ZEISS Protection for Your Eyes

For most people, a pair of sunglasses is the perfect combination: it is a fashionable accessory which also protects their eyes from bright sunlight and energy-rich UV rays which can be like a sunburn for a person's eyes. A current survey¹ shows that fashion is the most important feature in a pair of sunglasses. But 45% of those surveyed also reported that they wear sunglasses when driving. For more than 75%, sunglasses are a must when playing sports or spending time outside.

Aalen, Germany | 06 June 2016 | ZEISS Vision Care

Sunglasses are useful for everyone, for children and adults, with or without a prescription power, because a pair of sunglasses provide a person's eyes with essential protection.

"There is one thing you should always keep in mind: never buy a pair of sunglasses if they don't offer proven UV protection," says Flora Schierano, marketing manager ZEISS Sunlens. "Because UVA and UVB are the high-energy portions of sunlight which are invisible to the human eye but which are damaging for eye health over the short and long term." That is why they are called sunglasses and not summer glasses: it is always important to protect your eyes from strong sunlight, no matter if you are lying by the sea in the summer or skiing and sledding in the winter.

The lens tint has no effect on UV protection – additives ensure UV protection with plastic lenses, while glass lenses absorb by far the largest portion of UV rays, protecting your eyes. Even when purchasing sunglasses at the supermarket or in the sports store, it is absolutely essential that you pay attention to the quality of light protection and, for children, to the special break resistance of the lenses.
An anti-reflective coating is a must, particularly with sunglasses. Reflections and stray light not only limit your vision, but the reflections between your eyeball and the back surface of the glass lens can also lead to double images and other irritating effects. Sunglasses without a prescription power are available with many different tints and frames at local retailers. Whether you are looking for a special tint or a particular pair of frames with tinted lenses, you will find what you are looking for at your optician's.

If you are wearing glasses or contact lenses for visual correction a second pair of glasses should offer light and sun protection. Any colour can be created for individualized lenses. These are tinted in a dye bath in line with the customer's wishes: if you do not like what you find in the current colour programme or if you would like your own favourite colour for your sunglasses, you can order these at ZEISS. Full colour or gradient tints are available. Bi-colour lenses with two different colours on the top and bottom of the lens are also popular.

Selecting the lenses which best fit your own unique style is a personal matter. Even though most consumers prefer light tints in grey, blue or brown, you will also find colours like Spicy Red, Sweet Violet and Pretty Pink in the colour programme.

"When selecting colours, the consumer should also be aware that their vision – and possibly their entire visual perception – changes with the colour," explains Schierano. "Green, grey and brown are more neutral. A deep blue, however, is not to everyone's liking." Yellow is suitable for reducing glare overall, especially if your eyes are sensitive. The choice of colours is available for all types of corrective lenses – single vision or progressive lenses, Digital Lenses² from ZEISS as well as for other lenses. There are only limitations with glass lenses because here the individualized tint does not work for technical reasons.

Even though these trendy colours might be alluring, a neutral colour is recommended for an everyday pair of sunglasses, especially when you are going to wear these glasses for longer periods of time. And not all tinted lenses are suitable for driving, e.g. black-tinted lenses with more than 80% absorption – if you wore these in a tunnel, you would hardly be able to see. Sunglass lenses in glare protection category 4 are generally not suitable for driving because these lenses only transmit three to eight percent of the incoming light. Sunglass lenses with a tint intensity of 25% or higher are no longer suitable for driving once it starts to get dark.
If you want to protect your eyes from sunlight and enjoy UV protection without purchasing a second pair of glasses, you can also combine everyday and sunglass lenses in one single pair: self-tinting spectacle lenses such as ZEISS PhotoFusion quickly darken in UV light but also rapidly become clear again if the sky is cloudy or if you are inside.

Most sunglasses for runners, golfers, bicyclists and other athletes are equipped with special, strongly wrapped lenses so that the wearer's eyes are also protected from the side. When selecting these sunglasses, make sure they fit optimally, that the frames are light and that they prevent perspiration from accumulating around your eyes. "Optics play an important role in sports," says Schierano. "Because good vision is often vital in helping you achieve your full potential, whether you're golfing, running or biking." With polarising lenses, distracting reflections, such as from water surfaces or wet streets, are reduced. Contrast and colour perception can also be improved with specially tinted lenses which more strongly absorb selected light components.

Minimal colour distortion is also one of the most important criteria when choosing sunglasses. Brown tints provide you with the greatest constant colour – when in doubt, consult with your optician to find the optimum tint for you.

No mater if your lens is made of plastic or glass, has one or multiple tints, offers a mirror effect or polarisation, is designed specially for sports or has a new trendy colour: when selecting lenses, your best contact is your optician who can also advise you on UV protection, optical qualities and optimum fit. Consumers can visit www.zeiss.de/suntest and take the test to find out what type of sunglass type suits them best and what options are most suitable for their requirements.

With three different categories, ZEISS makes it easy to choose the right customized sunglasses. ZEISS Urban – especially well-suited for city living, everyday life and relaxing – offers a range of colours (solid or gradient tint), modern mirror effects and is suitable for low to high light intensity. ZEISS Drive is designed especially for drivers and features polarising lenses to minimize light reflections. The contrast-enhancing tint ZEISS Skylet Road is optional; ZEISS Drive is suitable for middle to high light intensity. ZEISS Active is intended for sports and strenuous free time activities – the lenses are especially thin and light and are also wrapped to also protect your eyes from the side. Special functional tints for different kinds of sports or other uses are available and the lenses are suitable for high to extreme light intensity. Naturally all lenses offer UV protection.