SolaOne vs. SolaMax vs. Synchrony

**Givem Glassses** · 08-03-2012, 01:47 AM

I have a new patient who's been wearing Sola XL (and subsequently XL Gold) for over 20 years, and he's been very satisfied with them. (He says he doesn't even know he's wearing a PAL when he has them on.) When he recently went to get his newest Rx filled at Lenscrafters, they told him (correctly, of course) that the XL Gold had been discontinued. Since he's been so happy with that lens, he asked for another Sola product, and they put him into a Synchrony, which he's not happy with. So he came to see me.

He keeps his computer monitor at arm's length and tells me that when he looks at the monitor with the Synchrony, he finds himself wandering out of focus if he moves his head up and down even slightly, and he gets swim-and-sway when he moves his head from side to side -- two problems he says he did not have with the XL Gold. He says that distance and reading with the Synchrony are not as good as they were with the XL Gold, but they're "acceptable."

Like almost everyone else on this board, I know nothing about the Synchrony and, surprisingly, neither does my rep. Everything I know I've learned from Darryl Meister, rmarkzz, Mr. Finney, rinselberg, and some of the other knowledgeable people here: That it's based on the SolaOne/SolaMax design platform, that it was designed to be sold by Lenscrafters and the other chains, and that it was designed to compete on price. But I can't track down a white paper, lens map, or any other "hard data" on it.

So here are my questions: If he's not happy with the Synchrony, is there any reason to try him on a SolaMax or SolaOne? Are either of those two lenses likely to solve his intermediate vision problems, without sacrificing reading and distance -- and if so, which one? And if neither of those would be an improvement, which non-Sola lens is most similar to the XL Gold -- a lens that has given him a very generous and "forgiving" intermediate without compromising on reading and distance?

There's one other factor that might be contributing to his dissatisfaction. His XL Golds have always been Spectralite, but the Synchrony he got from Lenscrafters is polycarbonate (that's the only material they carry it in). I know that the indices are pretty close (1.537 for the Spectralite and 1.586 for the Poly), but there's a huge difference in ABBE value: 47 for the Spectralite and only 30 for the Poly. And I'm wondering if, at his correction, the significantly lower ABBE value of the Synchrony could be one of the reasons for his dissatisfaction. (He's not complaining about chromatric aberration, but I know that sometimes low ABBE value problems can present themselves as complaints of blurring and peripheral distortion.)

His new Rx, which isn't significantly different from his previous one, is....
OD +1.00 -0.75 x 003
OS +0.50 -1.00 x 178
ADD +2.50

Any input and advice from Darryl and the rest of the Optiboard experts would be greatly appreciated.

**thep** · 08-03-2012, 08:44 AM

According to Zeiss, the Synchrony IS the Sola One, simply re-branded for the chains and NOT available to independent labs under that name. I received this information myself from the company.

**Givem Glassses** · 08-03-2012, 06:27 PM

Thanks very much, thep, for your response. I just checked the 70-page PDF document entitled "Sola Specs" and, indeed, the specs for the SolaOne and Synchrony appear to be identical. The only difference I was able to come up with is on a sell sheet that lists both products, where it gives the minimum fitting height as 18 for the SolaOne and 17 for the Synchrony. I would think that they would be the same if it were exactly the same lens. Also, several years ago Darryl Meister said that the Synchrony was based on the SolaOne/Max platform, not that it was the same as the SolaOne. You would think that of all people, Darryl would know. Interesting.

So... do you think that the SolaMax might solve the problems that my patient is having with the Synchrony, or should I move him into another manufacturer's lens?

**Jubilee** · 08-03-2012, 09:08 PM

The Sola Max is closer in design to the XL, than the SolaOne.

My recommendation would be to use the SolaMax and get it in the Spectralite.. or at least take him out of poly as well.

**thep** · 08-03-2012, 11:18 PM

Ditto, Spectralite or CR39... if it ain't broke...

**Givem Glassses** · 08-03-2012, 11:44 PM

Thanks to both of you, Jubilee and thep. I'm leaning towards giving him the SolaMax in Spectralite. Could either of you tell me exactly what design characteristics of the SolaMax make it more similar to the XL (and XL Gold), and exactly how it differs from the SolaOne? I understand that the SolaMax is supposed to have a fairly large intermediate, but does that result in compromises in the distance area, such as peripheral blur and swim?

As I've mentioned, my patient is "OK" with the Synchrony's near and distance characteristics but unhappy with the intermediate. I don't want to fit him with a SolaMax and then have him tell me that now he's happy with the intermediate but hates the distance. Is that something I have to worry about?

I'm sorry to be showering you with all these questions, but unfortunately none of the Zeiss/Sola literature provides a feature-by-featue comparison of their lenses. According to them, *all* of their lenses are equally amazing and wonderful. (It seems that Essilor and the others all do the same thing -- make it difficult if not impossible to make educated decisions about which lens to use in any given case.)

