Who might consider: Most people, but AR coating may be especially useful for those who often drive at night (it can reduce reflections from headlights at night) and read on computers. It’s strongly recommended with polycarbonate or high-index lenses, which reflect more light than basic plastic CR-39 or glass lenses.

Wratten filter chart

Scan the warranty. Many glasses will be backed up by some kind of warranty, but it might not cover coatings. Or warranties may vary in terms of which ones are covered and for how long. What can you expect? “Virtually all coatings today are designed to last the life of the prescription,” says Vitale, which, on average, is about 28 to 30 months.

Wratten meaning

No matter what your warranty says, if a coating starts to degrade within a year, Vitale recommends taking the glasses back to see whether you can get the problem fixed or the glasses replaced.

*Update: When I purchased my 58mm Singh Ray iRay filter there as only one option. Now there are two: The 830 (Standard) I-Ray produces the dramatic black & white look of pure infrared and the 690 (Custom) I-Ray, produces both black & white or “near IR” color, which is especially useful for the blue sky” effect.

I’ve found that Life Pixel does a great job with IR conversions and they have done most of the conversions for my Canon DSLRs and all of my Panasonic Lumix G-series cameras. This is not a paid or sponsored endorsement, just my experience.

When shooting infrared with filters, I often use the 89B, especially in Cokin’s A-series (67 x 71mm) size that works with most digital SLRs and mirrorless cameras. Purists will recognize that the 89B filter only permits 50% transmission of IR light at 720nm while others, such as B+W’s IR Dark Red 092 ($99.95 in 58mm) filter, passes 90% of IR radiation from 730-2000nm. For more about nanometers and how that effects IR transmission, please read my post Infrared Camera Conversions: What’s the Best Option?

Lenses tinted yellow are sometimes marketed as “blue blockers” for their supposed ability to reduce exposure to the light emitted by electronics such as smartphones. The theory is that this may ease both eyestrain and any sleep problems associated with using the devices too close to bedtime.

The types of lenses you choose can make a big difference in the quality of your eyeglasses. Depending on what your eye doctor advises, some people can get along just fine with basic plastic CR-39 lenses, while some may want to consider thinner and pricier polycarbonate or high-index types, which may be more appropriate for stronger prescriptions.

Wratten filter optometry

What to know: AR may get a bad rap from consumers who remember it being prone to degrading and developing cracks called “crazing” or “spiderwebbing” in its earlier days. But, according to Vitale, such problems were mostly resolved at the beginning of the 2000s. In the past, AR coatings also tended to attract dust and grime, but they now generally include an anti-static treatment that helps repel water and oil and keeps the coating cleaner. “Most of the AR coatings on the market today perform extremely well,” Vitale says.

Avoid the hard sell. Even if you’re buying the glasses from your ophthalmologist, “by the time you get to the eyeglass purchase point in the eye exam cycle, you’re in a retail environment and may be working with the staff, rather than the doctor,” Vitale says.

What is a Wratten filter

And while some coatings may be included in your eyeglass package price, others may add as much as $100-plus to your bill.

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Over time, exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet rays can lead to vision problems such as cataracts and retinal damage. But many eyeglass lenses have a substantial amount of UV protection built in. You can also sometimes buy an additional treatment to safeguard your eyes fully or opt for lenses with 100 percent protection.

Sometimes colored on-camera filters are referred to by their Wratten numbers. The English firm of Wratten & Wainwright introduced the Wratten system in their 1909 book The Photography Of Coloured Objects. Established in the 1877, the company primarily made photographic plates and chemicals and in the 1880s and ’90s started producing cameras. In 1912 George Eastman acquired Wratten & Wainwright and their name, for filters anyway, stuck.

One of the most popular filters for shooting infrared is the Wratten 89B and it’s one of the three filters in my basic IR kit. One filter that gets used is Cokin’s Infrared 89B filter and instead of placing the filter in a Cokin holder, I typically hold the filter against the front of the lens to avoid daylight coming in from the sides and polluting the IR. The other two filters in my kit are a 58mm Hoya R72 and a 58mm Singh Ray iRay filter,* both of which I use with step-up/down rings on my mirrorless cameras. Kodak’s 3×3-inch 89B Opaque Infrared (IR) Optical Wratten filter is selling for $114.95 as I write this. And while I own a lot of 3×3 gel filters, I don’t have that one.

If you would like to read more about filters, check out my post Shopper’s Guide to Camera Filters over on my car photography website/blog.

What to know: Tinted lenses are often touted as “curing” color blindness, Brodie says. The truth: A tint may make some color contrasts more visible to people with partial color impairment but may make other contrasts harder to see, so it’s a trade-off.

Who might consider: People who just like the look, of course. But tints may also help improve contrast for those with degenerative retinal disorders or light sensitivity. “Tinted lenses may reduce discomfort in bright light,” Brodie says. In some cases, even light tints may increase contrast, which can be helpful to pilots and marksmen working in outside light, he says.

Kodak Wratten filters PDF

Here, dyes are applied to lenses to cut down on the visible light (but not necessarily UV rays) entering the eye. Hues range from light tints like a pastel blue or pink to deeper shades used for sunglasses.

