Specsavers SuperDrive/SuperDigital lenses
Discussion
Anyone using either of these varifocal lenses?
I'm about to get my first pair of varifocals, never had them before. I'm getting fed up with swapping between my reading and distance glasses when watching TV or sat with my laptop/phone. My distance glasses are ok for driving but not for seeing the dashboard. My reading glasses aren't now suitable for watching TV as they once were. Hoping varifocals with tick all boxes.
My employer offers free eye tests and glasses vouchers with Specsavers, so my hands are sort of tied with using them. I see they do SuperDrive and SuperDigital lenses but have no experience of them.
I'm about to get my first pair of varifocals, never had them before. I'm getting fed up with swapping between my reading and distance glasses when watching TV or sat with my laptop/phone. My distance glasses are ok for driving but not for seeing the dashboard. My reading glasses aren't now suitable for watching TV as they once were. Hoping varifocals with tick all boxes.
My employer offers free eye tests and glasses vouchers with Specsavers, so my hands are sort of tied with using them. I see they do SuperDrive and SuperDigital lenses but have no experience of them.
Point taken about the measurements and fitting, thanks.
I went into my local Specsavers this afternoon, seems the difference between all their varifocals is the size of the blurred unfocussed section of the lens. The SuperDigital and SuperDrive having smaller unfocussed areas, and with SuperDrive having a full width band of distance vision area.
With the frames I'm considering they do a 2 for 1, and can mix & match the glasses, so I might go for a pair of their SuperDigital for when using my laptop, watching TV and working at the computer, and also a pair of SuperDrive to keep in the car. Of course it's extra ££ for reactive lenses for when it's sunny, but that might be neededl for the driving pair.
It might all be a bit of a gimmick, but I've got to jump in at some point.
SuperDrive
I went into my local Specsavers this afternoon, seems the difference between all their varifocals is the size of the blurred unfocussed section of the lens. The SuperDigital and SuperDrive having smaller unfocussed areas, and with SuperDrive having a full width band of distance vision area.
With the frames I'm considering they do a 2 for 1, and can mix & match the glasses, so I might go for a pair of their SuperDigital for when using my laptop, watching TV and working at the computer, and also a pair of SuperDrive to keep in the car. Of course it's extra ££ for reactive lenses for when it's sunny, but that might be neededl for the driving pair.
It might all be a bit of a gimmick, but I've got to jump in at some point.
SuperDrive
Edited by The Gauge on Saturday 2nd March 20:24
chemistry said:
I got my first pair of varifocals a month ago (I’m 52); Specsavers Super Digital.
Based on my limited experience so far, I’m pretty happy with them. Only downside is if I am slouched or lying down on the sofa trying to watch TV through the bottom half of the lenses, that obviously doesn’t work. Other than that, all the various focal ranges seem to be in the right places where my eyes would expect them to be, so they are generally very user friendly. The person dispensing them did spend AGES checking and double checking all the measurements. Driving is fine, by the way.
On a related note, have you tried multi focal contacts? These work in a very different way to varifocal glasses but produce similar results i.e. allow you to see both far and near. I’ve got these too and really like them; very good in all but low light. Might be worth considering instead of (or alongside) varifocals (plus you can wear normal sunglasses, etc.).
Thanks for your feedback, reassuring that you get on with the SuperDigital lenses. I haven't tried any type of contacts yet, I think that whilst I'm not yet needing to wear glasses 24/7 I'll stick to just putting on the varifocals as and when I need them.Based on my limited experience so far, I’m pretty happy with them. Only downside is if I am slouched or lying down on the sofa trying to watch TV through the bottom half of the lenses, that obviously doesn’t work. Other than that, all the various focal ranges seem to be in the right places where my eyes would expect them to be, so they are generally very user friendly. The person dispensing them did spend AGES checking and double checking all the measurements. Driving is fine, by the way.
