Varifocals and Astronomy

[vlebo]

I have been told by my optician I am better off with varifocals. My concern is that they are set up for three types of focusing ( near , middle and distance ) so my thinking is that as I look through an eyepiece would my area of focus be very narrow and unless I keep my head perfectly still in and out of focus constantly.

If anyone has any experience of varifocals and astronomy and the effects I would be grateful for some input before I fork out £400 (EEK !!! )

[Mikea]

I have varifocals, but I don't use them for observing. I have an older pair of distance specs without the Transitions coating that I normally use. Trouble is I then have difficulty looking at the controller display!!

Having said that and astronomy aside, varifocals are brilliant - especially if you go for the top-end lenses.

[solo]

Hi vlebo,

I have been wearing varifocals for years and it makes no difference at the eyepiece as far as I'm concerned. ( I'm assuming you mean when you look through the eyepiece with the naked eye ). You just focus the telescope as normal.I can't really comment on whether wearing varifocals at the eyepiece makes much difference,but I do use my binoculars with my glasses on - in this case I use the 'distance ' part of the lense and it works fine for me.

[Bizibilder]

I wear them but not at the eyepiece. BTW £400 seems very steep my last set (about 14 months ago were £257 including photochromic lenses - well worth getting by the way! - good old Tesco's!!). For binoculars they are fine if you are careful to keep the bins over the "distance" part of the lens.

[steppenwolf]

I am on my second pair of varifocals and they are fantastic! The first pair did cost me over £400.00 from an independent but second time around I went to the company that advertises most on TV and got two pairs (one normal and a second pair as sunglasses) for just over £200 and they have the same glass quality as the first pair.

I always remove my glasses when using an eyepiece at the telescope so all is well!

[vlebo]

My astigmatism means I have to wear them while viewing through the eyepiece as I cannot achieve focus without wearing glasses , so I will give them a go as they seem useful for everything else as well.

[BinocularSky]

I have worn varifocals for years. I have presbyopia and moderate astigmatism.

I wear my specs with exit-pupils over about 4mm (e.g. my hand-held binoculars), but not otherwise; I can "focus out" the presbyopia and a small exit pupil diminishes the effect of the astigmatism. If I don't have the specs on, I use a little red-lit magnifier to read charts; I can use the magnifier to give me adequate close focus.

[Macavity]

I use mine sometimes - Nice (expensive!) Carl Zeiss lenses. But sadly they never work well (generally!) for me. I have a theory e.g. that they "ground off" much of the "reading part", to fit the modern (trendy) shallow frames? <sigh> I do think it important to get DECENT frames and an optician geared towards the medical / technical side, rather than just selling a short-lifetime "fashion" item.

[brianb]

Tried varifocals, whanging headache all the time ... even bifocals are a nuisance, cause me balance issues & make it very hard to judge distance.

[Demonperformer]

Vlebo

If you have problems when using varifocals at the telescope, you could always revert to your previous (current?) specs, which presumably are not too far off your new prescription?

Just a thought ...

[LeeB]

Hi I have always found my glasses a big issue and now do a different trick, If you get contact lens with the correct perscription(in your case your long focal perscription) for your none observer eye and wear it to observe, you can see the stars off scope ok and have a clean eye at the eyepiece. In addition i have a pair of specs with the other lens (ie. only one lens) in for prolonged periods away from the eyepiece. Believe me it does work and you don't have to suffer the extra lens in the optic chain.

ps disposable lens are cheap so use them 60p a pair. does two nights.

[vlebo]

Vlebo

If you have problems when using varifocals at the telescope, you could always revert to your previous (current?) specs, which presumably are not too far off your new prescription?

Just a thought ...

My prescription has changed little in a few years but reading is becoming a problem so maybe varifocals for everyday use and as you say my current specs for stargazing . Good thinking Batman.

[AllanJ]

I wear varifocals almost all the time, but usually switch to reading glasses for, mostly, reading. I take glasses off for looking through the eyepiece. I bought a cheap extra pair of reading glasses that I hang on a neck cord for looking at the controller/computer/atlas, etc, even though it's a pain to continually have to shove the legs under my woolly hat. And get tangled up with my pirate eye patch. I think Sir Patrick's monocle would be a good idea.

Allan