Polarised Sunglasses

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Alison

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I've asked many opticians and not received a satisfactory answer but I'm confident that someone here will know ;)

Is there a difference in quality/strength or whatever of polarisation of lenses?

I'm a sailor and had a fab pair of polaroid sunglasses - £10 cheapies from Boots as I recall. They not only took the glare off the water completely but mattified everything else beautifully too. I lost them somewhere off the Vendée coast and I bought a replacement pair which are utter rubbish, like weak if that makes sense.

Any clues? I really would like some effective new bins!
 
digitalfailure said:
Oakley........here endeth the lesson :)
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But I want to know why!

What's the difference in terms of Oakley's polarisation, how do they achieve that superior quality etc.?

Until I bought my crap replacement specs, I just assumed that polaroid was polaroid but I'm obviously now disabused of that view. I suppose this is a question of physics or something.
 
Alison said:
But I want to know why!

I suppose this is a question of physics or something.
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Oakley sunglasses are top notch......they work and thats all people need to know. Once you've worn a pair you'll see what I mean.

I don't know about it being Physics.....more likely to be P.F.M


:D
 
Do you specifically need prescription specs?

If not, try some of the fishing glasses. Vision do truly blinding polarising sunglasses and they're cheap too. I have a few pair in different colours for different conditions when I'm fishing and they are brilliant.
 
I suspect there isn't an easy answer to this. If polarisng lenses came in different strengths then you'd think that there'd be different strengths available for photographic polarisers, but AFAIAA there aren't - a polariser seems to be a polariser, so I suppose it's the same for sunglasses. The lenses will just be cut from glass rotated to the position to exlude the most glare and mounted in the frames in that orientation.

There's a bit more to sunglasses though than just polarising glass, there can be all sorts of optical coatings on the lenses which further reduces glare and scattered light, for the same reasons that we have multi coatings on modern camera lenses. There are also specialist lenses for different purposes.

I bought a very expensive pair of polarised RayBan sunglasses, especially for clay shooting, and they were excellent for that - I could comfortably look at the sun with no discomfort at all. To use them driving home though was bordering on dangerous, especially if light levels dropped a little.

I'm surprised your optician can't advise or help you on this. :thinking:
 
My Oakleys are superb [trouble is everything looks so much duller when you take them off] and I can wear them at all times. My missus has a pair she picked up in Oz and they are terrible, as CT says, wearing them in anything but optimum light would be dangerous.
 
Polarising and tint/coatings are different things. If you are sitting in front of a TFT monitor you are looking at polarised light. Guess it could be an easy test of how good your polarising glasses are - turn them in front of the screen and see how black they go when the polarising clashes.

edit: just tried polarising filters in front of the screen. Linear type goes black, circular just dims... so maybe not such a good test :lol:
 
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I compare two different Circ polarisers in front of my screen. The cheap Hoya made it go blue (so maybe filter say 80% of the light) whereas a Hoya Pro was more black, so I assume filters more light.

I'm sure polarisers will have differing effectiveness of how much light in a single plane they can filter out.

I have Oakleys, I don't think they're all polarised to be honest
 
Perhaps there's a difference in width of the gap between the polorised lines, so some 'filter' the light better?
 
:eek:
 
Polaroid film is used for sunglasses and our photographic filters. The effect depends on PVA chains (... it says here) and so would be dependent on manufacturing tolerances.

Manufacturers assume wearers of sunglasses will be upright. Something called Brewster's angle comes into play, so you could try tilting or bending the frames.
 
I have several pairs of Bollé sunglasses. 1 pair is polarised, and they work really well. For me, Oakley's are a bit weird in terms of styling, and as much as I have tried, I've never found a pair I like. Thought I will concur that their lens quality is superb, with absolutely no distortion. Bollé lens quality is ALMOST as good, and they are a bit cheaper too.

When I turn my Bollé's sideways, my monitor turn almost completely black (but with a slight sandstone tint 'cos that's what colour the lenses are).