On a related note, have you tried multi focal contacts? These work in a very different way to varifocal glasses but produce similar results i.e. allow you to see both far and near. I’ve got these too and really like them; very good in all but low light. Might be worth considering instead of (or alongside) varifocals (plus you can wear normal sunglasses, etc.).
I don't wear glasses all the time, currently just reading glasses for my laptop and computer, but I do benefit from my distance glasses for driving though not essential yet.
I'm hoping varifocals solve the problem when I'm sat on the sofa wearing my reading glasses for my laptop, but have to change to my distance glasses if I look up at the TV?
So if I go varifocal route I guess I may have to leave them on all day and get my eyes used to them, then take them on/off when needed.
I'm hoping varifocals solve the problem when I'm sat on the sofa wearing my reading glasses for my laptop, but have to change to my distance glasses if I look up at the TV?
So if I go varifocal route I guess I may have to leave them on all day and get my eyes used to them, then take them on/off when needed.
Funk said:
Just to echo this - I found about 5 months ago that I needed reading glasses in addition to my distance glasses. Having gotten a pair I was fed up with switching between them (although the reading glasses were a revelation! I had no idea how bad my eyes were..) so I took the plunge on varifocals from Specsavers. I went with the SuperDigital (as I wanted minimal edge distortion and maximum 'reading zone') along with all the other options such as extra-thin and light and reactions ('UltraClear SuperClean' is included when you get the SuperDrive or SuperDigital lenses).
They initially felt a little odd as I had to get used to looking through the 'right' part of the lens and I'll echo others here that say that getting the fitting right is absolutely paramount. As chemistry says, there are a few situations where they don't work such as slouched on the sofa but that's pretty much the only downside.
Having had them, I wouldn't go back now.
Thanks for the review. Did Specsavers staff spend much time with fitting your glasses and getting your measurements right ?They initially felt a little odd as I had to get used to looking through the 'right' part of the lens and I'll echo others here that say that getting the fitting right is absolutely paramount. As chemistry says, there are a few situations where they don't work such as slouched on the sofa but that's pretty much the only downside.
Having had them, I wouldn't go back now.
So when it comes to correct fitting, what do they actually do? How do they ensure correct vertex distance, fitting height, pantoscopic tilt, pupil distance etc? Is this something they do before making the lenses or do they do this after the glasses are made? Do they just bend and shape the frame to fit correctly?
Edited by The Gauge on Wednesday 13th March 08:59
Funk said:
It's about making sure that once the glasses are on your face, the zones on the lenses are where they should be relative to the measurements they took prior to making them. Bear in mind that glasses with nose-bridge pads have a lot of adjustability, eg. closer/away from the eye, left/right, height, rotation/angle etc. Mine took a little bit of tweaking to get them sitting just right.
Thank you.I assume the frames are all of a standard size and they then need to twist/shape them so the lens is the correct distance and angle from my eye?
With the pupil distance, does that determine how they make the lense, so they ensure the main focal areas are in the right area of the lense according to my eyes?
The first pair of glasses I had were from Boots, I don't recall them doing any of the above, pretty sure they just handed them to me and off I went. The following pairs were bought online, so no measuring/fitting done. This time I want them to fit correctly.
Thanks for the explanations, gives me an idea of whether Specsavers perform an adequate fitting or not when I buy my glasses this weekend.
My employer pays for eye tests and gives a £50 voucher towards the glasses every 2 years, but they are tied to Specsavers. Whilst the £50 voucher isn't enough to tie me to using Specsavers, they are doing two for one on glasses and I do need two pairs.
Had my eyes tested with them the other day. I was quite impressed with the young lad doing the test. He was on placement having graduated at university. I'd initially had the extra eye health test for an additional £10, he wasn't quite happy with something so he asked the lady to do do some additional tests, where I had to look into a machine and press a button when I saw some flashing in my peripheral vision. He seemed very professional.
My employer pays for eye tests and gives a £50 voucher towards the glasses every 2 years, but they are tied to Specsavers. Whilst the £50 voucher isn't enough to tie me to using Specsavers, they are doing two for one on glasses and I do need two pairs.
