Best type of glasses (lens) for doing Photoshop?

[SBS]

Progressives? My wife, who is a pianist, says they don't work well for reading music.

Bi-focal?

Straight line?

I am interested in photographer's experiences/recommendations wearing glasses and doing post processing.

 

[Ho72]

I use reading glasses from the drug store. My eyes require different prescriptions so I buy two identically framed pairs in different diopter strengths and swap the lenses out to end up with one pair I can use.

 

[Jimmy C]

Progressives? My wife, who is a pianist, says they don't work well for reading music.

Bi-focal?

Straight line?

I have progressives and find them difficult for photography work. Bi-focals are good if they are set to the normal monitor viewing distance and allow you to view in your normal body position. I found some reading glasses from my pharmacy that allow me to view my monitor without moving my head around to find the sweet spot.

 

[Pictus]

I prefer the simple non bifocal, but tweaked to the distance I use the monitor.

 

[Sagittarius]

Progressives? My wife, who is a pianist, says they don't work well for reading music.

Bi-focal?

Straight line?

I am interested in photographer's experiences/recommendations wearing glasses and doing post processing.

I use bi-focals. Upper part is tweaked for the distance I looking at the monitor and lower part is for looking at keyboard.

 

[BigBen08]

Progressives? My wife, who is a pianist, says they don't work well for reading music.

Bi-focal?

Straight line?

I am interested in photographer's experiences/recommendations wearing glasses and doing post processing.

I use bi-focals. Upper part is tweaked for the distance I looking at the monitor and lower part is for looking at keyboard.

 

[malch]

This is a no brainer. You want "computer glasses".

I got mine last year following cataract surgery and they're fantastic.

See your eye doctor and if they don't know what you're talking about, see a different eye doctor

What's different/special about "computer glasses"?

1. They are optimized for a viewing distance of around 24 inches. You want to tell the Doc exactly how far you sit from the screen. Reading glasses are normally optimized for a slightly closer viewing distance (12-16 inches). This is the most important consideration. After that, you can look at some options to improve things further:

2. Premium quality lenses. These are sold as "HD lenses", "Digital Lenses" and such like. That's mainly marketing BS but they should have better quality materials and give clearer vision.

3. Various coatings especially anti-reflective.

4. Doctors are also recommending filters to cut back on the harmful "blue" light that is emitted by LED displays.

It can get costly. I went with all the options plus quality frames and the list price was $700. However, with promo deals, vision insurance and the rest my out-of-pocket was around $200. I absolutely don't regret a cent of that.

I absolutely recommend talking with a good eye Doc because there may be additional medical considerations that are specific to you. Also, these days, most Doctors are very aware of the issues and factors involving vision and computer displays.

 

[AikenMooney]

+1

 

[plantdoc]

I find progressives to be tedious and given to eye strain. Bifocals were ok but I need correction at all distance these days. My solution is a pair of glasses with the entire lens focused for computer screen distance. This can be determined during an eye exam. Cheap frame or older frame. Lenses are much less expensive than progressives or bifocals. Works great and worth the modest cost to see the entire screen clearly.

Greg

 

[skyglider]

Progressives? My wife, who is a pianist, says they don't work well for reading music.

Bi-focal?

Straight line?

I am interested in photographer's experiences/recommendations wearing glasses and doing post processing.

I had a pair made specifically for my normal viewing distance while typing. The entire lens for that distance. Ended up not using it. The focus distance is too critical for any distance other than the exact distance its made for so I have to consciously move my head forward/backward to obtain perfect focus. A real pain!

Progressive made for computer work will be ideal for me. Upper part focusing a little further than normal typing distance and lower part a little closer then keyboard or reading distance. Head "tilt" is automatic.

PS: I normally wear glasses as long as I'm awake. Progressive lenses.

Sky

 

[malch]

I absolutely recommend talking with a good eye Doc because there may be additional medical considerations that are specific to you. Also, these days, most Doctors are very aware of the issues and factors involving vision and computer displays.

Since I didn't really address the question of single vision versus bifocals, let me add a word about that.

My Doc did offer me a choice of bifocals tuned for something like a 24 inch viewing distance on the top and 12-16 inches (reading distance) on the bottom.

I elected for single vision at 24 inches and I'm happy I did. No bobbing my head around!

I can see the keyboard with no problem and these classes are fine for reading too (except perhaps a really tiny font). They're even okay (not great) for using my smartphone.

