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Glass Studio - the joy of frame selection!

High index spectacle lenses require expert advice

For the first time you can see exactly what the finished glasses will look like before they are made...

If you need your glasses choosing new ones can be a problem. As soon as you take off your own glasses and try on a the empty frames, chances are as you peer into the mirror all you will see is a flattering blur! If you are short-sighted you can get close to the mirror, but when others see you they don't generally look at you like this, noses almost touching, so this does not give you a realistic idea of your appearance!

You will love our Glass Studio if you've ever experienced the 'collection surprise'! This is when you discover how different the frames look now your own lenses have been fitted! Naturally you had no clear idea of how thick the lens edges would be, and whether they would be hidden by the rim or not.

How does Glass Studio frame and lens selection work?

First our qualified dispensing opticians will assist you to pick out a selection of a dozen or so frames from the hundreds on display, advising you on lens/frame compatibility.

Now we use Glass Studio to make life easier (and more fun!) for you. Using its inbuilt camera, it creates a gallery of pictures of you as you try on each frame in turn. Now you can put on your own glasses to study the gallery, viewing up to four pictures at one time to carry out side-by-side comparisons with ease.

Click on image for larger view

But you are not used to seeing yourself like this - when you look into a mirror, your image is 'back to front' (don't believe me? - Look into a mirror and wink your right eye - your reflection responds by winking its left eye!). Press a button in Glass Studio and it flips the images around so you are now viewing the more familiar 'mirror image' of yourself.

Now the clever bit - having discussed your lifestyle, the dispenser will select a number of recommended lens designs and feed your lens prescription and optical centring measurements into Glass Studio. Once again you are presented with pictures of yourself onscreen. You can switch between a screen-filling single portrait to four different portraits.

However, thanks to hi-tech computer simulation, this time the pictures show you wearing the new frames, complete with your lens prescription in a variety of recommended lens designs.

		Standard plastic lenses. See how the lenses reflect the light and the way the sides of the head look 'squashed in' when viewed through this lens.
	click either image above for closer view of the lens appearance	A high refractive glass lens. This time the anti-reflection allows you to see the wearer's eyes. A far better cosmetic effect from the less 'squashed in' distortion of the wearer's face seen through the lens.

How thick will my lenses be?

Incredibly you can actually remove these 'finished spectacles' from our onscreen face and carry out a 'virtual inspection', looking sideways or down on them to compare lens thickness between the designs. You can even slice the lenses through to get a better idea of lens thicknesses.

click image above for closer view of the lens thickness screens

© Terence Mendoza 2001-2006.This information is for personal information only and may not be reproduced by any commercial company without prior written consent of the author. Teachers and students may freely utilise this information for study purposes.