Had my eyes tested with them the other day. I was quite impressed with the young lad doing the test. He was on placement having graduated at university. I'd initially had the extra eye health test for an additional £10, he wasn't quite happy with something so he asked the lady to do do some additional tests, where I had to look into a machine and press a button when I saw some flashing in my peripheral vision. He seemed very professional.
Edited by The Gauge on Wednesday 13th March 17:17
As an update I ordered a pair of varifocals from Specsavers today. I popped in and chatted to a member of staff letting them know that I wanted to ensure I had a good fitting experience. They lead me over to another member of staff who sat me down and explained the whole process. So I chose my frames and they marked the lenses with some measurements, then used some kind of chart/ruler to make other marks on them.
She said that when they are ready to collect in about 10 days they will spend some time ensuring the correct fit, she mentioned distance from eye, pantascopic tilt, facial wrap...all the words that have been mentioned by others on this thread, which gave me confidence.
I don't need to wear glasses all the tine, just for reading, computer, TV and sometimes for driving. For general walking about I don't tend to wear them. I decided on their SuperDigital lenses, and whilst I get a 2nd pair free they advised me to just get the one pair initially, make sure I'm happy with them for a week or two, try then out for everything - reading, computer, driving etc and then if I want an identical pair just phone them and they will make them. Alternatively they said I might want to chose a different lens, or different frame, so suggested I wait till my first pair are right, which I thought was sensible.
We discussed their SuperDrive lenses, but she suggested that for my needs they might not be so suitable. Whilst they are great for driving they aren't so great for other use. I'd be keeping them in the car and would need glasses for when I go into a supermarket etc to read prices and labels, she suggested that the SuperDrive have a much smaller area of lens for intermediate and reading, as they concentrate on having a wider and larger distance area and suggested SuperDigital would cover my needs. I may go for a 2nd pair identical to my first order to keep in the car.
I think it is these frames I've chosen..
She said that when they are ready to collect in about 10 days they will spend some time ensuring the correct fit, she mentioned distance from eye, pantascopic tilt, facial wrap...all the words that have been mentioned by others on this thread, which gave me confidence.
I don't need to wear glasses all the tine, just for reading, computer, TV and sometimes for driving. For general walking about I don't tend to wear them. I decided on their SuperDigital lenses, and whilst I get a 2nd pair free they advised me to just get the one pair initially, make sure I'm happy with them for a week or two, try then out for everything - reading, computer, driving etc and then if I want an identical pair just phone them and they will make them. Alternatively they said I might want to chose a different lens, or different frame, so suggested I wait till my first pair are right, which I thought was sensible.
We discussed their SuperDrive lenses, but she suggested that for my needs they might not be so suitable. Whilst they are great for driving they aren't so great for other use. I'd be keeping them in the car and would need glasses for when I go into a supermarket etc to read prices and labels, she suggested that the SuperDrive have a much smaller area of lens for intermediate and reading, as they concentrate on having a wider and larger distance area and suggested SuperDigital would cover my needs. I may go for a 2nd pair identical to my first order to keep in the car.
I think it is these frames I've chosen..
Edited by The Gauge on Friday 15th March 16:08
Picked up my first pair of varifocals today (Specsavers SuperDigital lenses).I’ve only worn them for a few hours but here are my initial thoughts. Basically all good but the intermediate area is too narrow…
The lady (dispenser?) who brought them out to me sat me down at a desk and I put them on, and she asked how my distance vision was (which was fine), and handed me a printed card to read from with lines of text of different sizes. When held at the correct distance from my face I could read the smallest sized text perfectly through the reading area. She checked the arms of the glasses were correct on my head, and that was it. Done. Not sure if there should have been more to it than this?
Distance vision..
I don't need to wear glasses all the time and I can generally walk about without needing them but things aren't perfectly focussed. I decided to wear the new glasses straight out of the shop to walk back to work. Distance vision was perfect, and when looking at things that were closer the intermediate vision was perfect too, and I quickly got used to moving my eyes between these two areas of the lens.
