Model Boat Mayhem
Mess Deck: General Section => Chit-Chat => Topic started by: Netleyned on February 20, 2014, 04:07:41 pm
-
Any one have experience of the above.
Just had my eyes tested at Boots and
was taken straight to the wallet test.
Apparently I 'need' all the extras applied
to my lenses at a cost of 280 squids
Then I need designer frames to put aforesaid
lenses in.
About £400 all told.
Swimbo the same so £800 per annum for us.
Went to a Supermarket £140 for the same lenses/frames
Just wondering if the online ones are any good.
I am a great believer in 'you get what you pay for'
but the difference in price between Wellies and Wallies
makes you think.
Ned
-
Been using Glasses Direct for years.
Not the best quality but they will send new nose pads and screws free.
£35-00 each, I have 2 pairs 1 for distance and 1 for reading/computer.
£70-00 including postage and 2 cases.
Bob
-
I got a pair of prescription readers from one of the onliners. Quality-wise I couldn't tell the difference between them and the high street optician ones. There are large mark-ups involved, hence the shops desire to get you into the wallet vetting stage.
-
The thing is that I use varifocals and I'm not sure
the online guys would know the position of my pupils
Ned
-
The thing is that I use varifocals and I'm not sure
the online guys would know the position of my pupils
Good point, get it wrong and you are always slightly out of focus despite not having touched a drop!
I have always found Specsavers fair value, quite a good selection of frames and usually a two for one offer so you can have a pair of prescription sunglasses as well. I go for their Elite varifocals and have never had to pay more than £250 all in or so for two pairs properly fitted, sometimes less. You can do it a lot cheaper if you don't go for the more expensive frames and ultra thin lenses. It's a bit like buying cars really. The top of the range has all the bells and whistles at a premium price but usually you can get a mid range model with all the essentials and a good selection of bells and whistles even if you miss out on the heated seats!
Colin
-
Colin, that's my system at the moment.
Just looking for something better without
the rip off.
Ned
-
Right then My father was an optician for 30plus years and the most important thing about Varifocals and trifocals let alone bifocals is what has been mentioned before the actual pupil height....get is wrong and wey hey no can see....if you value your eyes then go and see a proper optician.............OK any of the online shops can supply a pair of reading or distance glasses with ease.
Dave
-
Hi all, I got a 2 for 1 offer at Specsavers and am very happy with them. I suggest you make sure the lenses are deep enough at the bottom. This gives a good area to see when doing the hobby.
I got used to mine very quickly and they were work well for me.
If you have not worn vari focals before there is a slight distortion at the edges. If you check with a known square piece of card you will see what I mean.
As an example I was assembling some 1 : 100 scale stanchions and ended up with the angle of them drifting off slightly as I proceeded. So now I never quite believe my eyes and use a small mitre block to check that right angles really are at 90 degrees.
Apart from that vari-focals are so convenient, I used to wear bi-focals and was always switching glasses.
I personally would always go to an optician., if there is a problem they fix them for free.
Best of luck
Roy
-
Ned, Like the others have said definately Specsavers just got some reading glasses from them and very happy after be-in very badly let down by asda,s never again was told I had cataracts in both eyes but still sold £250 glasses but 5 weeks later after first eyes was done was told I would need new glasses so £250 wasted and two appointment's canceled at 20 Min's notice so I would use Specsavers every time now you get good glasses at a good price
Regards Howard.
-
I went to specsavers and got I pair of glasses and I pair of sunglasses in a 2 for 1 offer about £100, then went online to glasses direct to get a spare pair of glasses for £35 seem to be about the same quality
-
My optician takes specific measures
my optician rule my glasses before putting on my nose
my optician straightens my glasses when I slept on
my optician gives me the free bridges when I lost a
my optician clean my glasses to ultrasound machine free
I know my optician, when everything is on the internet how do we ?
my eyes are precious
I only have two eyes
-
Of all of the thousands of different items I had to audit when working for HMCE, by far the biggest profit margin I ever saw was on spectacle frames. Naming no names - of course - but what you were charged maybe £99.99 for by -------------- actually cost them less than £2. Is it any wonder they can afford to look so generous when it comes to "second pair" deals?
