With the new camera-equipped Eyez sunglasses from ZionEyez, users can share point-of-view 1080p video, with16GB of flash memory, WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. At four ounces, Eyez are only slightly heavier than everyday sunglasses and three-hour battery lifespan means you can use the 16 gigabytes to record a full three hours of video.

Eyez resemble classic Ray-Ban-style shades and capture a 130-degree field of vision through a half-inch lens, which is concealed on the right side of the frame. A 0.2-inch high-def sensor captures the images, and a one-gig processor compresses the video. The footage can be saved into an onboard flash-drive memory or transmitted from a Wi-Fi/Bluetooth radio to a smart phone. There is also an app that will control the camera remotely and stream footage to Facebook, YouTube or the Eyez homepage. The whole setup gets its power from a tiny lithium-polymer battery hidden in the frame’s left arm.

Each pair of Eyez comes with two sets of lenses, one clear and one shaded, to suit lighting conditions. The shaded lenses will filter 100% of UVA/UVB radiation and prescription eyeglass lenses can also be snapped into the frame for vision challenged photographers. Unlike most video cameras, the Eyez are a very discreet way to film and since you don’t have to hold your arms or otherwise attract attention to capture the action, making them ideal for secret filming or even spy duties.

ZionEyez says its Eyez sunglasses will be ready for delivery by winter of 2011 and the price will be around $150 to $200 retail.

The situation is different for contact lens prescriptions though, as wearing the wrong contact prescription can cause the eyes to become red and irritated if the fit is poor and does not allow enough oxygen to reach the surface of the eyes. This condition can be serious and may cause permanent scarring and vision loss with use over time. Contact lens prescriptions have a vision correcting function as well as the need to fit correctly. If the vision part is wrong you will have blurred vision. If the shape is incorrect and does not fit well, the lenses will make your vision blurred and over time they can cause physical eye damage.

The major difference between eyeglasses and contact lenses is the fact that glasses sit on the face, while contact lenses sit on the living tissue surface of the eyes. When the incorrect prescription is worn or the eyeglass lens is not manufactured to specifications, the main risk is only blurry vision and temporary discomfort. When the wrong contact lenses are worn, there is actual danger of damaging the eye tissue. If you think a mistake has been made in filling any corrective lens prescription, you should consult your ophthalmologist or optometrist as soon as possible. Although it won’t physically injure your eyes to wear eyeglasses that aren’t exactly what the doctor ordered, wearing contact lenses requires a greater degree of precision and safety.

One basic thing to remember is that not all contact lens solutions work for all eyes, and you may have to try out a few different contact solutions to find out if you are allergic to any of them and which ones might work the best for your eyes. You should have learned the proper method of putting your contacts in from your eye doctor, but before you ever pickup a contact lens you must make sure that your hands are clean and remember that any residue from soaps, skin lotions, or any other household chemicals that get on your contact lenses will cause problems. If you experience irritation, pain, or blurred vision, you are doing something wrong, and the first thing to check is to make sure your contacts are spotlessly clean.

Assuming your lenses are clean and there are no irritation problems, you can begin wearing your new contacts for the proper amount of time for your particular contacts and as prescribed by your doctor. Your eye care professional will also instruct you on how to take your contacts out and how to store them. You may be instructed to use a wetting agent or saline solution to keep your eyes lubricated while you are wearing your contacts. It can take a few days for your eyes to become accustomed to wearing your contacts at first and you should remember to give your eyes a rest from wearing the contacts at the end of your day.

If you have trouble remembering when to change or remove your contact lenses, you can create a chart or schedule to hang on the wall to remind you. You should always wear your contacts only for the amount of time prescribed; wearing them longer might save some money but could put your eyesight at risk for problems later on. Unless you have been prescribed extended wear contacts by your doctor, you should always remove your contacts before you go to sleep at night. Sleeping with contacts in your eyes can cause corneal ulcers over time. When you first begin wearing contact lenses your eyes may become more sensitive to sunlight. If it becomes difficult to wear your contacts on bright sunny days you can wear sunglasses to reduce the discomfort.