When sat at home watching TV my eyes seem to naturally look through the distance area at the top of the lenses, and everything looks perfect, which is what I wanted.
Reading vision..
For reading books etc they are spot on. Mobile phone use is great too. No complaints here.
Driving..
Perfect. I can see the road ahead clearly, and when glancing at the dashboard everything is in focus.
Intermediate vision...
This is where they fall down a bit. At my desk at work and looking at my computer screen through the lower reading area of the lenses the text wasn't in focus, and it also felt like it wasn't either for the intermediate area, so I ended up having to put my old computer glasses back on to see correctly. I perhaps need to give this more time?
Sitting on my settee at home with my laptop on my lap and typing this, the screens text is out of focus through the reading area. It’s better through the intermediate area but then only perfectly focussed if I move the laptop further away than is practical. This intermediate area is too narrow (vertically) with the known blurred areas each side. If I keep my head still and move my eyes left or right they soon go out of this area and the text goes out of focus. Instead I have to move my head and my eyes together so that I'm always looking out of that small area of the lens to keep the text in focus. Perhaps I need to get used to doing this?
When I glance down from the screen to the keyboard to type (I cant type without doing this) I'm finding I'm instinctively just moving my eyes to see the keys and they aren't fully in focus as I'm now looking through the reading area. Again I have to move my head down slightly so my eyes are in the intermediate area. Then when moving my eyes back up to the screen the same happens, I have to also move my head up or I’m looking through the distance area. So through habit I'm just moving my eyes first as I've always done, then having to follow this up with a head movement. I assume this is normal for varifocals and I will get used to doing this?
I found this image elsewhere on this site of Essilor Physio2 varifocals on the right, and with mine feeling like the ones on the left...
Summary
One thing I wanted from these glasses was to be able to get away from having multiple pairs of reading/distance glasses to have to swap between for phone, laptop, TV and driving. These varifocals tick all the boxes perfectly except when using my laptop as the intermediate area is a bit too narrow and isn't quite in focus for how I sit at my laptop and It's too easy for my eyes to wander out of this zone. I do need to spend more time getting used to them, and I haven’t walked up/down stairs with them yet!!
The lady (dispenser?) who brought them out to me sat me down at a desk and I put them on, and she asked how my distance vision was (which was fine), and handed me a printed card to read from with lines of text of different sizes. When held at the correct distance from my face I could read the smallest sized text perfectly through the reading area. She checked the arms of the glasses were correct on my head, and that was it. Done. Not sure if there should have been more to it than this?
Distance vision..
I don't need to wear glasses all the time and I can generally walk about without needing them but things aren't perfectly focussed. I decided to wear the new glasses straight out of the shop to walk back to work. Distance vision was perfect, and when looking at things that were closer the intermediate vision was perfect too, and I quickly got used to moving my eyes between these two areas of the lens.
When sat at home watching TV my eyes seem to naturally look through the distance area at the top of the lenses, and everything looks perfect, which is what I wanted.
Reading vision..
For reading books etc they are spot on. Mobile phone use is great too. No complaints here.
Driving..
Perfect. I can see the road ahead clearly, and when glancing at the dashboard everything is in focus.
Intermediate vision...
This is where they fall down a bit. At my desk at work and looking at my computer screen through the lower reading area of the lenses the text wasn't in focus, and it also felt like it wasn't either for the intermediate area, so I ended up having to put my old computer glasses back on to see correctly. I perhaps need to give this more time?
Sitting on my settee at home with my laptop on my lap and typing this, the screens text is out of focus through the reading area. It’s better through the intermediate area but then only perfectly focussed if I move the laptop further away than is practical. This intermediate area is too narrow (vertically) with the known blurred areas each side. If I keep my head still and move my eyes left or right they soon go out of this area and the text goes out of focus. Instead I have to move my head and my eyes together so that I'm always looking out of that small area of the lens to keep the text in focus. Perhaps I need to get used to doing this?
