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3-way varifocals. haven't seen anything like this since the last time I did mushrooms
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  • GrunfeldGrunfeld Frets: 4027
    lol, it took some getting used to varifocals!  I use them for most of life but for computer work I've gone back to a straight-forward lens set for my working distance.  Two pairs of glasses is a hassle but the comfort factor makes up for it.
    Good luck!
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  • octatonicoctatonic Frets: 33725
    I wear varifocals most off the time but have dedicated 'work style lenses' for computer work, which is about 6-8 hours of my day.
    I got sick of having to look through the lower 3rd of my glasses to read text so dedicated computer glasses made more sense.
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  • NPPNPP Frets: 236
    I got my first pair of varifocals in 2016 and at first wondered what the fuss was all about as I seemed to get on with them effortlessly. Then, my short distance eye sight deteriorated a bit and I felt more uncomfortable with them. Last autumn I finally bit the bullet and got new ones made, in the old frame, and they are an absolute pain in the arse. Unless you are looking at something absolutely straight ahead and really concentrate, it is very difficult to get anything into focus. There's a lot of distortion going on except when looking straight ahead. Turning my head results in instant disorientation. They are ok for driving but when out for a walk when I want to look at the scenery, check where I put my feet and just let my eyes wander around they are dismal. 

    I still have distance-only glasses for driving which are much more comfortable and am contemplating having reading glasses made. 

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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22516
    I've been wearing varifocals since last year.  Didn't have any trouble adjusting to them really, but I thought they'd magically enable me to see things properly at all distances.. and it's not that simple.  It's more a case of finding the right bit of the lens to look through, the right angle to hold your head at... and I still can't focus on anything really close up.

    One thing which took time for me to notice is the way things seem to bend if you move your head from side to side.  I went on a cocktail-making evening with people from work and we were standing around a big table covered with place mats - lots of straight lines.  I'd had a drink or two and every time I turned my head right or left I was sure the table was wobbling.  I even looked underneath to see if there was a short leg.  But it was just the varifocals.
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  • Yup two pairs - one for computer /reading, another pair for long distance.
    And I do that thing of lifting up my glasses and holding objects 3 inches from my nose to read food labels.
    Sorry that should be 75 mm from my nose, don't want to imply I'm pre-decimal.
    Roll on digital specs with some magic jello lens material. Or maybe holographic lenses.
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  • 3-way varifocals. haven't seen anything like this since the last time I did mushrooms
    I did Mushrooms this morning to go on my Bacon and Egg Sarnie :)

    Back to the Glasses though. I really have seen massive benefit from Varifocals. Wore single vision lenses for 17 years and never noticed the deterioration. Was astonished when I got my first pair.
    Only a Fool Would Say That.
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    • The distance part doesn't make road signs any clearer.
    • I can't find the middle bit that is supposed to let me read music on a stand or a computer screen just out of arms length
    • The close range reading part is so small that not even one line of Private Eye can be scanned clearly without having to tilt the mag, my head, or both. 
    The words money of and waste come to mind.
    "Working" software has only unobserved bugs. (Parroty Error: Pieces of Nine! Pieces of Nine!)
    Seriously: If you value it, take/fetch it yourself
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  • jellyrolljellyroll Frets: 3073
    They do take some getting used to.  Give them a few weeks - hopefully your eyes will find the right patch of glass unthinkingly by then. 

    I think they’re a good compromise. Not the best at at any one thing but saves having separate pairs. Plus, I have a clip-on sunglass bit as well - so mine cover me for everything. 
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  • CountryDaveCountryDave Frets: 842
    edited January 2019
    I gave varifocals 2 weeks, then another two weeks for bifocals. Ended up with one set for distance and another for computer work. My job is data analysis and I work over 3 monitors, the varifocals had such a small focal point that it gave me neck ache moving between screens all day.
    I also got frustrated that I couldn’t read a full line on my kindle without moving my head to focus.
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  • Not sure what you mean by "3-way" varifocals ?  
    I've been wearing varifocals for many years and I though the vary bit was just up and down.
    The thing that still catches me out is when I've been on a dining chair to change a light bulb.  When you come to step down, the floor looks closer than it really is and it's a shock that the step down goes on longer than you anticipated.
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  • scrumhalfscrumhalf Frets: 11262
    I've never found a problem with varifocals other than a small issue when flopped out on the sofa and my head's in the sort of position that makes reading text on the telly screen impossible unless I move,


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  • DiscoStuDiscoStu Frets: 5382
    edited January 2019
    Varifocals have 3 zones: distance, intermediate and near. Some designs give you a wider distance area, or intermediate, or near, depending on your lifestyle and requirements. Some varifocals give you a longer intermediate area to effectively give you 3 average useable areas rather than a design with one area wider than the rest.

    They are fantastic lenses but you need to get the design which suits your needs best. Freeform technology lets your optician/dispenser order a bespoke lens which is made to you rather than you needing to adapt to an off the shelf design.