My book, The Complete Guide to Digital Infrared Photography is available new for $30.82 with used copies stating at around twelve bucks from Amazon as I write this. Creative Digital Monochrome Effects has a chapter on IR photography and is available from Amazon for $19.30 with used copies starting around $2.00, a bargain I think.

Wratten filter for slit lamp

What you’ll pay: Tints cost an average of $74.67, according to the Vision Council’s VisionWatch market research for December 2019. Blue blocking costs $50 at Warby Parker and starts at $19 at EyeBuyDirect.

What you’ll pay: Usually included in the price of glasses, but more robust scratch resistance may be built in to some upgraded lens packages.

Wratten filter optometry buy

Put price in perspective. Some types of coating, like those that are anti-reflective (sometimes called glare-reducing), come in a range of prices. But experts say the most expensive option offered isn’t necessarily of significantly higher quality. “I know some ‘house brands’ out there that are pretty similar to the premium versions,” says master optician Michael Vitale, vice president of membership and technical affairs at The Vision Council.

What to know: “Everything on the market now except your most basic standard plastic CR-39 lens [which still made up about 36 percent of the prescription lenses sold in the U.S. in 2019, according to the Vision Council] is probably going to come with scratch-resistant coating already on it,” Vitale says. “And that’s because CR-39 is already pretty scratch-resistant.” To further help keep lenses scratch-free, store your glasses in a case when you’re not wearing them and use a microfiber nonscratch cloth to clean them.

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12 filter

To help you sort through the common choices, we’ve gathered advice and cost information from vision experts and major eyeglass retailers, and December 2019 VisionWatch market research from the Vision Council, a nonprofit trade association for the optical industry.

Some of these are strictly cosmetic, but depending on your vision needs, others may “potentially improve your comfort and safety,” says Andrew Iwach, MD, clinical spokesperson for the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).

Ask for an itemized description. In many cases, eyeglass lenses come bundled with certain coatings, commonly those that reduce reflections or bolster scratch resistance. Be sure you don’t pay extra for a coating that’s already supposed to be part of your package.

But once you’ve picked frames and lenses, there’s a wide variety of lens coatings to consider, each with its own properties—from light reduction to scratch resistance.

Unless otherwise noted, all of the photographs that appear on this website and its blog are copyright Joe Farace and may not be used without prior written permission of the photographer. If you would like to use any of the images that appear on these pages or license them for commercial use, please contact me at joefarace@gmail.com

How I made this shot: Who says all infrared shots have to be in monochrome? Not me. The above image was captured as a RAW file using a Canon EOS 50D with an old Russian-made Zenitar 16mm f/2.8 Fisheye lens shot using hyperfocal distance focusing. Exposure was 1/400 sec at f/16 and ISO 400. The color effect was created using the “Blue Sky” technique that I showed how to create in a previous post. The interesting aspect of this technique is that, depending on the original file, other colors can creep into the shot as was the case here. Call it serendipity.

Be even more cautious about anything that feels high-pressure if you’re in an eyeglass store, he says. If you feel pressured, Vitale says, “you may want to look elsewhere.”

Wratten

What to know: The AAO recommends getting 100 percent protection from UVA and UVB rays. Lenses that offer this should be labeled 100 percent UV protection or UV400.

This coating will make your glasses less vulnerable to scratching if you happen to drop them or clean them with an abrasive cloth. “Many glasses wouldn’t last a day without this,” Vitale says. “Polycarbonate and high-index lenses are very soft.”

What you’ll pay: It’s usually included, especially with sunglasses. Otherwise, an upgrade to 100 percent UV protection may be available. At EyeBuyDirect, for instance, it’s included with an upgrade to thinner lenses. And note that polycarbonate lenses, which are natural UV blockers, offer 100 percent protection, as do many high-index lenses, Vitale says.

Think about how you use eyeglasses. Indoors and outdoors? For sports or only for reading or desk work? Driving day and night? Your lifestyle and habits should inform your coating decisions.

As for blue blockers, “there’s probably no harm, though anything that limits the light reaching you can lessen your vision,” Iwach says. “But the benefits have not been proven.” He has also recently seen an increase in interest in yellow-tinted lenses for night driving but cautions that these “can actually complicate things, since in low-light conditions, you want to get the most light in that you can.”

Typically applied on both sides of an eyeglass lens, this coating, also known as AR or anti-glare, “reduces the amount of light reflected off the surfaces of spectacle lenses, and may enhance the contrast of certain scenes,” says Scott E. Brodie, MD, PhD, professor of ophthalmology at NYU Langone Health in New York City. This means you’re getting the maximum light from the environment you’re in, but without any visual interference that can occur from that light bouncing off your lenses. (The term “anti-glare” is a misnomer, however, says Brodie, and glare—think oncoming headlights—is better addressed with polarized lenses than with AR.)

How do you know what’s right for you? Your eye doctor may have some suggestions. “These are, by and large, personal decisions,” Iwach says. “One size doesn’t fit all.”