When I glance down from the screen to the keyboard to type (I cant type without doing this) I'm finding I'm instinctively just moving my eyes to see the keys and they aren't fully in focus as I'm now looking through the reading area. Again I have to move my head down slightly so my eyes are in the intermediate area. Then when moving my eyes back up to the screen the same happens, I have to also move my head up or I’m looking through the distance area. So through habit I'm just moving my eyes first as I've always done, then having to follow this up with a head movement. I assume this is normal for varifocals and I will get used to doing this?
I found this image elsewhere on this site of Essilor Physio2 varifocals on the right, and with mine feeling like the ones on the left...
Summary
One thing I wanted from these glasses was to be able to get away from having multiple pairs of reading/distance glasses to have to swap between for phone, laptop, TV and driving. These varifocals tick all the boxes perfectly except when using my laptop as the intermediate area is a bit too narrow and isn't quite in focus for how I sit at my laptop and It's too easy for my eyes to wander out of this zone. I do need to spend more time getting used to them, and I haven’t walked up/down stairs with them yet!!
Edited by The Gauge on Wednesday 27th March 20:57
I obviously need to spend more time with these varifocals, but whilst they are perfect for general walking around and reading, It would appear that the intermediate area isn't in focus for sitting at a desktop computer, or on the sofa with a laptop. Or maybe its the intermediate area is far to small an area for this use?
I'll give it more time but I might need to see if they can make new lenses and either change the focus of the intermediate area, or go for a different type of varifocal lens.
I'll give it more time but I might need to see if they can make new lenses and either change the focus of the intermediate area, or go for a different type of varifocal lens.
I can cope with using my computer glasses when I’m at my PC at work, but I was hoping varifocals would let me sit at home on the sofa and look up from my laptop to the TV and back again. Sadly they don’t seem suitable for this though are perfect for just watching TV, but I could have got just a pair of distance glasses for that.
I’ll give it another week or so then maybe see if Specsavers can replace the lenses.
I’ll give it another week or so then maybe see if Specsavers can replace the lenses.
A few days in and I've been making myself wear the new varifocals for laptop work and I'm getting on with them much better than I first was. I guess my eyes and head are now more used to moving they way they need to, to maintain focus.
If I do keep them, I'll be ordering another identical pair (as my free 2nd pair) but will go with reactive lenses, though I note that they may not react when driving.
If I do keep them, I'll be ordering another identical pair (as my free 2nd pair) but will go with reactive lenses, though I note that they may not react when driving.
About a month on from getting my SuperDigital varifocals and I find them perfect for driving and walking around in, but not great for sitting at a computer screen as the intermediate area of the lens is tiny, move my eyes or head a smidgen and I lose focus. I'm gong to go back to Specsavers and see if I can swap them for varifocal lense with a larger intermediate area.
For the free second pair that I qualify for, I'm going to order another pair of SuperDigitals but with reactive lenses that will live in the car.
I guess Specsavers will throw these lenses away, which is a shame as they'd be useful as a spare pair if I bought another frame.
For the free second pair that I qualify for, I'm going to order another pair of SuperDigitals but with reactive lenses that will live in the car.
I guess Specsavers will throw these lenses away, which is a shame as they'd be useful as a spare pair if I bought another frame.
Edited by The Gauge on Sunday 14th April 20:05
Funk said:
Per my earlier post - if your car has UV-protective glass (most do now) then the lenses won't tint in the car as no UV is hitting them. I have a pair of prescription sunglasses in the car in case I need them.
Specsavers told me the same.I went back to Specsavers the other day and discussed the problem with the intermediate area being too small. They ordered another set of lenses with a slightly larger intermediate area, which I picked up the other day. They are much better, so much so I have now ordered my free second pair to be exactly the same, but with reactive tints.
Oh, and they handed back the original lenses, which I guess aren't much use to me unless I buy the same frames again to fit them into?
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