    The key thing is that you need to learn to move your eyes up and down the lens rather than moving your head.

    (Edited for morning after clarity)
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  • p90foolp90fool Frets: 31368
    • The distance part doesn't make road signs any clearer.
    • I can't find the middle bit that is supposed to let me read music on a stand or a computer screen just out of arms length
    • The close range reading part is so small that not even one line of Private Eye can be scanned clearly without having to tilt the mag, my head, or both. 
    The words money of and waste come to mind.
    This was my experience too, though I did get used to them a bit. I now treat them as distance glasses (which I don't really need) with the ability to read the odd line in a pinch, like looking at a map on a phone. 

    I eventually found the intermediate part on mine, but it was always more blurred than without glasses at all. 

    I went back a year later and got occupational varifocals, with a much larger intermediate section and they're excellent. 

    The distance area is severely compromised but easy to find and the reading area is similar, but the arm's length bit is spot on, great for work. 

    Tbh I only really need reading glasses, but I really can't be arsed with carrying them or having them around my neck or on my head like a scatty old housewife, so I just wanted glasses I could wear all the time without looking like a maker of wooden puppets.  
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  • SnagsSnags Frets: 5326
    I'm another in the "Meh" camp. Switched last year with the same hope as @Philly_Q ; that I would be able to go  back to just wearing glasses, not taking them off as soon as I sat down anywhere, or propping them up my head.

     The zones all seem too small, and the loss of peripheral vision without a head turn is annoying. So next time it will be back to plain lenses, as I'm still doing exactly what I wanted to avoid, and have simply switched minor annoyances.

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  • Philly_QPhilly_Q Frets: 22516
    Snags said:
    I'm another in the "Meh" camp. Switched last year with the same hope as @Philly_Q ; that I would be able to go  back to just wearing glasses, not taking them off as soon as I sat down anywhere, or propping them up my head.

     The zones all seem too small, and the loss of peripheral vision without a head turn is annoying. So next time it will be back to plain lenses, as I'm still doing exactly what I wanted to avoid, and have simply switched minor annoyances.

    I'm sticking with mine - but then I hadn't bought new glasses for 17 years so there is an improvement overall compared with my single-vision lenses.

    One thing they did say was that I couldn't have varifocal lenses as small as my old single-vision ones; maybe they'd work best with really big lenses...

    Image result for christopher reeve clark kent
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  • NPPNPP Frets: 236
    yes, my experience exactly mirrors that of @p90fool and @Phil_aka_Pip ;
     I've had the new pair since October or November now so have given them plenty of time. 

    @DiscoStu I don't think having to move your eyes rather than your head is right - it's the opposite I was told and have to do if I want to have a chance of seeing anything. If I move my eyes up or down, I'll look through the wrong bit of the lens, and if I move them left or right I get horrible distortion. And my lenses were not cheap, Zeiss driveline or somesuch. 

    As you are from the profession, can you tell me whether bifocals are still a thing? I think I might get on with a distance bit at the top and a smaller reading bit at the bottom, without any blending between them, if that did away with the distortion. I have computer glasses for the middle distance anyway. 

    @Philly_Q I did deliberately pick a frame for larger lenses but it doesn't help. 




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  • SnagsSnags Frets: 5326
    My actual prescription has varied very little over time. The myopia is starting to "correct out with age" but the eye that doesn't work still doesn't work. I'll keep the varifocals until  they need changing, mostly because they cost a fortune, but I don't think they're worth the expense next time I go through "which frames?" pain.
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  • NiteflyNitefly Frets: 4901
    edited January 2019
    Strange that so many seem to be having difficulty with them.  I've been wearing varifocals for at least 15 years, during which time the prescription has changed, but it's never taken me more than a week or so to adapt to new ones.

    It occurs to me that I don't really need varifocals since I had cataract surgery - that seemed to restore my distance vision - but I'm so used to them, and I like the convenience of just leaving them on, as @p90fool mentioned above.

    *edit* In reality, they are a compromise - they're never going to be as good as a full lens for reading, plus a full lens for middle-distance, plus a full lens for long distance.  Perhaps we expect too much from them.

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  • DiscoStuDiscoStu Frets: 5382
    Yeah you still get bifocals @NPP they come in various sizes and shapes of bifocal segment.

    Sorry, my comment may have been influenced by lots of rum! Yes you need to move your head rather than your eyes if you're e.g. looking round a room or area so that you are looking through the same part of the lens. The outer edges of the lenses will introduce peripheral distortion although the latest Freeform designs reduce this.
    What I was getting at was vertical movement, say moving from distance to near. Some people take time to adapt from moving their head up and down to just moving their eyes.


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  • jdgmjdgm Frets: 850
    I tried (over a decade ago) but just could not get used to them.
    I decided after stumbling or falling off the pavement for about the 10th time that they were actually dangerous.
    Have glasses for distance as I have done since age 9 or 10, and now also for near-vision, reading.
    At least I can still see.
    Good luck!
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