Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Review: Pinhole Glasses



We all made pinhole cameras as a child didn’t we? Taking a piece of card and making a pinhole in it to use as a focus. Well this basic principle has been used to design pinhole glasses and improve your eyesight. Pinhole technology dates back to the 5th century and has been used for many years as a means of improving eyesight. Pinhole glasses for public use were pioneered in the mid 20th century.

Pinhole glasses are not something I had ever come across before, but they are being marketed as an affordable alternative to prescription eyeglasses. At $14.99 a pair, they are certainly affordable. According to the pinhole glasses website, this product can help you whether you suffer from myopia, hyperopia, presbyopia, astigmatism, computer vision syndrome or cataracts. If you are as blind as I am they will not be a lot of use (they are not recommended for prescriptions for short sight of more than minus 6, I am minus 10), but in minor conditions I can see how the basic pinhole principles could help. The pinholes direct very narrow beams of light into the eye, reducing blur and improving clarity. Pinhole eyeglasses are recommended for use during activities such as reading, computer use, and watching television. They are not to be used whilst driving however (they limit peripheral vision), and for that reason, they cannot be a true alternative to prescription glasses if you require sight correction to enable you to drive. The glasses are available in a range of styles, two of which are pictured.

If you wish to try out the glasses, they can be ordered online for $14.99. The site ships internationally for a flat rate of $4.99 and all orders are aimed to be despatched within 48 hours.

2 comments:

  1. ..and they look ridiculous!

    If I really wanted a cheap pair of glasses, I'd get a pair for $8 (including prescription lenses) from here: https://zennioptical.com/cart/home.php?cat=20

    You'd have to pay an extra $9 as your prescription is over -8.00 Fi. Shipping is $9.00 too, but you could get an extra pair of specs in your prescription for only $26 including p+p.

    Some of the frames are quite nice and you could have different colours to match different outfits.

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  2. I am using in the last 9 years the called “pinhole glasses” (see it in google images).

    There is a lot of companies doing this glasses.

    I can stay hours in front of the computer usin it and my eyes are still white.

    Another advantage: I can read any book with this glasses, without red eyes.

    A tip when using this glasses: be patient and let your brain work with the image you see. In two days you will use it without any problem.

    I have Presbyopia (can’t see clear near things). With pinhole glasses I can see clearly all the things near by. Including the screen of a computer.

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