**Jubilee** · 08-04-2012, 04:53 AM

Looking at the contour plots of the SolaOne (Synchrony) SolaMax, and XL Gold, the SolaMax is closer to the XL Gold. The Intermediate is better defined, a smidge wider.. less astigmatism in the periphery...

Check out thelensguru.com and use their compare maps feature. http://www.thelensguru.com/comparema...ap1=solaxlgold

**chip anderson** · 08-04-2012, 09:33 AM

What happens to "discontinued lenses." There must be millions of blanks out there. Are they returned to the mfg. for credit? Are they just destroyed? Are they sitting in the back room of optical labs? Are they sold off to the third world?
Surely someone has some blanks where patients can still be provided with what they were happy with.

Chip

**Judy Canty** · 08-04-2012, 10:04 AM

Some manufacturers recycle the materials.

**Happylady** · 08-04-2012, 10:55 AM

Sola Max has a great near but less clearness in the distance periphery. I sold the XL Gold. It's a softer design (at least for its time) has a longer corridor and less near. I would look for a lens in Trivex if possible. If not try standard plastic or 1.6 HI.

**Givem Glassses** · 08-06-2012, 03:54 AM

Thanks, Jubilee, for reminding me about lensguru. It's been a while since I've visited the site and I'd forgotten how much good info it has. The SolaMax's contour plot definitely bears a strong resemblance to the XL Gold and "on paper" it certainly seems like the right way to go. My only concern is that charts, diagrams, maps, and other "left-brain" specifications don't always correlate to the patient's actual, subjective, real-world experience.

Chip Anderson, I'd love to get my hands on an old XL Gold blank but my lab says they don't have them and can't get them. If I could find one, it probably would solve all my problems.

Happylady, your comment about the distance issues with the SolaMax is exactly what I'm worried about. If I solve my patient's intermediate problem, only to replace it with a distance problem, then I'm back to square one. I initially thought that the SolaOne would be a nice compromise, but then I found out here that it's the same lens as the Synchrony, which my pt doesn't like. Darn. I hate problems like this.

I'm thinking about abandoning Sola entirely and going for something like Definity, but that's getting into uncharted territory as far as my patient is concerned.

**thep** · 08-06-2012, 11:35 AM

The Creation is one of the best molded progressives on the market(till they redesign it)

**EyeCare Rich** · 08-08-2012, 04:43 PM

I'm thinking about abandoning Sola entirely and going for something like Definity, but that's getting into uncharted territory as far as my patient is concerned.[/QUOTE]

It's also an entirely different price point as well. Something to think about if your going to go the Definity direction, think about Shamir Auto2, or Zeiss GT23D. Great peripheral in both these lenses. I would look to the 3D with his Rx myself. That's my 2 cents.

**Robert Martellaro** · 08-09-2012, 09:36 AM

The key here is XLgold's more linear and long corridor. If you can still get it, try Zeiss's GT. If not, then the Definity, but make sure it's not the short version, or has a variable corridor that might force the design into a shorter corridor.

Demo +1.00 over of his eyeglasses at arms length (without the chin lift) to see if they'll accept computer eyeglasses.

**drk** · 08-09-2012, 08:28 PM

1. A guy that old was lucky to be using the computer so successfully with a general purpose progressive.
2. Abbe is probably a very big issue, here.
3. Intermediate areas are never very big. I don't think any of them are practically wider. Maybe longer, if you fit them high enough and get a long-corridor lens.
4. Like Robert says, computer glasses are the safest bet.

**Robert Martellaro** · 08-10-2012, 09:41 AM

Originally Posted by drk

1. A guy that old was lucky to be using the computer so successfully with a general purpose progressive.

I see it about 10% of the time. Multiple hours per day, no symptoms. Don't know if it's smaller pupils, unusually high reserve accommodation, pathway efficiency, changes in the lens?

2. Abbe is probably a very big issue, here.

Not in this instance. Lateral or transverse chromaticism is Prism/Abbe. The power is insufficient to induce enough prism to be a concern.

3. Intermediate areas are never very big. I don't think any of them are practically wider. Maybe longer, if you fit them high enough and get a long-corridor lens.

Yup. I don't see any difference, although some folks might. Most folks will be comfortable if the eyes are tracking very close to, and along the umbilic, when using a competent PAL design. I think of the corridor as a narrow bridge between the distance and near point- limited utility, but a necessary evil if you don't want lines. Most advanced presbyopes will see significant differences in corridor lengths though, if there's average to above average frequency of close tasks.

**Givem Glassses** · 08-25-2012, 04:11 AM

Thanks to EyeCare Rich, Robert Martellaro and drk, for your replies, and thanks for all the good options you've given me. My apologies for dropping off the board for the past couple of weeks. I've been out of town and (blissfully) without an internet connection, but now I've returned to the real world. Coincidentally, my patient's also been away, so things have been on hold. At this point, I'm leaning towards the SolaMax, simply because it seems to be the closest lens to the XL Gold that's still being made. If that doesn't work, then I'll move to Plan B -- which might be one of the Zeiss lenses you mentioned. Stay tuned for further developments...