3 Reasons Why People Hate Transition Lens

I love transition lens. I would not leave the optical store without it.

Though, in my first video about transition lens, I got a lot of people tell me they HATED transition lens.

Instead of me arguing with them in the comment section, this video, I will look at 3 common reasons why people hate their transition lens and I will address them.

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[quickpickle]

ive got the gen 8 lenses and im super happy with them. Transition times are just fine.

[west-Co_exploration]

I have the Gen 8 transitions, and your second point is still a major problem. They do not lighten quickly enough. I live in a very hot very sunny region and after they have darkened completely (and they get very dark) when I walk into a store it takes 8 to 10 minutes for them to lighten enough for me to be able to read price tags and labels. I end up having to carry a second pair of glasses to use indoors, This is completely unacceptable. And of course the number one issue is that they do not stay dark in a car where you need sunglasses to drive. If I have to switch glasses every time I get in the car I might as well get basic lenses and wear my sunglasses whenever I'm in the sun.

The new Zeiss "adaptive sun" lenses may solve this issue, because they are supposed to be faster and yet stay mildly tinted when indoors or in the evening. They also darkened to 60 or 70% in the car.

[macraghnaill]

I have been wearing "Photochromic" glasses since 1975, [Reactions Rapide"] I wouldn't wear anything else, they also protect against cateracts.
I have been wearing them for so long I can't tell when they change colour

[cyclehavenbanks]

Just makes the glasses more useful. If I’m outside all day I’ll probably put on the prescription sunglasses but the transition are good enough. I don’t use my old glasses anymore.

[LadyBovine]

How fast they transition apparently depends on a lot on the air temperature. I've seen tests where they (Transition gen 8) take upward of 4 minutes (sometimes much longer) to transition back to reasonably clear. Even 1.5 minutes is too long if you depend on your glasses to see, and you go between inside and outside frequently, for example if you're doing diy/garden work on the weekend, working on/under a car, you're delivery driver etc. These glasses are still too slow for a lot of people.

[erik.a.kaiser]

I'm doing research on photochromics, and I find Ken. Great job.

[treydrier]

This is very helpful. I like transition lenses. There is one issue though. I play softball. The odd thing about transitions is when wearing a baseball hat the bottom half of the lens is dark while the top half is clear because the bill of the baseball hat blocks the sun for only part of the lens. I hope that makes sense because I don't know how else to describe it. At first I thought there was something wrong with the lenses but I soon realized that they only block where the sun hits that the lens. 95% of the time this works great but not for playing outdoor sports. Much better as a lifestyle lens.

[mostguitarswins]

One thing I've noticed is my photochromic lenses don't get as dark when I wear a hat with a large brim - that makes sense since I'm shielding the glasses from UV. If I take off the hat for a minute, the lenses will fully darken. One of the reasons people hate photochromic lenses that wasn't mentioned is they don't darken in the car because windshields typically filter UV. Separate sunglasses for driving are still necessary.

[francoisbelangerboisclair]

I would classify the Transition or any chromatic lenses as a do it all: but not so well... I got a pair several years ago but decided never against... Now I changed my mind because of the low cost ordering online. They are not my primary pair of glasses. It's probably defeat purpose of chromatic lenses. But I feel they are good as a secondary pair I can wear when I have a good lighting inside and want protection outside. But in the evening, I don't like the tint it keep inside and they are not really a solution for driving. That why I also have a pair of polarized and one of clear lenses.

[LewyLewy]

This is helpful information, but my concern is whether they will darken inside when I’m at work - particularly if I’m sitting at a desk near windows that don’t block UV light. Long ago that used to happen to me. An optician told me that in the older buildings in my city the windows usually don’t block UV light. So, unfortunately the lenses will be darkened to some extent even when I’m inside such buildings. I’m not keen on that, as I don’t think it’s a very professional look in the office or on Zoom meetings when working remotely.

[CyclingNeko]

The weakness of transition is, it does not block harsh light from the sun efficiently. A 20% tinted grey lens are much more better reducing the harsh sun light (I have booth glasses).
I have no problem with the speed of the transition, my only gripe is the color variation still not that much.
Currently, only imported lens that has some color variation, while the local lens is still stuck with grey color with blue coating (bluechromic).

I live in equator, so sunlight can be very harsh in a broad daylight, so the dark color can be very dark in less than 10 seconds.

[Beltranx]

I hate how long they take to go back to normal once you go inside you literally can't see for like ten minutes because it's so dark especially in the winter mine get extremely dark

[RyanReta]

This actually cleared up my doubt on whether they changed less in the shade✌️✌️

[nicolebradley]

Regular transtions go really clear really fast. I however don't really notice any difference between xtraactive lenses and the regular transtions lenses, I have noticed a lil bit of a tint indoors clearer at night. But as they change from sunglasses to clear lenses I really don't know the difference, They seem like they change fast too me from sunglasses to clear,

[chelseajane]

Yer I love my transition lenses but the time it takes to transition back once inside does make me feel very off kilter and at times I feel nauseous.

[TheCerealHobbyist]

I have avoided them as they never seemed to be completely clear indoors, which is maddening. Is this still the case?

[paganphil]

I recently bought a pair of glasses with transition lenses (Gen 8, amber colour) and I have the same problem mentioned in this don't get dark enough even outside on a bright sunny day. I can see no noticeable darkening at all looking through them although when I look in a mirror they do seem slightly darker "from the outside".

[joelf]

I love photochromatic lenses, but I don’t need glasses to see. I can just take them off when coming in doors from outside. For those that can barely see without glasses then they may not be best. Especially if you live in colder climates because they get a lot darker in cold weather and when coming indoors it would be very hard to see. In summer I find I can keep them on indoors while they are going back to clear as they don’t get very dark in hot weather.

[DR-zjod]

Transition lenses are the ONLY type I purchase for my main set of glasses. I will buy a set of regular glasses for strictly sunglasses or single vision clear "Movie" glasses (I wear progressive lenses). Buy name brand transition lenses but even Zenni's stuff works great (for 1 year). These work as a great backup pair of sunglasses and I do buy a set of sunglasses that are very dark but, when you only have one set of glasses with you they will still work as sunglasses! Also you may need some sunglasses in a car so yes, you will need a set of sunglasses but if you leave them behind you still are wearing a good set of sunglasses.

[jr]

I hate the old transitions when it 2st came out but now it's on par with sunglasses in terms of darkness.i love them now