In addition to wearing your contact lenses as suggested by your eye doctor, you should also clean and store them as prescribed as well. Don’t mix and match different types of cleaning solutions because specific types of contact lenses may need specific types of solutions. Always use only the eye care products that your eye doctor has recommended for your use. Rinse your contact lenses carefully using only the recommended solutions and let them air dry. Do not ever use saliva or tap water on your contacts because of the risk of contamination with microorganisms that can cause eye damage or infection. Contact lens solutions can also become contaminated if you let the tip of the bottle come in contact with any thing that is not clean, including your own fingers.

Everyone who wears contact lenses should always have a pair of back-up the correct prescription eyeglasses handy for use anytime you need to take your lenses out, or in case something happens to your contacts. Anytime you experience burning sensations, redness, or excessive tearing, you should remove your contact lenses immediately and leave them out until you have consulted with your optometrist. Remember that good hygiene is the most important single factor when it comes to the proper use, maintenance and storage of your contact lenses.

The first thing most people do when they notice the onset of presbyopia is to go to the drug store and purchase a pair of cheap magnifier reading glasses. This is a cheap and easy solution that works for people whose only vision problem is presbyopia. However,

for many people, the universal reading glasses can cause eye fatigue, and prescription glasses or contacts may be a better solution. An inexpensive prescription option is bifocal glasses with the top portion of the lens correcting for distance vision if necessary, and the bottom portion correcting for presbyopia. If trifocals lenses are used, the middle section can be used to correct for intermediate distance vision problems. Most bifocal lenses will cost under $200 but the frames are usually sold separately and can cost from under $100 to over $1,000 if you desire high-end designer frames.

Progressive eyeglass lenses address presbyopia vision problems by using lens that gradually increase in power from the top to the bottom. Progressive lenses do away with the visible hard focal lines and avoid the image jump that can occur with traditional bifocal lenses. Unfortunately, progressive lenses usually cost a lot more than bifocals or trifocals, and can sometime enhance visual distortions for some users.

Higher up on the ladder of expense are bifocal and multifocal contact lenses that feature two different prescriptions in the same contact lens. Fitting presbyopic patients with multifocal contacts is complicated and in the past many people were told that they were not good candidates for multifocal lenses. However, multifocal contact lenses have come a long way in the past few years and now come in a range of hard and soft materials with various lifespan options. They can be expensive though, and fitting fees alone for contact lenses can run as much as $500 per year.

Monovision is a more radical approach to correcting presbyopia that corrects one eye for distance vision and one eye for near vision instead of the more traditional method of correcting both eyes for both distance and near vision problems. Monovision works because the brain learns to ignore the image that’s not in focus and focus on the clearer image only, but not everyone can adapt to the difference between the two corrections and headaches and eyestrain can become a growing problem as people age and their presbyopia worsens. Monovision is actually accomplished by using special contact lenses or with Lasik surgery to reshape the cornea. However, surgery to correct presbyopia is an irreversible and expensive process. Anyone considering surgery for presbyopia should first test musing Monovision with glasses or contact lenses to see if it actual works for them before making the leap.

The most radical and most expensive method of treating presbyopia is a complete lens replacement just like the method eye surgeons currently use to replace a human eye lens that has clouded up due to cataracts. Although some eye doctors will not employ surgery to correct presbyopia alone because they feel the risks outweigh the potential benefits, there are many ophthalmologists that will replace a person’s healthy eye lenses with presbyopia-correcting lenses. Complete lens replacement is definitely the most complicated and dangerous method of correcting presbyopia, and because it is rarely medically necessary, insurance policies will not cover cost which can be as much as $7,000 per eye. In that light, those $10 magnifier reading glasses from the drug store are a pretty good deal.

