GUNNAR Optiks RPG Gaming/Computer Eyewear

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How do these feel with a head set on? I work at a call center and am looking for another set that will feel good with a head set on.

Solid reviews (4.1 out of 5.0) over at amazon

Let’s see what Geekanoids has to say [youtube=dC1JFSCYiW0][/youtube]

Solid reviews (3.8 out of 5.0) over at bestbuy.com

“All things people by glasses for IRL.”

“by” ?

For shame Woot Editor, for shame! :wink:

[MOD: :tongue: fixed.]

I don’t understand why these are gaming glasses? Aren’t they just glasses that ease eye strain when using a computer? Because I could actually use that, but all descriptions point to there being something game specific about these… and it gives me pause.

I have a couple of pairs I bought directly from Gunnar. I am a gamer and bought them for gaming, but I also have a job where I’m on the computer all day long and now have a pair that lives at work. These help me avoid those end of the work day headaches from too much squinting at monitors.

They work for both…just so e styles are better for the “office” though they are all good for home or work.

The nonsense glasses manufacturers will come up with in order to sell glasses to people who don’t need them is incredible.
These are not just completely useless, they also make you look stupid.

I’ve looked with interest at these glasses over the past few years but never pulled the trigger, so I’m always interested in opinions one way or the other.

Do you or Lord John have actual experience with theses, or do you just not like the concept?

As someone who needs to wear glasses to see, I am a happy owner of Gunnar prescription glasses. They have a glare coat that significantly cuts down the reflection of fluorescent overhead lighting resulting in markedly less eyestrain and headaches. The yellow further reduces the light glare and improves screen contrast.

Spoken like someone who has never experienced eye strain and the accompanying headaches. Consider yourself lucky.

I don’t have this model, but I got a pair from the Woot! sale a while back. I didn’t expect much to be honest, but they worked wonders for the problems I was having. Obviously something I’d never wear outside of where I need to wear them… but they get the job done.

I do, I bought them thinking it might make a deference in gaming or something, but really it was just in my head. I am also a Art Director and glued to the computer, tried these and nothing special again. I never get these headaches that people constantly mention from staring or squinting at the screen so I have no idea what they are talking about, and I have 2 30" apple displays when working. On the other hand I thought that the glasses looked kinda sharp and decided to see if I could use them While driving (like the Tag Heuer driving glasses) and that was a big mistake because then I did get headaches. The first time I waved it off thinking I must be sleepy, the second time I thought to myself that my eyes kinda hurt, but it cant possibly be the glasses, the third and final time I acutely got really dizzy, so I decided that something was quite wrong here, so I held them up next to my Serengeti sunglasses for comparison, (Quick switch, back and forth) only to discover that these have a slight magnification that is just barely visible, but enough to cause your vision to be off when used looking long distances. Anyway you should probably avoid them.

I have always attributed those headaches to the cheap whiskey I drink when I play PC games all night long. But you’re suggesting it might be the monitor… hmmm. Not the whiskey. Good to know. Bottoms up!

I was a Research Scientist at B&L (originator of good RayBan Sunglasses), then moved on to aerospace. B&L sold off the brand. These Gaming/Computer glasses should more accurately be called Placebo Glasses! People get cataract surgery to REMOVE natural eye lens yellowing with age. These things give you instant old eyes. If your computer is “too bright white”, just adjust the screen to your favorite muted yellow tinge. On the other hand, if you need a placebo…THEY WORK BEAUTIFULLY!

These are for reducing eye strain - there is no other purpose to them. If you do not suffer from eye strain due to long periods of computer use, you do not need these (see end of post - you technically don’t need them at all). I am one of those people who does not get headaches, and therefore do not own a pair of these. They do not give you any kind of advantage or assistance with gaming.

The ‘enhanced’ vision that people feel they get is an illusion. Human eyes are more sensitive to light in the “yellow” part of the spectrum - due to the more-sensitive green and red cones in your eye both being activated by yellow light - than any other specific part of the spectrum. The yellow tinted lens reduces overall light input, causing the pupil to dilate to larger than usual, and consequently increasing the amount of yellow light hitting the retina. This gives the surreal illusion of “seeing better”, when in reality you’ve actually lost some visual data through the filtering of the lens’ tint. TL;DR: These don’t “help” with gaming.

While I personally wouldn’t compare a set of yellow glasses to cataracts, I do agree with what inflationary said: you can adjust the tint of your monitor to achieve the same result as far as eye strain reduction due to overly bright whiteness. From my understanding, some people prefer the glasses because it makes everything around them look yellow while they’re using the computer, which is less jarring when glancing away from the yellowed monitor to non-yellowed real life.

Won’t go on about the lenses, as I’ve not personally experienced them.

Those wondering what makes these “gaming” glasses - it’s the frame. Supposedly they’re comfortable enough to wear with a headset, which can be a problem with glasses.

I’m not sure why people are attributing the eye strain solely to the computer screen. [Note: this post is kind of long-winded, so skip to the last three paragraphs if you’re not here for science class]

The eye strain most people are having at their computer is due to the subtle difference in frequency of their monitor and the fluorescent lights overhead.

Nerds will all know that their monitor operates at a specific frequency, and you can adjust it in your computer’s settings. The native frequency is usually 60Hz (the power line transmission frequency), but some monitors have different native frequencies.

This means that your screen doesn’t emit a steady light, it flashed at you so fast that you don’t notice it. You can test this theory by keeping the screen in your peripheral vision and focusing on something else - most people can then see the screen flickering. It works with televisions as well, even the old tube-style ones. Ever see a video recording of a monitor or TV and it flickered or had those lines running down it? That’s the same effect. The video recorder grabs the picture at a different rate of speed than the screen produces it, causing distortion.

Now, the normal person sees at about 32 frames per second. This means that the monitor flashes nearly twice as fast as you can see, and your eyes will fill in the extra with the light left over from the last flash. No harm, no foul.

The problem comes in with overhead fluorescent lighting. Those lights also flash, and it’s usually at a different rate than your screen. To find out the frequency of your lights, you would have to check the ballast model’s frequency and then do some back-of-the-napkin math against how old (or new, in some cases) the light itself is.

Some fluorescent lights have a frequency of 60Hz, but that’s for a full cycle. That means that in the first part of a frame (1/60 of a second) it’s getting brighter, and the second part of the frame it’s dimming. As the tube gets old, that frequency lowers. There are a lot of different reasons for that, from the ballast to the cathode to the starter. If you’re interested, you can learn more at the wikipedia page about it.

The difference in frequency between your screen and your room lighting is what causes eye strain and headaches for most people. The lights are flashing at a different speed than your screen, and even though you can’t see it, your eyes are affected by it.

I never had eye strain problems at previous jobs, but I think that was because I could always turn off the overhead lights and I’d put an incandescent (or LED more recently) light in my office. Now I’m in shared workspace and I can’t do that. I started getting eye strain issues around the end of the day, and I’m in for one to see if these help.

Bottom line: For $40, if they work then I’ve saved myself a lot of headaches. If they don’t work, well, I’ve spent more on far worse ideas.