Sunglasses for seabirding?
Angus Wilson
sunglasses for birding and marine mammal watching at sea under strong
light conditions.
I generally avoid glasses when searching for birds under any
circumstance but use them when it gets so bright that is uncomfortable
or tiring without them. At least with the cheap versions I've owned
over the years, there is an annoying loss of contrast with glasses on
that can make it harder to spot very distant birds or discern colors
and of course the field of view is more limited when using binoculars
with glasses on. Sadly, I also now need reading glasses (yes, the
years are catching up) and without them my field notes are becoming
more and more illegible, so sunglasses with inbuilt magnifiers (as for
fly fishing) are a tempting option. Here are some basic questions:
1. Are amber or rose tinted lenses preferred over black lenses?
2. How important is the lens material (glass/polycarbonate/plastic)
for visual acuity and scratch resistance?
3. How important is side screening? Is sweating a problem with
screens?
4. Has anyone tried Tri-Spectrum™ Technology? It supposedly boosts the
yellow, red, and green colors for maximum contrast and visual
clarity.
I'm sure many reader have their own experiences and opinions,
especially those birding in tropical and sub-tropical regions where
this is an everyday issue.
Thanks, Angus Wilson
New York City, USA
Elaine Cook
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group.
To post to this group, send email to seabir...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en.
Angus Wilson
My thanks to Elaine Cook and Sofie Webb for their quick and informative responses, especially the links to retailers. It makes sense that as with binoculars, some investment is necessary for the best performance. I had to look up what 'varifocal' means but put simply this is a graded lens allowing the user to focus on the far, intermediate and close distance depending which area they are looking through. I imagine this takes some getting used to and will depend on your needs.
To keep the discussion going I'm providing some useful recommendations taken from the Orvis website, of course tailored for fishermen. Evidently, they don't think too much of Tom Cruise-style aviator glasses - drat, I was going to wear my sheepskin leather aviator jacket on the next pelagic and perhaps play a few sets of volley ball on the back deck by the chum station ;))
But seriously, is fishing the most applicable category to mimic as seabirders? Maybe glider pilots would be a better comparison...there I go again with the aviator gear....
OK, over to the folks at ORVIS.
Picking the right lens color for the fishing you do is an intimidating process for many anglers. We’ve tried to make it easy for you by only offering those lens colors that offer superior vision when looking into water. All the colors in Orvis sunglasses have been optimized and tested specifically for removing glare from the water’s surface and for seeing objects below the water. They are not colors developed for snowboarding or golf or biking, although our sunglass colors are also superb for everyday wear and driving.
Amber - great for most fly fishing conditions
When in doubt choose amber. Amber offers the best combination of visible light transmission and contrast enhancement for a wide variety of conditions from saltwater flats fishing to shaded trout streams. It sharpens the edges of visible objects by selectively tuning the visible spectrum with very little loss of resolution.
Rose - for very bright conditions
Rose offer some advantages under very bright conditions, such as flats fishing on sunny days and fishing wide open rivers in bright sunlight. Rose blocks slightly more visible light than amber, so it allows your eyes to stay rested after a long day on the water. But even more important, rose blocks more infrared (heat) rays, so it keeps your delicate corneas from drying up after a long day in the hot sun. It is especially advantageous for people with dry eyes or contact lens wearers as it helps prevent eyes from drying out. The contrast enhancement of rose is as good as amber and some anglers wear the rose color under all conditions.
Yellow - best for lower light conditions
Yellow lenses (available only in polycarbonate lenses) are best for early mornings, cloudy days, and evenings. Glare at these times can be overwhelming, but standard rose and amber tints can block too much visible light, resulting in a slight decrease in resolution. Yellow polarized lenses allow more visible light transmission and high contrast enhancement while still eliminating most glare.
Why doesn't Orvis offer gray polarized lenses?
We design our sunglasses for the demanding conditions that fly fishing dictates. Although some anglers swear by gray lenses, both our experience and our scientific testing of lens tints shows that gray lenses offer no advantage other than visible light blocking at all parts of the spectrum and removing glare. They do not add any contrast enhancement, which is so important in spotting fish, rocks, ledges, and logs below the water’s surface.
Why doesn't Orvis offer mirror lenses?
