Gunnar Optiks – Save your eyes!

I wanted to share something with everyone that I find very useful. Gunnar Optiks is a manufacturer of eyewear targeting computer users . If you spend a lot of time behind a computer, whether it’s on facebook, playing WoW, reading blogs, editing images, etc… you have probably experienced eye fatigue at some point.

Gunnar makes the following statements on their website about what their eyewear does:

“-precisely tuned to specific distances for reduced visual stress
-advanced optics for augmented details
-independent ocular microclimate provides increased humidity levels
-environmental barrier blocks ambient air currents to alleviate dry-eye effects”

They offer them in prescription and non-prescription versions with loads of frame variations. I have the Catalyst Edge model in Amber. (seen in my photo up top!) Being frameless they weigh virtually nothing. Very comfortable for extended periods of use.

I find using these, especially at night when I am already tired makes a huge difference in my ability to work on a computer for any length of time. This is even more true if I have to read long passages on a large monitor. The larger the monitor I use, the better I feel when I use these glasses.

The standard versions (amber) do slightly tint the color you see. It is actually an improvement for most activities. This didn’t work for me when I needed to color correct photos however. Basic image selection and detail editing on images is fine. Gunnar has since introduced a new line for those working in the visual arts. They are called the Crystalline Series. They are not tinted so accurate color work can be carried out. I will definitely be ordering a pair!

If you spend a lot of time on a computer (photographers and programmers reading this…take note!!!) you should do yourself a favor and try a pair. They really do make a difference.

The image up top is with a Leica M8, 75mm lens, and two Canon speedlights.