Color shift from reading/computer glasses?

[Fred Salamon]

Recently I had new reading/computer eyeglasses made.
They are Zeiss Office lenses with Purecoat anti-glare coating (based on what my optician told me).

I notice a distinct color shift when I look at my monitor, prints, basically anything.
It seems to be caused by the anti-glare coating.

Has anyone else had this issue and if so what did you do to resolve it?

Different brand of lens/anti-glare coating other that Zeiss?
Lenses without the anti-glare coating?

I would appreciate any advice from others who use eyeglasses for reading/computer work.

[Redcrown]

I use plain old CR-39 plastic lenses with Crizal Advance AR coating. No color problems. But do a test. I do it with every pair of glasses I get.

Put the glasses on a neutral gray card and fire some shots. Shoot slightly out-of focus. Make several shots with light at different angles to the glasses. Process shots, white balance on the area of the gray card outside the glasses. Read the RGB values inside the glasses.

Should tell you if the glasses are adding any color cast.

I've been getting interested in "blue blockers" for computer glasses. Went in a local shop and looked at the Zeiss version, called "BlueProtect". Those definitely had a color cast, obvious to the naked eye. Is it possible that's what you got? I thought Zeiss "Office" was all about balancing different viewing distances, not blue blocking. But not sure.

[N80]

I've got Silhouette brand glasses. Was lead to believe lenses are from Zeiss but I have no idea. When I got this pair the optician asked me if I worked at a computer a lot and I said yes and she added some type of coating. It has a distinct purple hue to it when I look at the glasses but I do not see this when I look through the glasses.

These lenses are progressives (I've had progressives for three years now) and are causing me another problem. I have no issue with my MacBook but with my new 27" iMac the screen is so large and the middle distance portion of my lenses is so narrow that I'm having to tilt my head back to see the top portion of the screen. Very uncomfortable. I know this is off topic but would these Zeiss 'office' lenses you mentioned solve this problem? I'm assuming they are a single focal lens tailored to your monitor viewing distance?

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

I am using simple reading glasses (from Costco) that also have a purple coating meant to reduce a computer-induced eye strain. It does change the appearance of images on the screen when you quickly put them on and off. In a quick succession, with glasses off, the screen will appear greener than otherwise. I simply use different, non-coated reading glasses for critical color work.

[Doug Gray]

I am using simple reading glasses (from Costco) that also have a purple coating meant to reduce a computer-induced eye strain. It does change the appearance of images on the screen when you quickly put them on and off. In a quick succession, with glasses off, the screen will appear greener than otherwise. I simply use different, non-coated reading glasses for critical color work.

I've never heard of glasses that do that? I wonder if there is any science behind it or it's some marketing creation.

[N80]

Holy cow, I just did that with my progressives (glasses on, glasses off) and the screen definitely appears warmer with the glasses on.

[Fred Salamon]

George,

The Zeiss "office lenses" that I have are progressives not single focal length.
Zeiss Officelens

[Doug Gray]

George,

The Zeiss "office lenses" that I have are progressives not single focal length.
Zeiss Officelens

Clear lenses with the ZEISS DuraVision BlueProtect coating offer a durable coating with CleanCoat technology to make them easier to clean as well as a blue filter which attenuates blue light in the range from 390 to 440 nm (wavelength of blue light hazard).

There is some truth to this. How much is debatable. However, monitors typically have significant components in the bluer end of the spectrum. Especially LED backlit ones.  But this will mess up color perception.

[Alan Klein]

My progressive have chromatic aberration apparently.  If I look at lines where large black lines are near white, there will be either a blue or reddish line.  It ah==happens not when I look through the middle of the lens but rather at the top or bottom.  I think it has to do with how much correction there is and also the type of plastic used.

[N80]

George,

The Zeiss "office lenses" that I have are progressives not single focal length.
Zeiss Officelens

I went to their website and I see that now. So from what I can tell they are progressive but only correct for near and middle distances but not far vision. So I'm guessing that the focal 'zones' are broader, in other words they take up more space on the lens? This would then require less head movement to achieve focus. The image of the typical progressive wearer with her head tilted back is EXACTLY what happens to me with my current progressives. I'm excited about looking into these. Wonder if they really work as advertised. I do not relish the idea of having indoor and outdoor glasses but would really enjoy a dedicated pair for working at the computer.

The color shift is another matter altogether and I'm surprised not to see it mentioned more often in regard to color management issues, especially on a site in which ambient light and what clothes you are wearing when you work in post tend to be hot topics.

I was shocked to find how much warmer my monitor appears when seen through my glasses than without them. What can be done about this? Should we avoid antiglare coatings? Do these coatings even help? I have no way to compare since I only have one pair of glasses.

The bigger question is how to account for this in my workflow? My near/middle vision is rather poor but I can still see color casts etc without the glasses. Do I make color corrections without my glasses? What about when assessing prints?

