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Randolph Engineering Polarized Aviator Sunglasses

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Randolph Engineering Polarized Aviator Sunglasses

Jan 13, 2019

Do these have an anti-reflective coating on the inside? Most consumers only care about polarization when actually anti-reflective coatings have a far more important effect on vision (go figure, consumers being consumers). My guess is these don't have an anti-reflective coating, and are therefore optically inferior to those that do.

(Edited)

Riehl

Jan 13, 2019

orangesherbet0Anti-reflective and polarized are both considered really bad for pilots since they reduce the ability to spot other aircraft under VFR (See and Avoid) conditions -- the flash of sunlight reflecting off another aircraft can make it easier to spot.

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orangesherbet0

Jan 13, 2019

RiehlThat's not how anti-reflective coatings work, actually. Anti-reflective coatings actually increase optical transmission, thereby allowing more light through. Anti-reflective coatings are put on the surface inside the lens and affect the image in exactly one way: removing the reflection of your facial skin from the image. The way they do this is by allowing the light from your own face to travel through the lens, rather than bounce back and go into your eyes. Polarization removes external reflections, anti-reflective coatings remove internal reflections (light from your own face). Anti-reflective coatings are always preferable to non-anti-reflective coatings under any and all scenarios, especially in aviation - the image of your face only serves to blind you. In fact, not using anti-reflective internal coatings would be dangerous. Yet, consumers remain extremely confused about their benefits. Maui Jim, Smith Chromapop, and more high-end glasses feature not only anti-reflective internal coatings, but also chromatic-enhancing color filters that increase color contrast. Meanwhile, I have seen exactly zero sunglasses on Massdrop with anti-reflective lenses - you guys are getting screwed.

(Edited)

Hockeymagnet

Jan 16, 2019

orangesherbet0According to Randolph's web site, all their lenses have anti reflective coating.

Daisy_Cutter

1288

Jan 19, 2019

orangesherbet0Almost right, but wrong. Right in the sense that anti-reflective coatings don't reduce glare or reflections from the environment, but reduce the reflection of light off your face. Wrong as to how they work. Anti-reflective coatings don't allow light from your face to pass through the lens. Instead, the coating sets up two reflections - the first is light bouncing off the coating itself. The second reflection is when light goes through the coating and bounces off the lens. The thickness of the coating is precisely adjusted such that when the light waves from the two reflections come together, they are exactly 180 degrees out of phase (because light is a wave). The two reflections then cancel each other out. However, because light of different colours have different wavelengths, anti-reflective coatings can't cover the entire spectrum of visible light. That's why you still see faint blue or red reflections from anti-reflective surfaces.

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orangesherbet0

Jan 19, 2019

Daisy_CutterIf you read my answer, I didn't say how anti-reflective coatings work (and as a physics graduate student, I know exactly how they work), so why are you saying that I stated how they work incorrectly? Whether it is a quarter wavelength coating, an intermediate index of refraction, or unicorns, anti-reflective coatings increase transmission of light (Because Transmittance = 1 - Reflectance). In both cases, the effect is used to increase transmission of facial light through the lens preventing it from reflecting back into your eye. As soon as you wear a pair, the effect doesn't even need an explanation, you know exactly what it is doing when you see so clearly without any back-reflections. Side note, if Randolph doesn't state they are using anti-reflective optical coatings, a consumer should assume they are not.

(Edited)

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Daisy_Cutter

1288

Jan 19, 2019

orangesherbet0"The way they do this is by allowing the light from your own face to travel through the lens, rather than bounce back and go into your eyes." This sentence was potentially misleading. Thanks for clearing it up.

Magiko

105

Jan 26, 2019

orangesherbet0Found this on the Randolph site: " RANDOLPH VECTOR™ OPTICAL COATING
Stops harmful glare from behind. This proprietary multi-layer coating is applied to each lens to block harmful reflected light and ‘bounce-back’ glare from entering your eye from behind. VECTOR™ reduces eye-strain and improves visual acuity with the added benefit of built-in hydrophobic, anti-static, and scratch-resistant properties."

orangesherbet0

Jan 26, 2019

MagikoNice find. Would be great to see this advertised on the product page, if I was the manufacturer and this was already a feature I would. Also would be nice to see a response from the manufacturer...

(Edited)

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