Photochromic lenses today account for about 18 percent of eyeglass lenses sold in the United States today and they are available in a wide variety of lens materials, allowing you to choose from polycarbonate lenses, high-index lenses, or regular plastic or glass lenses. Photochromic polycarbonate lenses are the safest lens material for kids. Since the risk for cataracts and other age-related eye problems is associated with a person’s lifetime exposure to the sun’s UV rays, eye protection for children’s eyes is important too.

Although Transitions Optical in Pinellas Park, Florida owns the technology used by most manufacturers of photochromic lenses today, other lens manufacturers have also developed their own photochromic lens technology. Transitions photochromic lenses outsell all other brands and are available in a variety of materials and designs, including bifocals and progressive lenses. The variable tint in most Transitions photochromic lenses come in shades of gray and brown. Transitions also partners with other lens manufacturers and lenses from manufacturers Essilor, Hoya and Shamir all utilize the same Transitions photochromic lens technology. Transitions lenses are produced in lightweight plastic materials only and are not available in glass or other high-index materials.

The Corning Company in Corning, New York, developed the first mass-produced photochromic lenses in the 1960s, and the firm still makes them today in shades of gray or brown sold as PhotoGray and PhotoBrown lenses. Corning’s line of photochromic lenses are made using high-index plastic materials and are available in single vision, bifocal, trifocal and progressive lens designs. Other current and popular photochromic lenses are currently offered by the German lens manufacturer Rodenstock, Vision-Ease in Ramsey, Minnesota, and Serengeti in Italy.

Most photochromic sunglass lenses will not darken inside an automobile because they need the sun’s UV light to activate them. The Younger Optics Company in Torrance, California has developed photochromic lenses that can react to light conditions both outdoors and behind the windshield of a car, but most manufacturers sell photochromic sunglass lenses that are designed primarily for outdoor use only. Almost any color can be applied to lenses these days and the light-colored fashion tints are mainly used as fashion accessories. Dark tints allow the wearer to use their eyeglasses as sunglasses, but the dark–colored lenses aren’t only for sunglasses and some even have medical applications such as the red photochromic lenses used for patients with macular degeneration.

Photochromic contact lenses have also recently been developed by researchers in China who developed a contact lens material made of nano-sized channels that can be filled with photosensitive dyes. The structure of the flexible lens material allows the contacts to darken automatically in sunlight just like photochromic lenses in eyeglasses. Although they are not yet widely available, some photochromic contact lenses have been sold in the United States for almost a year now.

Because you can’t protect yourself completely from all spectrums of light, the key to selecting proper sunglasses is to reduce the amount of the more dangerous visible rays that reach your eyes. Unfortunately, many sunglasses manufacturers don’t provide much information to help you make informed purchasing decisions and there are few, if any informational labels on many sunglasses, even the expensive ones. Many manufacturers claim their sunglasses will protect you from 100 percent of UV light, but in actual testing it was found that that three-quarters of sunglasses examined transmitted more ultraviolet light than the manufacturer’s claims stated. Typical results on sunglasses that claimed to filter out 98 % of ultraviolet light actually blocked only 90%.

Sunglasses Purchase Checklist:

• Brown or tan lenses offer the best comfort and protection.
• Gray or green lenses have the least color distortion.
• Buy only sunglasses that state they provide 100% protection from ultraviolet light.
• General use sunglasses should transmit no more than 12% of visible light.
• Sunglasses used for driving should transmit at least 10% of visible light.
• Polarized lenses are generally good for all purposes.
• Sunglasses with polycarbonate lenses are best for sports.
• Glass lenses are better for driving, traveling and general wear.
• Photochromic transitional lenses are best for driving sunglasses.
• All sunglasses with plastic or polycarbonate lenses should have scratch-resistant coating.
• Expensive sunglasses do not always provide the best eye protection.

Now there appears to be a better, and electronic, solution to the problem in the form of electronically powered eyeglasses from Pixel Optics. Pixel has created it’s emPower! Glasses with a bifocal lens that can be turned on and off to control a liquid crystal insert in the lens. The new electronic glasses are powered by a tiny, rechargeable battery and they can focus faster than you can blink your eyes. The electronic smart lenses replace traditional progressive and bifocal lenses and they don’t have dividing lines or areas of visual distortion like traditional bifocal lenses have. To adjust the lenses, all the wearer has to do is touch the side of the frame to activate or deactivate the focus mechanism.

