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Lenses
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Lens choice
Distance
Reading
Varifocal
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Varifocal
Nobody wants to hear the words ‘Its time for your first varifocal glasses’. This is like someone saying, ‘here’s some hair dye’ and, ‘Your glasses will never be cheap again.’ There are two big benefits of varifocals over bifocals. The first is you get distance, intermediate and reading powers in the same lens. The second advantage is that all the powers are blended into the lens – there is no obvious split.
How do varifocals work?
All the powers are in a corridor. Your pupil will sit at the top of it. At the top of the corridor is the distance portion, at the middle is the intermediate and the reading is at the bottom. Between these powers is the progression where one strength becomes the next. If you look outside of the corridor your eye will hit the soft focus – things will look slightly blurry. Your reading add causes the soft focus. The bigger the reading add, the blurrier the soft focus.
To use the varifocals you need to look through the correct focal point and move your head. As the example below shows, the cityscape is in focus in the first image. If you want to look at the monument, image 2, you need to find the distance portion of the lens and move your head.
If you can control your eye movement, then you will take to varifocals like a duck to water. If you can’t, try bifocals or multiple pairs of glasses. There are different designs of varifocal. The main difference between them is the amount of space for the reading and intermediate portions. I won’t lie, the better the lens, the more expensive they become. The image below gives you a rough idea of the differences you can get ( black = basic, red = intermediate and blue = better).
From a frame’s perspective you have to choose something that is deep enough to accommodate all three portions. If the frame is not deep enough you will cut off the reading section. If you only like the shallow frames, then there are some compact varifocals. These lenses squeeze the progression and the intermediate sections to fit the varifocal into a smaller area. Ideally you would go for a deeper frame for your first varifocal. Using a full corridor will make it easier to get used to the technology. A metal frame is also preferable as you can make more adjustments that will affect the performance of the varifocal.
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