Mirror lenses offer absolutely no increase in visual acuity. They merely add cost and are 100% cosmetic.
--Angus Wilson
New York City & The Springs, NY, USA
http://birdingtotheend.blogspot.com/
Gunnar Engblom
Gunnar Engblom
Lima
Peru
Paul Guris
I've had mixed results with sunglasses. I currently have some very nice polarized Costa del Mars that have bluish lenses. Here are what I've found to be the pluses and minuses on a pelagic:
Pluses:
- They cut glare incredibly well.
- They increase my ability to pick up "sky birds" of any color.
- They're fantastic for looking through the water at dolphins, sea turtles, etc.
Minuses:
- The image I get through binoculars while scanning is almost "lively".
- Dark storm-petrels show up very poorly against the water, worse than without the sunglasses. Ditto for the dark side of shearwaters and alcids.
- Reading the top display and viewing the rear LCD of my camera can be difficult if not impossible.
I've actually been considering trying a pair of non-polarized amber glasses to increase contrast while still reducing glare. I'd be very interested in hearing about first-hand experiences of anybody who has tried these.
-PAG
--
Paul A. Guris
See Life Paulagics
PO Box 161
Green Lane, PA 18054
215-234-6805
www.paulagics.com
paulagics.com@gmail.com
in...@paulagics.com
Angus Wilson
Hi Everyone,
Great discussion. In addition to the group posts, I received direct replies from Sophie Webb and Debi Shearwater: extremely experienced offshore naturalists, familiar to many readers of Seabird-News. With permission I'm forwarding their comments, which are well worth reading.
Cheers, Angus
************************
> Reply from Sophie Webb [Sun, Aug 12, 2012 at 6:08 PM]
With sunglasses It all depends on how much you want to spend. I at times work on 4 month research cruises censusing seabirds and occasionally marine mammals in the Pacific sometimes off the US west coast and sometimes the tropics, so I have two pairs of sun glasses one amber for foggy overcast days and one darker gray for those days of intense sun. Both are polarized. Also that way I always have a back up if one breaks or pops into the ocean by accident. If there is a bird or mammal I'm having difficulty IDing I still will flip up my sunglasses and almost always do when trying to check photos.. There are many good brands int the $75-$200 US range. I find good glass or polycarbonate worth the expenditure. It's your eyes, your using them all day just like a good pair of binoculars, it makes a difference.
www.Eyesave.com has many brands at decent prices. Maui Jim make some of the best for work on water, made for surfers and fishermen, but they tend to cost more than others….But there are loads of good sunglass makers, ray ban , smith (they have some with interchangeable lenses clear but polarized i think, amber and gray), bolle, native, Bucci. A croaky is a good idea as well, some float so make it possible to retrieve your glasses if they fall in the H2O.
Any questions?
Cheers, Sophie
SW ADDENDUM [Tue, Aug 14, 2012 at 4:36 PM]: I see there is a lot of back and forth about glasses. I think the amber glasses I have are HCL by Maui Jim which I believe is their high contrast model, I think they are pretty good on low light days, but everyone has their own preference. Although it wasn't a recommended color on the Orvis link you sent I actually prefer gray glass the rest of the time because they don't alter color the way the other lenses do. So there are lots of things to think about. I do believe though if you are spending days/weeks/months looking at the ocean it is good to at least part of the time to protect your eyes from all the UV and reflected light. On one trip, one of the NOAA crew, a very experienced sailor, actually the chief bosun (boatswain) sunburned his eyes driving the small boat all day working dolphins and catching turtles……..I guess that'd be ocean blindness rather than snow: you can bet that was painful…..!
************************
>Reply from Debi Shearwater [Mon, Aug 13, 2012 at 11:21 AM]
Interesting. I wear a Rx glasses for small, long distance correction. I would never, ever be without Rx sunglasses and have worn them on all ocean trips for 36 years. Elaine is correct about polarized lenses. They are a must. About 20 years ago, I bought glass (no longer used in lenses today), Rx sunglasses made for fishermen. They were truly amazing. Today, I wear dark blue polarized lenses. Gray, rose and other colored lenses do not work as well, as they change the color of the bird too much. No side panels on my glasses. No varifocal lenses. I absolutely LOVE my sunglasses and would never do anything outside without them, especially at sea.
