Sunglass lenses: which tint is right for you?

The philosophy behind ZEISS sunglass lenses is based on a simple principle: your sunglasses should optimally accommodate your vision needs, the shape of your face and your lifestyle – just like your everyday glasses.

The important quality criterion for a good pair of sunglasses is 100% protection against solar UVA and UVB radiation and a suitable tint intensity ranging from 20 to 80 percent.

There are many colours available. To ensure that your sunglass lenses and frames fit your look, we offer a wide range of single colours, gradient tints and bi-colour versions for you to choose from. This way you can opt for lenses featuring a more traditional brown, green or grey or another colour of your choice – whatever best fits your personal style and favourite outfit. The possibilities are endless.

These lenses look good and are completely functional. ZEISS sunglass lenses ensure excellent colour contrast, improving your vision in bright sunshine and glare as well as in diffuse lighting conditions. The minimal weight and durability of the lenses also increase safety and wearer comfort, making them the perfect companion for all outdoor activities – be it sports, hiking or city trips.

There is an endless number of colours, tints and versions to choose from – but which features are right for you? This is a very personal decision. Colours not only determine how your glasses look, but also have a considerable effect on how you think and feel.

The ZEISS colour program features a large selection of tints – single colours, gradient tints and a trendy bi-colour. Talk with your optician and discuss when and where you plan to wear your tinted lenses: For routine activities? At work? When playing sports? For special occasions? If you plan on wearing your glasses regularly or for long periods of time, then a light tint is the way to go. How sensitive you are to light also plays an important role. When selecting colours, women should apply their usual eye make-up beforehand and choose the tint accordingly. Also think about what clothes you normally wear. All this will help your optician suggest the right tint for you.

In addition to single-tint lenses, so-called gradient tints can be manufactured in an immersion process so that the level of light reduction decreases from the top to the bottom edge of the lens. These sunglass lenses feature a gradient coloured tint and are particularly well-suited for situations where lighting conditions change as soon as the wearer looks up, e.g. when driving: when you look at the dashboard, you are only looking through the lightly coloured area of the lens. But you still enjoy glare-free vision while looking at the road through the darkly tinted upper part of the lens

Of course, there is a large selection of lenses with gradient tints in our selection – just ask your optician.

With bi-colour lenses, you transform your glasses into a hip accessory, which compliments fashion and makeup trends. Bi-colour lenses contain multiple tints in one lens. Our colours are:

• Jeans – for the sporty type
• Pistachio – perfectly complements any youthful outfit
• Cinnamon – gives the wearer a traditional, but elegant, look
• Stone – for a more low-key style
  

Sunglasses are an absolute must-have in the summer, particularly when driving. However, drivers should note that a lens is too dark – and therefore unsuitable for driving – if it features a 90% tint or higher. At night, the maximum value should not exceed 25%. When selecting tinted lenses, drivers should make sure that they select the right colour.

In order to ensure that you can recognise signs and traffic lights, the sunglass lenses must retain natural colour contrasts. That is why green, brown and grey tints are best-suited for driving.

Self-tinting lenses are not always the best choice for driving. The windscreen blocks a large portion of UV radiation, meaning the lenses don't darken as much as when you're outside.

If you need to significantly reduce glare when driving in bright sunlight, then you should opt for sunglass lenses with gradient tints or polarising lenses.

ZEISS sunglass lenses improve colour and contrast perception while reducing unpleasant glare, such as glare caused by bright sunshine and distracting reflections on wet or snow-covered surfaces. This is an important factor for comfortable, clear vision even in difficult light conditions when you are sailing, hiking, surfing or skiing.

Tinted lenses can also improve your vision when playing sports and in certain weather conditions. The amber and rosé tints are particularly well-suited for biking and when there's little or no sun. Their contrast-enhancing properties provide the brightest visual field. A tint is particularly important when there is little sun, so that you can distinguish tiny details quickly and precisely. That's why it is important to adapt the intensity of the tint to the wearer, i.e. when and where the eyewear will be used affects which tint is right for you.

When biking, for example, the wearer passes through sunlight and shadows very quickly. In this case, a dark tint is not advantageous because the eye cannot adapt quickly enough when the amount of light changes.

We would also advise cyclists against wearing self-tinting lenses, because the lenses do not clear quickly enough to meet these more demanding requirements.

Our recommendation would be lower-performing grey lenses that reduce glare and preserve truer colours. These lenses offer good vision all-year-round, even in bright daylight. Yellow lenses, however, filter out a larger portion of blue light, providing better contrast and enabling the wearer to distinguish uneven surfaces.

Here's our tip: take some time to talk your optician and try out a few different versions! When you make your decision, select the brightest tint which you find comfortable – you shouldn't have to squint when wearing these glasses in incident light. And no matter what colour tint you choose, make sure your lenses have a hard coating to protect them against scratches and an anti-reflective coating to prevent irritating reflections in the lens.