I've used the same small independent opticians for nearly fifty years, except for the one occasion when "work" sent me to get some VDU specs to S--------s. I was robbed blind, so to speak, and "work" only stumped up a fifth of what they'd promised. Funnily enough those specs never helped me see the word "mug" in neon lights across my forehead.
You live and learn, I guess.
-
I guess I am lucky. When young I needed prescription glasses for distance work, but close up I could brush paint 2mm lettering on scratch built slot racing cars. Over the years my eyes have gradually been changing and my distance vision has become superb, and regular eye tests confirm no glasses needed. Each time I seem to be able read even further down their illuminated eye chart.
However, my short distance vision is steadily getting worse. Although I still "pass" the reading part of the eye test it make detail modelling a challenge. For ultra close up I use cheap Tesco X3 reading glasses, purely as magnifiers. ... Now if only my hands were as steady as they used to be !
-
Stavros hit the nail right on the head when he said about lining the lens up with the pupils of the eye.
I wear varifocals and if I tilt them very slightly it all goes out of focus. The lining up is critical so an internet seller would never be able to get this right.
For model making, I once tried these £2 sets from the cheap shop. I knew what the magnification factor from the free eye test was for each eye, so I bought two different magnification pairs and swoped over the lens to make one good set. It sort of worked but wasn't lined up correctly so I abandoned this idea. I had no way of moving the individual lens.
I'm afraid the professionals have got us over a barrel on this one.
Ken
-
A friend of mine is a retired ophthalmic surgeon, and he always carried a pair of $20 glasses that can be bought at any chemist :o . They are fine for close work but, as others have said, only an optometrist can really find and correct any problems with your eyes. Many optometrists nowadays use retinal cameras to check on the condition of the retina, and deal with any problems before they become too severe.
Peter.
-
Shop glasses are ok if both your eyes are the same. Most are not and you need different prescriptions for each eye. 8)
Many opticians here have "out of date" frames. Much cheaper than those 'in fashion'
If you have had glasses before then ask for the frames to be reused for the second pair.
The one thing I will not skimp on is my eyes. I would rather pay up than lose my sight. O0
-
Peter makes the very important point that sight tests can show up medical conditions as well as providing a prescription for glasses. In recent years I have had cataracts, one slow developing, the other much faster and the deterioration in my eyesight was quite quick in the latter case, I noticed the difference week by week. I had both eyes operated on about a year apart at my own expense and the difference has been enormous. Not only has my vision improved to what it was over 10 years ago but colours have become much brighter - best money I ever spent.
Colin
-
I'm fortunate that my eyesight is good, with glasses, and my eyes are healthy, even allowing for my age. My wife, however, has had cataracts removed from both eyes, at different times, and, like Colin, she says the improvement was amazing. She only needs to wear glasses for close work now, whereas she was wearing them all the time before the procedure. The down side is that now she frequently misplaces her glasses %) The cost of the operations was covered by our health insurance.
Peter.
-
Thanks for the feedback lads.
You have all echoed my own thoughts.
I just wondered if anyone had found an
answer to the High Street ripoffs.
I had my eyes tested Ss for the last ten years and
no problems. However, the local franchise has changed
hands and my wife had a very negative experience with
the new regime.
I decided on Boots for my eye test having priced up a
pair of varifocals which I have used for years and get
on fine.
It was the hard sell on the extras that got me thinking.
I had worked out that a pair of the same spec (pun
intended) as my current set would be about £220
with a free pair or I could have a discount of 25%
for being of a certain age.
With all the bells and whistles the girl said I needed
one pair was £280 just for the lenses and then a frame
starting at £80.
The free pair offered was a basic prescription. To get the same
lenses as the original pair would be 'extra'.
Bogof may be ok for single vision lenses but for varifocal
reactolite lenses that I have got used to it's not a good deal.
I took my prescription to Asda and got what I needed for £140.
When they arrive I will update.
If they are rubbish then I will return them and seek out an
independent opticians.
Ned
-
Ned I had varifocals for god knows how many years and had little probs bar once and that was the fault of the type of frame . My wife used to get frequent probs on changing it pays to shop next door so to speak in case one has to keep going back . One problem is the lenses themselves as the prescription increases so often does the Lens thickness etc which means they wont fit your current ones .Though you have to trust your optician on that one. Fortunately now I have implants so only use specs for close up work Ok it cost an arm and a leg but well worth it Laser is even cheaper Sell a couple of Boats :}