Anyone with blue or light-colored eyes, should most definitely wear sunglasses, as it helps protect agains cataract development. I know that birders, especially, do not like to wear sunglasses, as they claim that bird colors are not true with sunglasses.
I have excellent vision, except for the minor correction for long distance— and still do not use bifocals at all. I attribute this to wearing Rx sunglasses all of my life.
A birder, eye specialist once told me: Sunglasses for your eyes are like sunscreen for your skin—
Take it from there,
Debi Shearwater
DLS ADDENDUM [Tue, Aug 14, 2012 at 9:32 PM]: I will say that quite a few birders have asked me about my sunglasses, especially prior to heading to Antarctica.
DEBRA SHEARWATER
--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Seabird News" group.
To post to this group, send email to seabir...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to seabird-news...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/seabird-news?hl=en.
Joseph Morlan
I'm not sure if this was mentioned in the thread, but thought I'd add my
experience from trying my prescription amber polarized sunglasses on a
recent California pelagic trip.
As other have reported, the glasses did reduce glare and made spotting
distant flying birds somewhat easier, but did not help with spotting small
birds such as phalaropes or Cassin's Auklets on the water.
However the main problem was that the polarized sunglass lenses somehow
transmit the violet element of the T* multi-coating from my Zeiss Victory
binoculars. These are fluoride ion glass with the proprietary Zeiss T*
multi-coatings which reduce glare.
When viewing the dark ocean everything, and I mean everything, looked deep
violet in color. This strong tinting was so distracting that I abandoned
the sunglasses after trying them for 15 minutes or so.
I don't know if this is an issue with other coatings or types of glass, but
thought it worth mentioning.
Joseph Morlan, Pacifica, CA
"It turns out we're very good at not seeing things" - Jack Hitt
Paul Guris
Joe, I've never experienced the violet coloration with multiple Nikons (EDG, Premier, Monarch), my wife's old Zeiss 7x42s, My old Leitz Trinovids, or the Leicas I have tried on trips, but I have found one problem across the board with all of them that trumps a coloration issue for me. When scanning the water while wearing polarized sunglasses, the waves and ripples look "lively". And it gets worse as the glare gets worse and is exacerbated by the speed and motion of my scanning. I don't really know how else to describe it. Since the water appears to have so much more movement, picking out movement on the water or even a bird sitting still is much more difficult than without the sunglasses. So while I'll wear sunglasses, I'll often take them off to scan ... which is a real pain in the tail coverts when you're scanning for 10-12 hours.
What I want to find is a very high quality pair of sunglasses that aren't polarized but still cut glare well, and aren't so dark that it makes it more difficult to spot low flying storm-petrels.
-PAG
--
Paul A. Guris
See Life Paulagics
PO Box 161
Green Lane, PA 18054
215-234-6805
www.paulagics.com
paulagics.com@gmail.com
in...@paulagics.com
Angus,
I'm not sure if this was mentioned in the thread, but thought I'd add my
experience from trying my prescription amber polarized sunglasses on a
recent California pelagic trip.
As other have reported, the glasses did reduce glare and made spotting
distant flying birds somewhat easier, but did not help with spotting small
birds such as phalaropes or Cassin's Auklets on the water.
However the main problem was that the polarized sunglass lenses somehow
transmit the violet element of the T* multi-coating from my Zeiss Victory
binoculars. These are fluoride ion glass with the proprietary Zeiss T*
multi-coatings which reduce glare.
When viewing the dark ocean everything, and I mean everything, looked deep
violet in color. This strong tinting was so distracting that I abandoned
the sunglasses after trying them for 15 minutes or so.
I don't know if this is an issue with other coatings or types of glass, but
thought it worth mentioning.
--
Joseph Morlan
Just a quick follow up on the violet tinting effect on the Ziess Victory /
amber polarized sunglasses combo. For some reason, it seems the effect
only shows below the horizon, looking across or into the ocean. It does
not happen with birds flying high against the sky.
I just did a quick test here at home and was unable to reproduce the effect
with either the Zeiss Victory or two other test binoculars by looking
around my yard. Apparently you have to be looking into the ocean. Maybe
tomorrow I'll head to the coast for further testing.