Finding a good optician?
Discussion
Sorry to add to the list of optician threads!
I have a fairly complex prescription -5.5D; 0.75D cylinder; 2.5D reading addition; 1 1/2 prism.
6 years ago I moved from multi-focal contacts to varifocal specs. First pair from a low cost chain were awful - frame wasn't deep enough to accommodate the different areas and there was no prism correction. Second pair 4 years ago from a local independent was much better, with much more time spent on the eye test and fitting measurements. These were 1.67 ref index Essilor lenses so quite costly. The downside is they haven't worn well - a lot of pitting on the inner surface and the AR coating is lifting in blotches. The local indie is now part of a small chain and they rather laughed at me when I took the specs in the other day. Possibly the fact that I've cycle in some pretty bad weather hasn't helped their longevity.
So I now need to decide whether to try again at the lower cost Boots/Specsavers/VisionExpress/Asda level or look for a good local indie - I'm in North Surrey so there are a few within reach; some single shops, others part of a chain of 4 or 5. Obviously the latter will cost far more. I'm far more interested in getting good optical quality than a fashionable frame. Just a few questions in case anyone has any thoughts:
1. Are there any pointers to finding a good optician other than personal recommendations, eg questions to ask beforehand? Websites are all much the same. Are indies generally better than low-cost chains, or is there good and mediocre everywhere, depending on the individual dispenser and the time they spend? I don't find Trustpilot etc reviews helpful except when they're strongly negative (they did though warn me off an outfit called Brillen). There seems to be little 'middle ground' between the large chains and the high-end shops now.
2. Popular high-end lenses appear to be mainly Essilor and Zeiss. Are there any others worth considering? Both those makes now offer some form off 'bespoke' fitting with 0.1D precision instead of 0.25D. (Zeiss I believe call this Wavefront iScription.) Is this just hype or do people report a material improvement from going for the 'best' lenses? Even VisionExpress now have an 'Individual' option. (Trouble is you really can't 'try before you buy' with varifocals which gives the manufacturers carte blanche to over-egg the benefits.)
3. Perhaps 'one size fits all' is unachievable and I should look at separate distance/near pairs, though if one (or both) are vari that will get expensive? (I tried bifocals some years ago and hated them - kept stumbling on kerbs!)
4. I know an optician will try to sell extra coatings, but I have no interest in tinting. Scratch resistance is important to me for outdoor use. Anti-reflection I'm less convinced I need (little night time driving now) and some web forums suggest that it has limited life, as I've found with my Essilors. So I'd prefer to opt only for coatings useful to me - is this reasonable?
Would be interested in any thoughts on these questions. Thanks!
I have a fairly complex prescription -5.5D; 0.75D cylinder; 2.5D reading addition; 1 1/2 prism.
6 years ago I moved from multi-focal contacts to varifocal specs. First pair from a low cost chain were awful - frame wasn't deep enough to accommodate the different areas and there was no prism correction. Second pair 4 years ago from a local independent was much better, with much more time spent on the eye test and fitting measurements. These were 1.67 ref index Essilor lenses so quite costly. The downside is they haven't worn well - a lot of pitting on the inner surface and the AR coating is lifting in blotches. The local indie is now part of a small chain and they rather laughed at me when I took the specs in the other day. Possibly the fact that I've cycle in some pretty bad weather hasn't helped their longevity.
So I now need to decide whether to try again at the lower cost Boots/Specsavers/VisionExpress/Asda level or look for a good local indie - I'm in North Surrey so there are a few within reach; some single shops, others part of a chain of 4 or 5. Obviously the latter will cost far more. I'm far more interested in getting good optical quality than a fashionable frame. Just a few questions in case anyone has any thoughts:
1. Are there any pointers to finding a good optician other than personal recommendations, eg questions to ask beforehand? Websites are all much the same. Are indies generally better than low-cost chains, or is there good and mediocre everywhere, depending on the individual dispenser and the time they spend? I don't find Trustpilot etc reviews helpful except when they're strongly negative (they did though warn me off an outfit called Brillen). There seems to be little 'middle ground' between the large chains and the high-end shops now.
2. Popular high-end lenses appear to be mainly Essilor and Zeiss. Are there any others worth considering? Both those makes now offer some form off 'bespoke' fitting with 0.1D precision instead of 0.25D. (Zeiss I believe call this Wavefront iScription.) Is this just hype or do people report a material improvement from going for the 'best' lenses? Even VisionExpress now have an 'Individual' option. (Trouble is you really can't 'try before you buy' with varifocals which gives the manufacturers carte blanche to over-egg the benefits.)
3. Perhaps 'one size fits all' is unachievable and I should look at separate distance/near pairs, though if one (or both) are vari that will get expensive? (I tried bifocals some years ago and hated them - kept stumbling on kerbs!)
4. I know an optician will try to sell extra coatings, but I have no interest in tinting. Scratch resistance is important to me for outdoor use. Anti-reflection I'm less convinced I need (little night time driving now) and some web forums suggest that it has limited life, as I've found with my Essilors. So I'd prefer to opt only for coatings useful to me - is this reasonable?
Would be interested in any thoughts on these questions. Thanks!
Edited by millen on Wednesday 11th August 14:16
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