:)

 
I have always had Oakleys and I currently have about 5 pairs I think although have had many others in my time, starting out with Frogskins many, many years ago - I have never veered from them and always find something to suit.
Its not just about what looks good, it is about what you will be using them for and there will be a lens to fit the bill !
http://oakley.com/innovation/optical_superiority
 
I too have a fetish for Oakleys

Mframe, e-wires, x-metal xx, a wires, juliet and minutes are all in my posession :D

quite taken with the radar path too ........ must resist :D
 
hillwalkinggirl said:
Definitely, my prescription Oakleys are away up on Snowdon somewhere. Left them on my head and walked under some low bushes.:bang:
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how much are prescription oakleys, ive always fancied some but have never investigated it to the point of actually finding some prices, aparently i get 50% off through work as well, BUT i bet that doesnt include prescription ones!
 
You should have gone to Specsavers.


<----REALLY surprised no one else hasn't already said this :D
 
I've always had Raybans usually mirrored aviators, they kind of suit me as I climb out of my F14 Tomcat and play volleyball...

Oh, wait a second.
 
whitewash said:
how much are prescription oakleys, ive always fancied some but have never investigated it to the point of actually finding some prices, aparently i get 50% off through work as well, BUT i bet that doesnt include prescription ones!
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My last ones, which are only a weak prescription cost me £259, but I think you pay even more for stronger ones. To replace them I bought loubsol sports glasses which I have found to be just as good as the Oakleys and grip even better. The quality of the Polarised lens was excellent. These cost me about £150. I got them from www.optilabs.com
 
Alison said:
But I want to know why!

What's the difference in terms of Oakley's polarisation, how do they achieve that superior quality etc.?

Until I bought my crap replacement specs, I just assumed that polaroid was polaroid but I'm obviously now disabused of that view. I suppose this is a question of physics or something.
Click to expand...

Well, it's really not a question of Physics. The physics of polarization is fairly simple. This is more a question you should direct to a Material Scientist or Materials Engineer.

A sunglass 'lens' is actually made up of different layers or coatings, beginning with anti-reflective coatings under the (actual) lens, followed by the lens, the polarizing film, and other coatings like scratch resistant coatings or mirror coatings.

The purpose of sunglasses are threefold (ignoring fashion): Reduce UV, reduce brightness, and reduce glare. Polarizing films deal with the third. Basically, a chemical film is applied to the surface of the lens that acts as a filter, keeping our light (waves) of a certain orientation. Most glare comes from horizontal surfaces (like lakes), and so sunglass polarization allows for mostly only vertically polarized light to enter.

Your question was about Oakley lenses, so like I said, I'm not familiar with what process the company uses, but certainly if there is improvement to be made, it'll be made with the construction process: how is the polarizing film applied, how is it constructed (i.e. what is the chemical process), and what particular lens geometries are particularly good for reducing distortion.

That being said, from what I know, the difference between a Rayban or an Oakley is going to be minimal at best. Most of what you're paying for is fashion and name, rather than increased protection.

Myself, I use one of Rayban's aviators. Having recently moved to England from the Great White North, it's been collecting quite a bit of dust. Blasted clouds.
 
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You wont get a better pair of sunglasses than Serengeti. The finest available!
Toughened glasses lenses, rather than polycarbonate plastic.

www.serengeti-eyewear.com

Absolutely awesome!
 
specialman said:
Do you specifically need prescription specs?

If not, try some of the fishing glasses. Vision do truly blinding polarising sunglasses and they're cheap too. I have a few pair in different colours for different conditions when I'm fishing and they are brilliant.
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Ok.... now I'm worried! What's the point of buying 'blinding' sunglasses??? :shrug:

Certainly impressed with the sales pitch if you can sell glasses that blind! :naughty:

And if they're brilliant....ssshhhhh! Ah well - my mind runs amok sometimes!
 
digitalfailure said:
quite taken with the radar path too ........ must resist :D
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They're very nice. Avoid the White Chrome though, mine are in at the moment for the second time.

I used to have a pair of Polarised half jackets. They were just like normal lenses in terms of shade. The amount of light depended on the colour of the lens. The polarised part is simply to remove glare and relection from the sun, water and snow etc. Also great for driving in sunny weather
 
u cant look at certain moniters with polerised glasses they appear black. like they are switched off.
 
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