# Optical Forums > Progressive Lens Discussion Forum >  SOLA lenses- whats the difference?

## phrewt

Hey guys :)

im an optom student doing an assignment on the different SOLA progressive lenses currently on the market.. but im comPletely confused about the difference btw SOLA One, SOLA AO Easy, SOLA One HD, SOLA AO Easy HD, and SOLA One Ego lenses. could someone pls help me?  :Confused: 

and what makes a SOLA graduate gold different from a standard SOLA graduate lens? and the same for XL and XL Gold lenses; is XL Gold the same as XL but just softer?

and what was it about the percepta that made it such a failure? (my lecturer told us that it was a disaster...) and is this lens design hard?

and what kind of a lens is the SOLA VIP?

ah sorry for asking so many questions but im pretty confused n my assignments due tomorrow. :( 

ill appreciate any help that anyone offers pls!

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## rinselberg

http://www.sola.com/

Have you looked here?

I would also recommend searching with Google and searching on OptiBoard with the OptiBoard Search option.

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## phrewt

yeh i checked the sola site. its very airy fairy and uninformative :o thanks for the suggestion anyway..

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## shellrob

Sola.com has the info you asked about in your post. Designs, seg hts, etc. You need to look again and also check out this boards archives. Don't expect to come her and have everyone do all of your work.

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## phrewt

id just like to clarify the fact that i did go through this boards archives and decided to post a new thread only after i had done so. and also that i didnt post my thread expecting everyone to do all of my work. id already done a lot of research and found lots of informative information from many sites which were nOT from sola.com (yes the site has information on lens designs and seg heights etc but like i said before it is quite vague..) i was merely after some clarification from someone who was familiar with sola lenses. but sorry, i didnt expect my post to be taken so offensively.

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## shellrob

I apologize, maybe I was a bit harsh. Maybe your question should have asked opinions rather than lens facts. That sounds to me what you're really after. I'll give you some of mine. I personally haven't fit an xl or vip in years. I did use them quite a bit when I first started 10 years ago basically because I was told too. It's what we stocked in our lab. We sometimes used the ao compact when fitting a shorter seg height. The Solaone is supposedly the "all around lens". Great for day to day. Pretty much goes for the Ao Easy as well. They say the Ao easy has a clearer periphery and wider intermediate, which I haven't patients prefer one over the other. The solamax is supposed to be a good fit for previous ft weareres. With my experience, not true on this lens but others may disagree. Solaone is supposed to be a wider intermediate and near. All of these lenses are available in most indexes. So, as you noticed, I said supposed to when explaining features of the lenses and that's because in my own opnion, it's all bull. The only way to actually compare these lenses is to take the same rx with the same frame and compare that way. Anytime you change rx's, it changes the lens design. Honestly, I don't see much different in these lenses except for the fact that the compact is a short corridor lens.

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## Chris Ryser

> *yeh i checked the sola site. its very airy fairy and uninformative :o thanks for the suggestion anyway..*


You can also go on my optical website listing which contains way over 500 links....that might help you too.

http://optochemicals.com/web_ratings.htm

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## Darryl Meister

> im an optom student doing an assignment on the different SOLA progressive lenses currently on the market


Keep in mind that AO progressives are different from SOLA progressives. There isn't a "SOLA AO Easy," for instance. The Carl Zeiss Vision organization comprises Zeiss, SOLA, and AO, and there has been a separate lens design team and brand identity associated with each.

Secondly, while several of the progressive lenses you mentioned are still "on the market," including SOLA XL and VIP, we certainly do not actively promote these lens designs any longer, so you are unlikely to find a great deal of information about them.

Lastly, your best bet is to call your local SOLA company. You can also download detailed product specifications from the SOLA website.




> but im comPletely confused about the difference btw SOLA One, SOLA AO Easy, SOLA One HD, SOLA AO Easy HD, and SOLA One Ego lenses.


Technical white papers are available on all of these products, and I would certainly encourage you to contact SOLA directly. However, I will provide you with a general overview of these lens designs:

_SOLAMAX_ is a recent progressive lens design under the SOLA brand. SOLAMAX was designed with an emphasis on near and mid-range utility, and offers an excellent intermediate zone along with a near zone that widens higher up. It's also an excellent choice for former bifocal wearers accustomed to a large near zone.

_SOLAOne_ is the latest general-purpose progressive lens under the SOLA brand. Like SOLAMAX, it also features a high, wide near zone in order to deliver exceptional mid-range and near utility. However, SOLAOne features a softer periphery and larger distance zone in order to provide better distance utility and dynamic vision performance.

_AO Easy_ is the latest general-purpose progressive lens under the AO brand. As with all of AO's progressive lenses, it features a soft, usable periphery and generous viewing zones. AO Easy combines excellent distance utility with a relatively short corridor length for great near utility, even in smaller frames.

_HD_, or "High Definition" designs utilize a sophisticated optical optimization strategy combined with a free-form delivery system in order to deliver highly customized progressive lenses that provide the largest viewing zones possible for each and every wearer.




> what makes a SOLA graduate gold different from a standard SOLA graduate lens?


The "Gold" designs were improved versions of each lens with softer peripheries, better binocularity, and better overall utility. They were also available only in premium lens materials, like Spectralite.




