Help with matching Pt need with specific Pals

[Crazy-bout-Optics]

Hello all.

So I have recently started working at a new practice that uses Zeiss/Sola lenses almost exclusively. We have access to Hoya and Essilor, however our Zeiss lab gives us seemingly unlimited remakes, redos etc.

The past 2 places I have worked used Hoya exclusively, but the Dr gets a better deal with Zeiss, I am sure you all know how that goes :)


I have tried reading up on all the Zeiss/Sola literature and have talked with some of the people working at the Zeiss lab which Pal is best for specific things, however I want to look past the hype and all the Literature from the lab and know from people who actually dispense the product which are the best Pals to use. I have scoured this site and have only come across a few posts that review Pals, however they are a bit dated.

So I am asking anyone with 2 cents to please give me your opinions on Zeiss/Sola/AO lenses when it comes to best for Reading, best hard/soft design, best for high add, for those with negligible distance etc.

All thoughts and opinions greatly appreciated.

[Bobie]

Matty ,
Please inform me about what you would like to compare, only semi-finished PALs or including free form PALs and please specify the level prices you would like to compare it with.
For example like , if you don't care about the price , then Zeiss Gradal Frame Fit will be the best in this case , but if you would like to have the best of budget PALs in that case , SOLAMax will be the best in semi-soft design wided near ( but very poor vision at the far ).

:bbg:

[Crazy-bout-Optics]

I understand that free form may be ideal for each individual patient.

I am not concerned with price at all. On some arbitrary scale, could the Zeiss PAL lenses be rated against each other. I just want to know what Zeiss lenses have the widest Near, the widest Int, best for distance, best overall/general use lens, best for Myope, best for Hyperope etc, all within the Zeiss family of lenses.

Thanks for any input

[Bobie]

• Gradal Frame Fit is the best PALs from Zeiss for all what you need.
• Gradal i.Scription need more cases to proof themself.

[Fezz]

How about the Younger Image?

[RT]

however our Zeiss lab gives us seemingly unlimited remakes, redos etc.

Shouldn't this only be a consideration for below-average opticians? I would think you'd be looking for a lab and a product that helps you get it right the first time.

[Crazy-bout-Optics]

I do not need a lab that gives free remakes and 100% Disco for Rx change etc because I am a below average Optician. At this new practice that I am at, we see too many, IMO, rx rechecks and enough exchanges to keep us busy. The Doctors, not the Optical staff, pick which lab and which lenses to use.

It is sort of like Musical Chairs. Few months we use Zeiss, than Essilor calls the docs up and offers promo pricing and throws vouchers at them, free remakes up the wazoo. The Doctors see the bottom line and so there you have it.

We use the lab that gives (to the Doctors at least) the most for the least amount of money. Not because I am a sub par optician making optical/fitting mistakes. Unfortunately the clientele have become accustomed to this practice of Rx rechecks for *stupid*(My professional opinion) reasons, or now they want to add A/R to their lenses 2 months later. The Doctors have made the patients believe that it is ok to do this. Their policy, not mine.

However I am not here to discuss their policy since it is out of my hands.

What I DID ask was for Zeiss lenses to be rated since I am trying to avoid these excessive remakes. Our patients will try on a new Pal, take it off and say "its blurry" and then refuse to try it out. Our wonderful (Insert sarcasm here) office policy is to remake them till the Pt is happy. I remade Pal lenses 3 times for one particular Pt who wasn't happy in anything I put her in.

So, if anyone wants to give their opinion about Zeiss lenses to help me on my quest to cut back on the constant re-dos I would appreciate it as I am not too familiar with them.

* as a side note ;-) the Zeiss lab we use is wonderful from the jobs that come back to the staff. I am studying to become an OD, and consider myself an optical nerd, not a below-average Optician.

[Ineed Chocolate]

Matty, we are an MD office which uses primarily Zeiss products for all the reasons you have mentioned, also. I find that the GT2 is a good lens, except for those patients who are using a PC full time (due to the short intermediate corridor). GT2 has a bit higher, wider reading area than a Gradal Top, but also a little more peripheral blurr than the Gradal Top (which I also wear). As far as PC lenses go, I still fit the RD in some rare cases, but not many, due to required frame size/seg ht., etc. We fit the Zeiss Business lens frequently, though. I will say this...If I have a patient that walks in wearing a Varilux Comfrot and they LOVE it, I will keep them in what they like, rather than change them.

[Crazy-bout-Optics]

Thanks Ineed!

This is the type of info I am after. I totally agree that if it's not broken, don't fix it. We tend to deal with 1st time Pal wearers though.