[rasworth]

I have a pair of inexpensive glasses, not bi-focal, derived from my reading prescription but adjusted to lengthen the distance.  They are absolutely plain glass, do not affect the color at all (at least not that I can discern).  I see no need for anti-glare, I'm running the monitor at 60-80 cd/m^2, suitable for dim room image evaluation.  I suspect the recommendations from opticians for anti-glare computer glasses are oriented toward business applications, i.e. bright screens in a high ambient light environment.

Richard Southworth

[Doug Gray]

I've got Silhouette brand glasses. Was lead to believe lenses are from Zeiss but I have no idea. When I got this pair the optician asked me if I worked at a computer a lot and I said yes and she added some type of coating. It has a distinct purple hue to it when I look at the glasses but I do not see this when I look through the glasses.

The purple is from reflected light and is typical of short wavelengths. (400nm to 460nm). This means it attenuates the same wavelengths as seen through the glasses. LED computer monitors typically have much higher levels of light in these ranges and they constitute a part of the "B" in RGB. They will shift the "white" of a computer screen much more than other sources.

[Tim Lookingbill]

I'm using Foster Grants HV015 Leo Gun plastic 1.50 magnification reading glasses bought at Walmart. Clear as clean glass with no color shifts.

I've found Zeiss 100 lens wipes also bought at Walmart to be indispensable. Never scratches or leaves streaks unless the oil from my fingers touches the side of the wipe I clean the glasses.

[GWGill]

I notice a distinct color shift when I look at my monitor, prints, basically anything.
It seems to be caused by the anti-glare coating.

Has anyone else had this issue and if so what did you do to resolve it?

You can always do what the TV calibration folk do with 3D glass - profile through them.

A similar option for those with both a spectrometer and colorimeter is to make a colorimeter correction matrix from spectrometer measurements made through the glasses with colorimeter measurements made normally. The matrix (or .ccss file) then embodies corrections for the glasses as well as the display.

[BradSmith]

What about colored contact lenses?  A couple months ago I got my first contact lenses after years of wearing regular glasses.  They are tinted blue (my natural eye color) to help me be able to see them on my eye and if/when I drop them.   Strange, but until this thread, I never thought about the fact that I am now looking through pale blue "filters".  Now I'm going to have to try to examine how much this is impacting how I'm color balancing of my images.

Some of you must wear tinted contacts.  What are your opinions on this? 
Brad

[N80]

For now I will have to be content just to lift my glasses from time to time. That will not be possible with contacts. This has really put a little tiny monkey wrench in my color management work flow (which I'm still just figuring out) and I bet it is something that a lot of people are not even aware of. I would have sworn that my glasses had no visible color shift when looking through them.

The only thing reassuring to me is that I do not, in general, like warmly toned images. Since my glasses definitely warm things up that means I will tend to move things to the cool side in my images. The risk, of course, is that I make them too cool for viewers who do not wear glasses.

The other issue is that there is no way to account for who is seeing our images and through what optics they are seeing them. There is such a wide range of glasses, coatings, light sensitive lenses, tinted contacts and even varied color perception among those who do not wear glasses. It may be that for those of us requiring corrected vision we just have to manage color as we see it through our own optics and hope for the best.

[GWGill]

What about colored contact lenses?

I think the whole issue is a bit overblown. Our eyes adapt to the white point almost completely, unless the color is well off the illuminant locus. So any slight tint in eye-wear will become irrelevant after a short time.

[Jeremy Roussak]

I think the whole issue is a bit overblown. Our eyes adapt to the white point almost completely, unless the color is well off the illuminant locus. So any slight tint in eye-wear will become irrelevant after a short time.

Exactly. There's a world of difference between noticing a colour shift when you put on or take off the spectacles and a continuing change in colour perception after a few minutes' wear.

Jeremy

[N80]

I think the whole issue is a bit overblown. Our eyes adapt to the white point almost completely, unless the color is well off the illuminant locus. So any slight tint in eye-wear will become irrelevant after a short time.

Overblown? On LuLa? Are you kidding? This is the Color Management forum!  You, know, where we discuss wearing the proper color clothing while we work in post. Where we discuss, endlessly, the benefits of this or that level of ambient lighting. Where we discuss viewing prints under tightly controlled color temperatures. Where we discuss the fact that most monitors in use are simply unsatisfactory for color management.

Seriously though, I'm not sure this is overblown at all. The fact that our own eyes adapt does not seem relevant when it comes to producing an end product that will be viewed by others. If we are the only ones who view our own work, then yes, it is irrelevant. Otherwise, it seems to me, the color shift produced by glasses is as relevant as any other step in the color management chain. Again, for me, glasses on: cool, faint blue hue from the monitor. Glasses off: warmer almost greenish hue. It is a big difference.

[pluton]

These lenses are progressives (I've had progressives for three years now) and are causing me another problem. I have no issue with my MacBook but with my new 27" iMac the screen is so large and the middle distance portion of my lenses is so narrow that I'm having to tilt my head back to see the top portion of the screen. Very uncomfortable.

It's good to know that they've not gotten rid of the useless blurry area at the sides of the vision field on the progressive lenses.  I tried them a couple of times in the mid-2000's and that was my problem with them.  Your experience has saved me another potentially expensive experiment.  The opticians who sell them always say "Oh, they're much better now than they used to be!"