> what was it about the percepta that made it such a failure? (my lecturer told us that it was a disaster...) and is this lens design hard?


Percepta certainly wasn't a "disaster," but it didn't provide the near and mid-range utility of SOLAOne or SOLAMAX -- which many wearers seem to prefer. Percepta did offer unsurpassed distance vision and binocularity though. Percepta isn't particularly hard, though its periphery isn't as soft as you might find in a design like SOLAOne.




> and what kind of a lens is the SOLA VIP?


SOLA VIP is SOLA's first progressive lens, designed almost 20 years ago. The fact that the lens still enjoys a degree of success, even with the number of modern progressive lenses available today, is a testament to its design.

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## LENNY

Darryl !
Can you make up a timeline for progressive lenses with lets say 5-7 major players in progressive market. I was surprised that VIP is ONLY 20 years old!
I know you are the best!
And now you have resourses from 3 major companies!

PS Hope to meet you in person on VEE

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## Clive Noble

I must just add a couple of comments firstly about Percepta,  about 7/8 years ago we were looking for a 'premium lens' which we could dispense almost as an exclusive in our small market.  Percepta was (and still is) an unknown lens here and we started using it.  We sold many hundreds of pairs with virtually no problems and the funny part is that recently we have had to change a couple of patients back into Percepta when they have had a new different pair.

As far as XL is concerned, that was our basic Bread 'n' Butter lens for many years, again, with accurate fitting and an explanation to the patient about what they are getting, we hardly saw any problems

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## vikramg

phrewt

You can get some more information on Sola and other, progressives at the below link .

From Sheedy J. Progressive addition lenses-matching the specific lens to patient needs.

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## Happylady

My Mom's first progressive was the Sola VIP, this was in the late 80's. I later changed her to the VIP Gold. She now wears a Hoya Wide.

A few years ago we had an optician that put almost everyone in XL. We had almost no remakes. My husbands first progressive was the XL gold. This was in the mid nineties.

I went to a seminar on the Percepta when it first came out. I remember that it was a different design based on the prescription, a + lens was very different then a - lense. We still have a few patients wearing it and loving it.

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## Darryl Meister

> Can you make up a timeline for progressive lenses with lets say 5-7 major players in progressive market.


This is a list that Pete originally started a few years ago, but I've been periodically revising and updating it. However, I'm sure that there are still a few omissions -- particularly for some of the smaller companies. Most of these dates apply to the first US release (some designs may have first appeared earlier in other countries).

*Univis:
*1965- Omnifocal

*Rodenstock:
*1981- Progressiv R
1989- Progressiv S
1994- life
1996- Multigressiv
1999- life 2, life C, Multigressiv 2
2000- ILT
2001- life XS

*Zeiss:*
1984- Gradal HS
1994- Gradal RD
1999- Gradal Top
2000- Gradal Individual
2001- Gradal Individual Short i
2004- Business
2004- Gradal Brevity

*Younger Optics:*
1978- 10/30
1982- CPS
2002- Image

*SOLA:*
1985- VIP
1987- XL
1991- VIP Gold
1994- XL Gold
1996- Access
1997- Percepta
1997- Continuum
2000- SOLAMAX
2003- SOLAOne
2004- Instinctive

*American Optical:*
1974- Ultravue
1981- Truvision
1988- Truvision Omni
1990- Truvision Technica
1992- AO Pro
1998- AO Compact
2000- AO b'Active
2004- AO Easy

*Signet Armolite:*
1989- Elegance
1995- Kodak
1997- Navigator
2001- Concise

*Pentax:*
1996- AF
1999- AF Mini

*Hoya:*
1998- Wide, LX Wide
2000- Summit
2003- Summit CD

*Seiko:*
1995- P6
2001- Proceed
2003- Proceed II
2005- Proceed III

*Essilor:*
1981- Super No Line
1992- Adaptar
1995- Natural
2001- Ovation

*Varilux:*
1967- Varliux
1973- Varilux II/Plus
1988- Varilux Overview
1989- Varilux Infinity
1991- Varilux Readables
1994- Varilux Comfort
2000- Varilux Panamic
2004- Varilux Ipseo
2004- Varilux Ellipse
2004- Varilux Liberty
2006- Varilux Physio

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## phrewt

cheers to everyone for your thoughts and suggestions! :cheers: especially darryl; you're definetly the right person to ask about sola lenses!

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## LENNY

Thanks

I knew you are the BEST!

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## HarryChiling

*Shamir:
*2006 - Creation

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## rdcoach5

> This is a list that Pete originally started a few years ago, but I've been periodically revising and updating it. However, I'm sure that there are still a few omissions -- particularly for some of the smaller companies. Most of these dates apply to the first US release (some designs may have first appeared earlier in other countries).
> 
> *Univis:*
> 1965- Omnifocal
> 
> *Rodenstock:*
> 1981- Progressiv R
> 1989- Progressiv S
> 1994- life
> ...


 
What about GT2? Also , you skipped Shamir, which I've been told , makes more lenses than anyone.

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## Darryl Meister

This list was actually created before GT2 was launched. I'll try to update it at some point.

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## thep

But WAIT!! The VIP is about to be re-introduced!!!

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