Fezz, we do use the Image occasionally, however we use it as a budget Pal more than anything, and not too often.

[Bobie]

Varilux Comfort is one of the worlds best PALs if compared overall performance per US$ and it still is the last great success of PALs from Essilor. ( Don't forget that Comfort have been sold more than 14 years already and the Comfort free form version will be one of the best of all PALs from Essilor ). :D

[Senorwes1]

We use a lot of Zeiss products at our office also. I have found that for people like truck drivers that need a wider corridor, I would suggest the AO b'Active and for just about everything else, we use the SolaOne. SolaOne has 55 unique designs, where as most other PAL's only have 12 designs. The reason we use a lot of Zeiss lenses is due to the fact that our profit is higher on these lenses than Essilor or other lenses. If it were up to me, I would probably fit everyone in a Varilux Comfort PAL but that is not always possible. I have never had a patient complain that they can't see out of a Varilux Comfort lens. However, cost is a big factor when discussing PAL's with patients and other lens options are needed. Zeiss has quality products at a good price and that is good for business.

[Bobie]

Varilux Comfort 360
http://www.varilux.com/NR/rdonlyres/...xComfortSA.pdf

[Serrata]

Crazy -about - Optics- wrote:

"So I have recently started working at a new practice that uses Zeiss/Sola lenses almost exclusively. We have access to Hoya and Essilor, however our Zeiss lab gives us seemingly unlimited remakes, redos etc.

The past 2 places I have worked used Hoya exclusively, but the Dr gets a better deal with Zeiss, I am sure you all know how that goes :)"

Yes, It's the same deal where I work because it's a 'deal'. My employers can get Sola Max progressives <wholesale prices removed>.

As such, going with a better lens such a Varilux is almost out of the question due to the lack of profit in their thinking.:hammer: . They don't always see the big picture. The constant trips back with problems (And people more and more today complain about the gas spent coming back). Also the problems will ruin repeat business and referrals.

You have to do the best you can. as Opticians , we need to provide the best for our patients but also have to answer to the powers that be (If we work for others).

Not to Pick on Zeiss, But I will not switch a Varilux patient into a Sola product. :finger: . I tell them straight out it would be a frustrating move.

Serrata.

[Fezz]

Serrata,

Please remove the wholesale pricing as per posting guidelines. The professionals only forum is the proper place for that kind of talk. It is a paid subscription...well worth every penny!

Posting guidelines:

Optiboard is a public discussion forum. We are composed of eyecare professionals and the consuming public. In this regard, it is inappropriate to publish wholesale prices, or other propriatary information which might compromise the relationship between professionals and consumers. If you have questions of this nature, or information to provide, please use the Private Message system to ask the question or to diseminate the information. Posts containing pricing information deemed inappropriate, will be removed.

[HarryChiling]

As such, going with a better lens such a Varilux is almost out of the question due to the lack of profit in their thinking.:hammer: . They don't always see the big picture.

That's an interesting big picture that you paint, car eto elaborate what factors you account for when you say better?

I find the comfort is much more forgiving when fit wrong. The Zeiss lenses need to be fit more accurately, so if skills are lacking and this is where we should get real honest with ourselves, then go with the Comfort.

I also find that most Essilor wearers initially like the lenses, but sometimes come back after a while dissatisfied. Most of my Zeiss wearers don't liek the lens at first, but if hey give it a try for a week or two they prefer the lens to any other and often times cannot be switched from the lens. Our office tends to fit the lenses with a mentality that if sharp clear vision is the goal then Zeiss products are what we tedn to lean towards, if easy adaption is the issue than we lean towards the comfort. I can't say ones better than the other, they both have their uses and I would rather have both in my arsenal. BTW, the image tends to be less forgiving of misfits ;) as well, but provides great vision, many satisfied customers in it and it's not a budget lens, it just comes with a budget price.

[Serrata]

Fezz wrote:

" Serrata: Please remove the wholesale pricing as per posting guidelines. The professionals only forum is the proper place for that kind of talk. It is a paid subscription...well worth every penny! '


Forgive my ignorance. I apologize for not knowing the rules. I was away and someone deleted my post in the interim. I promise to never post again here.. I didn't think of public access on this forum. You may completely delete my profile.

All the best,

Serrata

[Happylady]

Forgive my ignorance. I apologize for not knowing the rules. I was away and someone deleted my post in the interim. I promise to never post again here.. I didn't think of public access on this forum. You may completely delete my profile.

All the best,

Serrata[/quote]

Oh, please don't go away! I don't think anyone wants that.