 

[Austinian]

I'm very nearsighted and don't need glasses at all for reading or smartphone use.

I dislike multifocal and progressive lenses, so I have one pair of single-vision glasses for distance vision and one with the same prescription modified for a 24-inch viewing distance for PC use. The otherwise-identical frames are a different color so I don't pick up the wrong one by mistake.

 

[CAcreeks]

I'm very nearsighted and don't need glasses at all for reading or smartphone use.

I dislike multifocal and progressive lenses, so I have one pair of single-vision glasses for distance vision and one with the same prescription modified for a 24-inch viewing distance for PC use. The otherwise-identical frames are a different color so I don't pick up the wrong one by mistake.

For nearsighted people, the high-index corrective lenses have more chromatic aberration at the edges than do low-index.

I usually take my glasses off and peer at the screen from close distance when judging sharpness and/or focus.

 

[Vernon D Rainwater]

Progressives? My wife, who is a pianist, says they don't work well for reading music.

Bi-focal?

Straight line?

I am interested in photographer's experiences/recommendations wearing glasses and doing post processing.

I have prescription "Computer Glasses" which are optimized for the normal viewing of computer screen. Also, since I have been near sighted in one eye and far sighted in the other since birth, these Glasses also correct for this to have proper vision (for both eyes) at this optimal distance from screen. This allows for the normally distant vision eye to also bear equal share of close up viewing to not "over work or cause undue strain" for the other eye.

 

[SantaFeBill]

I measure the distance from my eyes to the screen. Then, when I get a new prescription, I have the ophthalmologist write one for a single-vision pair corrected for that eye-to-screen distance, as well as the normal bi-focals corrected for reading and distance.

BTW, I don't consider this a program-specific issue. If you get the right glasses to see the computer screen clearly, they work for any program.

 

[calson]

I have a special pair of progressive lenses and the bottom is setup for reading distances with a book or magazine and the top section is setup for 30 inches viewing distance to a monitor.

I learned the hard way that the lens needs a height of 30mm or more or the target zone is too small for progressive lenses.

 

[ppage]

Progressives? My wife, who is a pianist, says they don't work well for reading music.

Bi-focal?

Straight line?

I am interested in photographer's experiences/recommendations wearing glasses and doing post processing.

I'm over 70 and after trying progressives and single prescription glasses without much luck I finally had a special set of progressives made that focus at reading distance at the bottom (for the keyboard) and only to about 24 inches out at the top (just a bit beyond my monitor). I only use them for working at the computer and that proved to be a good solution and well worth the money.

Peter

 

[tcg550]

My eyes are bad. I have a pair of no line bifocal for the computer. They are set specifically for my desk and monitor/keyboard distance.

My every day glasses are progressives, I can use them for the computer but I really have to tilt my head to find the sweet spot for my monitor.

I also have a pair of single vision just for watching TV. Without them I can not see the ball scores on my 55" TV.

Sucks to get old.

 

[SBS]

I very much appreciate the input on this thread.

 

[Eric Carlson]

When I get a new prescription, I get prescriptions for distance, computer, and reading, and for distinge + reading and computer + reading bifocals. Then I buy several pairs of glasses online from ZenniOptical. They are very inexpensive, and I've been buying from them for many years. Even my bifocals with anti-reflective coating are about $50, and some pairs I buy are about $15 with anti-reflective coating. You can often find coupons online for free anti-reflective coating (which is only $5 regularly) or something similar.

I buy:

2 or more pairs of single vision reading glasses, usually with a frame on the larger side, so they work well reading seated or reading reclined in bed. 1 pair stays by the bed.

2 or more pairs of computer classes, which can either be bifocal or single vision, and I leave a pair at work and a pair at home and usually have a 3rd pair for using elsewhere.

1 pair of distance + reading bifocals, for general use when I'm not using a computer or not specifically/only reading.

I've ordered from them many times, and I've only had issues 2 times. One time was when I ordered progressive lenses, and hated them, because only a thin line down the center was in focus, so they were unusable to me. And another time where my prescription was written with 0.25 different magnifications between eyes: I don't think that was their fault. I had my eye doctor recheck my eyes, and confirm that the prescription was correct, but I had her rewrite my prescription with the same magnification for both eyes anyway (only the astigmatism was different between eyes), like all my past prescriptions have been, and that solved the issue: I couldn't get used to 2 different magnifications -- the mismatched magnification gave me a headache and I always felt like something was off kilter with my vision when I wore them.