most people only get 2 or 3 years". So stupidly enough I bought my current set.

Over that time my prescription has not changed much, but without a coating on them the glasses are useless. I asked if I could have them without a coating, and they said no, it had to have one.

This time I have learned my lesson, when my glasses are had it in 2 more years time I am going to a more expensive place and get better glasses.

Let this be a warning to anyone who opts for cheap price over quality.

I think opsm and specsavers are related, and specsavers are just cheaper options.

Good to know, cheers

netspanner

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#2931482 18-Jun-2022 20:19

I have been buying elite lenses, as I spend most of my life staring at a computer screen.

Next time I am going to buy https://www.zeiss.com/vision-care/int/eye-care-professionals/lenses/lens-type/progressive-lenses.html

some of these, I found a forum run by optometrists and they were saying that they never had any returns because of coatings with Zeiss lenses.

This one .. https://www.optiboard.com/forums/

xlinknz:

@netspanner

Thank you for the reply and feedback on Specsavers coatings

Which Specsaver progressive lens did you get i.e. Standard, Premium, Elite or SuperDigital?

Which coatings were used?

FYI I've required a new prescription every 18-24 months so that issue may not be a problem for me but I haven't decided yet

BTW I've started (easy) Sea Kayaking in Feb

Technofreak

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#2931487 18-Jun-2022 21:00

Very interesting and useful information on that forum. Wish I'd read it before I bought my progressive lenses. Talks about the exact issues I've experienced. I'd have bought different progressives, got bi/trifocals or upper and lower reading glasses.

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GenX

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#2931491 18-Jun-2022 21:40

Technofreak:

BlinkyBill:

I have had enough of progressive lenses, I am getting dedicated close work and distance work glasses. I got completely sick of having to arch my neck upwards to read the monitor and signs and so forth.

Or lasik.

I hear ya!!!!!

Some days when I'm working on something close up, especially at or above head height I feel like throwing my glasses in the rubbish bin. I have been known to go and get my old el cheapo pharmacy reading glasses out.

Progressives can be the best thing since sliced bread some days and on others an absolute pain in the a**e. I only need mine for reading, and as I often say, I only carry them on my nose the rest of the time as a way of carrying them around. I have them for work where taking glasses off and on to read stuff is not a very practical option.

If it wasn't for my job I'd probably settle for a good set of reading glasses and only wear them when necessary. I hate that I now have to turn my head to look at something rather than just swivel my eyeballs, yes I have the elite lenses which give the widest viewing angle.

My advice is that unless you need correction at more than just reading distance consider just getting reading glasses. Even in my situation when it comes time to renew my glasses I am considering having just a set of reading glasses for general use and a set of progressives for work, assuming Specsavers still run their two for one deal or what ever it is where the second set are cheaper.

I've had progressives for over 15 years, always gone to Specsavers since they came to New Zealand and have been really impressed with their service! The challenge is the price of the progressives in NZ in general, over $1000 last time I checked.

About 2 - 3 years I updated my prescription and went to Zennai Optical online. Ordered photo-chromatic progressives with blue blokz and they were about $220 NZD (based on current exchange rates, delivered to US).

Once I was confident about ordering glasses online, I followed up with the next year with 2 pairs

- Another pair of progressives (not tinted)

- A pair of dedicated single vision computer glasses. Zennai's site helps with the calculation. I had the same challenges as BlinkyBill & Technofreak, and siting in front of a computer 8 - 10 hours a day - these completely changed my life. Yes, I'm switching backwards and forwards between the progressives and dedicated pair in the office a fair bit during the day - but the difference is comfort/lack of eye strain etc. makes it worth it.

Total price for 2 pairs in 2020 was around $255 NZD shipped to NZ. Just keep an watch on their site for the offers. At these prices I'm not as worried re the scratches etc.

Progressives are a tricky business, and YMMV but for me this has been a cost effective option.

mdav056

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#2931496 18-Jun-2022 22:13

Technofreak:

BlinkyBill:

I have had enough of progressive lenses, I am getting dedicated close work and distance work glasses. I got completely sick of having to arch my neck upwards to read the monitor and signs and so forth.

Or lasik.

I hear ya!!!!!

Some days when I'm working on something close up, especially at or above head height I feel like throwing my glasses in the rubbish bin. I have been known to go and get my old el cheapo pharmacy reading glasses out.

Progressives can be the best thing since sliced bread some days and on others an absolute pain in the a**e. I only need mine for reading, and as I often say, I only carry them on my nose the rest of the time as a way of carrying them around. I have them for work where taking glasses off and on to read stuff is not a very practical option.

If it wasn't for my job I'd probably settle for a good set of reading glasses and only wear them when necessary. I hate that I now have to turn my head to look at something rather than just swivel my eyeballs, yes I have the elite lenses which give the widest viewing angle.

My advice is that unless you need correction at more than just reading distance consider just getting reading glasses. Even in my situation when it comes time to renew my glasses I am considering having just a set of reading glasses for general use and a set of progressives for work, assuming Specsavers still run their two for one deal or what ever it is where the second set are cheaper.

I hear ya too! I have progressives (not from Specsavers, and not expensive) and find them a real pain for computer-screen work. I keep these now for being out and about, and have simple lenses, one set for computers and for driving (though it's hard to see the speedometer in the latter...). My major problem with progressives is the necessity to turn my head, and raise or lower it, to keep focus in variable-distance environments. I also think that driving with progressives is somewhat dangerous because you tend to miss side-of-the-eye stuff.

gml

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#2931512 19-Jun-2022 09:11

@GenX thanks for the tips on that website, I’m going to give them a try over the next couple of months and see how it goes.

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#2931519 19-Jun-2022 10:20

cshwone:

I get the premium and also have the stuff added that makes them react to light and become sunspecs. (For which there is no doubt a technical name)

transitional?

xlinknz

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#2931520 19-Jun-2022 10:22

@netspanner when you say coatings do you mean coatings such as anti reflective, tints, polarisation, transitions, blue light etc as opposed to the actual lens I ask as I don't get coatings although may consider blue light filter

How were the Elites you had for zones and distortion?

@mdav056 with progressives there are progressives and there are progressives!, low end ones have small reading and intermediate zones and worse distortion between the zones. An upper range progressive should have a good sized reading zone and no distortion but you're pay a lot. My Nikon Presio Master lens were around $800 just for the lens but they are really good

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#2932060 20-Jun-2022 11:44

xlinknz:

Specsavers now have what they call SuperDigital Progressives at $785 which are $235 more than their Elite progressive lens

Has anyone used the Specsaver SuperDigitals?

These seem to be competing with the high end progressive lens for from Nikon etc (which I currently have)

I got some glasses last year (Labour Weekend?) from Specsavers and got the Superdigital progressives on two pairs, with "reactions" photochromic treatment and "superclean" treatment on one pair and superclean only on the other. It was one of their big sales that they ran. Buy one get one 1/2 price, plus some other special on free upgrades. I paid under $1000 for both pairs (Deus & Tommy Hilfiger branded frames as well).

I have to say they have been excellent and don't tend to mist up like my old ones from OPSM used to. I believe that was something to do with the anti-reflective coating reacting with oils in my skin etc to cause them to constantly be misty/smudged and needing cleaning.

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