The technology in the emPower! Glasses is a spin-off of some classified work Pixel Optics did for the U.S. Military back in 2006 when the firm was granted $3.5 million to develop electronic glasses that would allow US soldiers to have better than 20/20 vision on the battlefield. The technology works using a layer of liquid crystals sandwiched between two pieces of glass. When an electric charge is applied, the orientation of the liquid crystals changes and the glasses focus electronically, if not somewhat magically using battery power. The battery can be recharged in a few hours and the glasses will work for two to three days normal use, depending how long they are worn.

Pixel Optics first showed it’s emPower! Glasses off at the Consumer Electronics Show in early 2011, and the company hopes to launch a full line of 36 different styles selling nationwide for $1,000 to $1,200 later this year. For current wearers of traditional multi-focal lenses, the new emPower! Glasses can’t hit the market soon enough.

Plastic frames are both strong and lightweight. Originally mostly made of nylon, most eyeglass manufacturers have switched to blended nylons or nylon-based plastic that has more transparency and gloss than other types of plastics. Plastic frames are a good choice for sports and performance-oriented glasses because they are resistant to hot and cold and are flexible, but also stiff enough to be molded into today’s popular wraparound styles, as well as many other shapes that are otherwise very difficult to produce. Plastic frames do break more easily than metal frames and they can fade with prolonged exposure to sunlight, but today’s modern high-tech materials have greatly reduced those problems.

Metals are still very widely used in the manufacture of eyeglass frames due to malleability and corrosion resistance. Titanium frames are offered by many manufacturers these days, the silver-gray metal is lightweight, durable, strong and corrosion-resistant. Titanium frames can also be produced in a variety of colors. Many frame manufacturers offer alloy frames that are a combination of titanium and other metals, like nickel or copper to reduce cost. Beryllium is another lightweight, very strong, and very flexible metal that is a less expensive alternative to titanium and since it resists corrosion and tarnish it is a good choice for people with skin problems or those who spend a lot of time in or around the ocean.

Stainless steel frames are a popular alternative to titanium. Stainless steel frames are light weight and strong and are also usually very hypoallergenic. Stainless steel frames contain about 30 percent chromium, which means they provide excellent resistance to corrosion and heat like beryllium. Some new titanium-based alloys on the market allow the creation of flexible metal frames that will spring back into shape even after twisting, bending and crushing. Materials like Flexon are popular for use in “memory metal” frames and are lightweight, hypoallergenic and corrosion-resistant too.

Aluminum frames are also lightweight and highly corrosion-resistant and are often used by high-end eyewear designers today. High-end optical boutiques will also carry some frames made out of unusual materials, but they will probably not be cheap. Sterling silver is not used commonly as a frame material because it is too soft but can be employed in alloy-silver frames. Gold eyewear is usually gold plated instead of being made of solid gold for obvious reasons. However, like silver, gold is often used to accent other types of frames.

Wood, bone and buffalo horn frames are usually special-order items and will always be much more expensive than other more common frame materials. Wood and bone frames can have unique beauty and feel warm to the touch, but they will be pricey. Leather is almost never used as a single frame material, and only employed as an accent on other materials. Some manufacturers now offer stones and crystals set into frames as accents, usually on the temple pieces. Stone-accented glasses are fun and can add a touch of luxury to your style, but they are not really designed for everyday eyewear use.

You should look at the styles of eyewear in several different stores if possible. Check out the price ranges and how your insurance, or lack of insurance, will affect the price. If you have insurance that covers eyeglasses, use it, as glasses can be quite expensive when pay for them by yourself. Don’t forget to comparison shop as well, because the prices can vary from store to store.

