Sunglasses, how does come into the picture for my photography website? This accessory is not directly linked to photography and mainstream photography accessories. The sunglasses is more of an apparel, essential and important especially for those who spent time outdoors in their work and leisure. A pair of sunglasses in my personal humble opinion is very useful and important for photographers like me who are taking photographs in the outdoors (events, wildlife, travel) and also for those who love the great outdoors!
Nowadays, there are many more sunglasses brands, models and designs available in the market. I owned other sunglasses previously and still have them today but they were not prescribed to my short sighted eyes. I have been searching for prescription sunglasses and couldn’t really find suitable ones over the years. When I read about Smarty Sunglasses by The Lens Men, I decided to read up and research more about Smarty Sunglasses and they were able to do a prescription sunglasses!
There are other alternatives too e.g. wearing contact lenses or going for lasik surgery. After weighing the options available and based on my personal preferences, I chose the prescription sunglasses method. Therefore, I decided to visit my friendly and trusted optometrist The Lens Men (my last two pair of spectacles were with them). Prior to going down, I had a chat with The Lens Men via Facebook and they were responsive to my queries.
I was lucky that The Lens Men happened to run a promotion program – Sporty September on their Facebook page in the month of September 2016 with custom Rx packages featuring Essilor’s Crizal Xperio are 30% off, I managed to make an appointment the final week of September and get my Smarty prescription sunglasses, at The Eye Site, sister company of The Lens Men! Some might feel that it’s a bit pricey for a prescription sunglasses, I view it as an investment for my photography and outdoors. I managed to raise some funds for my Smarty prescription sunglasses from selling off old smartphones during my de-cluttering process.
When I was at The Eye Site getting my Smarty sunglasses done up, I initially wanted the model S14509 because I really liked this design. However, the friendly folks at The Eye Site advised me that based on my the degrees for both my eyes, it is highly not recommended because the prescription lens will look really thick and not suitable for that particular frame. After listening to their professional and detailed explanation, I looked at other alternative models and I chose S14516 instead. I waited for about 1 week+, I was finally able to collect my Smarty Sunglasses and I realised why the folks at The Eye Site / The Lens Men advised me not to go for the initial model S14509 because my lens would be quite thick!
Finally, after searching for some time, I finally have a prescription sunglasses for my photography and great outdoors. I brought it to Hokkaido recently in October and it came in very handy when I was on Mount Tokachi, with snow on their slopes (while it is still autumn season), facing the sun and snow, my Smarty sunglasses really helped me a lot, protecting my eyes too! Although I have to lift up my Smarty sunglasses to view the photos on my LCD screen on my camera, it’s just a minor action to do and I can live with this action, as long as my eyes are protected from the glaring sun.
As a person who love the great outdoors, a photographer who shoots quite a lot outdoors too (wildlife, events, sports), a pair of sunglasses to me is a must have. Add in a prescription based sunglasses, it’s really ideal for me! I found this prescription sunglasses with the Smarty Sunglasses via The Lens Men and The Eye Site, friendly, professional and knowledgable folks, this is my third pair of glasses with them!
Time to explore more outdoors and taking photos with my prescription Smarty Sunglasses!