Choosing a frame style that fits your personality, lifestyle and face is often the hardest part of choosing eyewear. Think about what you will be using the glasses most for and choose an appropriate frame, like flexible wire frames for glasses you will use for sports. Frame choice can be narrowed down according to the activities you will be doing; plastic is light but breaks easily, metal is strong but bends easily. If you like wide frame styles, be sure they are not so wide that they block side vision and put too much pressure on your ears. Choosing the right shape of eyewear is generally dictated by the shape of a person’s face. People with round or oval faces often look best in rectangular glasses. People with square face shapes might prefer oval or circular glasses. Matching the shape of the top of the eyeglass frames to the shape of your eyebrow is also a good way to get a shape that fits your face.

People who must wear thicker lenses may want to ask for a high index lens that will reduce the thickness in the center for those who are far-sighted. Wider plastic frames will also help hide thick lenses better than a wire rim frame will hide them. You might want to avoid glasses with polycarbonate lens material even though it is often advertised as a premium product. Polycarbonate is lighter and more impact resistant than plastic and glass, but it is also an optically inferior lens material. Eyeglass manufacturers like polycarbonate because it is easy to manufacture, but is also very soft and scratches very easily, meaning your new polycarbonate eyewear will not last very long.

If you work in an office with fluorescent lighting or spend a lot of time at the computer you should always ask for an anti-reflective treatment on your lenses. Anti-reflective treatment cuts glare off the lenses and allows people to see your eyes. It can reduce headaches from eyestrain as well.

Eyeglasses can completely change the way you look and choosing the right pair is an important decision that you should make with care. Anything you have to wear everyday should be both functional and attractive at the same time.

Myopia is a very common eye problem that refers to nearsightedness. Myopia is a refractive error that is the result of a longer than normal eye-ball and the condition causes distant objects to appear blurry to the myopic eye. People with myopia can still see all close objects clearly, but they will need glasses with concave lenses to restore clear distance vision.

Hypermetropia is a refractive error that causes distant objects to comes into focus behind the retina when the eye is relaxed. This means people can see far away but will have difficulty focusing on nearby objects as when reading a book. Hypermetropia can cause blurred vision, headaches, and excessive squinting and the condition can be aggravated by doing anything that requires focusing up close. Surprisingly, hypermetropia can also cause distance vision problems in adults due to the gradual loss of focusing ability of the eye. Eyeglasses with convex lenses are used to correct Hypermetropia.

Astigmatism is another very common eye problem that involves a refractive error due to an aspherical shaped cornea and the result is blurred vision. Astigmatism can cause headaches due to eyestrain as the eye’s focusing mechanism is constantly under stress as it attempts to focus properly. Astigmatism may also occur in conjunction with one of the refractive errors as well, but astigmatic eyes are generally less blurry than eyes with other singular refractive errors. The toroidal corneal shape of eyes with astigmatism requires an eyeglass lens with a toric surface to correct the condition.

Presbyopia is a very common eye problem that is also known as “old eyes” and usually occurs in middle age when the crystalline lens of an eye starts to lose elasticity and gradually hardens to the point of reduced focusing power, especially on nearby objects. People with Presbyopia can often see distant objects clearly but have trouble focusing on anything up close. When a person ages and begins holding reading their materials farther and farther away, they have Presbyopia. The condition has lead to a booming business in “reading glasses” that have convex lenses of +3.00 dioptres or less and are only used for reading or close-up visual tasks.

Children under 6 years old that exhibit signs of uncorrected myopia, hypermetropia or astigmatism are at increased risk of developing another common eye problem called amblyopia, also known as “lazy eye.” Amblyopia causes poor vision that defies optical correction and in children the visual development of the eyes can be permanently damaged and they may not be able to develop stereoscopic vision later in life. Amblyopia requires early treatment because it cannot be corrected after it has run its course.

Strabismus, or “crossed eyes” is an eye problem that can occur at any age. The condition occurs when the external eye muscles that provide binocularity and stereoscopic vision are damaged or disrupted. The result is that people become “cross-eyed” and see double images everywhere they look. Eye muscle exercises are often employed to combat strabismus, but severe cases may require surgery to fully correct.