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Thread: Best sunglasses for not making things look too good!?

  1. #1

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    Best sunglasses for not making things look too good!?

    I left my Oakleys in a rental car. I don't really need sunglasses in Upstate New York because the sun rarely shows, but just in case I would like to find a pair for this summer. My one issue is that most "better" sunglasses tend to make skies look overly dramatic and cause my car to stop at too many lame photo locations only to find that when I take the sunglasses off the shot looks boring.

    So which sunglasses are neutral and not so darn dramatic? I'm looking for Robert Adams sunglasses, not Red 25A Ansel--wear.

  2. #2
    Vaughn's Avatar
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    Re: Best sunglasses for not making things look too good!?

    Good question! I have a pair that are a little red -- not quite 25A red, but still too much. I had a pair of more "neutral" lenses, but they ended up being a little on the blue end...nothing seemed sharp as our eyes are definitely not apochromatic and I was getting a lot unfocusable blue light (my eyes are bad enough -- very near-sighted -- without adding any more problems.)

    Of course, if the light looks good with your sunglasses, you can toss on an equivilaent filter on your camera lens so that your film sees the same way. Personally, I just don't wear sunglasses when I am looking for light to photograph -- to distracting for the reasons you mentioned.

    Vaughn

  3. #3
    Louie Powell's Avatar
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    Re: Best sunglasses for not making things look too good!?

    This is actually quite a serious problem.

    For years, I have relied on prescription sunglasses, matched to the same optical prescription of the bifocals that I have to wear and tinted a neutral gray. Year ago, when glasses were actually made of glass, it was possible to get truly neutral gray lenses that didn't distort the color and contrast of a scene. But now that "glasses" are all plastic (yeah, I think that for extra $$ at specialist opticians you can get glass, but not at the Lenscrafters store at the mall), "gray" sunglasses have a distinct reddish tint that really enhances contrast. Makes scenery look far more dramatic (the chamber of commerce love 'em), but they do create unnecessary false alarms for photographers.

    I will, however, take exception to Frank's blanket dismissal of the need for sunglasses in Upstate NY. Today, the sky is clear and the sun is shinning brightly, causing an enormous glare of the thin (1/2") layer of snow we have accumulated so far this "winter". Today is definitely a sunglass day, especially for those of use with pre-surgical cataracts.

  4. #4

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    Re: Best sunglasses for not making things look too good!?

    "I'm looking for Robert Adams sunglasses, not Red 25A Ansel--wear."

    LOL

    If you find them, please let us know!!! I simply take my sunglasses off. Only thing that works for me.

    There are no rose-colored glasses in this world for making photographs.

  5. #5
    not an junior member Janko Belaj's Avatar
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    Re: Best sunglasses for not making things look too good!?

    I'm using Polaroid sunglasses, so if sky looks good with them on my nose, it will most probably look good with polarizing filer on my lens. Or with some orange with b&w film. Anyway, I love such glasses because they tend to be some of most neutral colored. The best option for me would be some "ND type" glasses, but since I have lost one pair few years ago I just can't find similar in the stores near me.

  6. #6
    Moderator Ralph Barker's Avatar
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    Re: Best sunglasses for not making things look too good!?

    How about a pair of 39mm .9 ND filters and a duct-tape frame?

  7. #7
    Vaughn's Avatar
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    Re: Best sunglasses for not making things look too good!?

    Unless it is very glarey, I find a baseball cap works pretty good in the place of sunglasses -- plus it keeps my balding head from sunburning.

    Vaughn

  8. #8

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    Re: Best sunglasses for not making things look too good!?

    I need to wear sunglasses due to a cornea thing that makes me extremely sensitive to sunlight especially in the morning. In Southern Cal, the sun is like a laser! I have a great pair of Oakleys, as they are available in different grades of attenuation. (Did I really just say that?)

    The pair I own are not the darkest, but have extremely neutral effects on colors and brightness range. Not perfect, but darn close!

  9. #9

    Re: Best sunglasses for not making things look too good!?

    just burn in the sky man, till you get that "ray-ban" look, that's what film is all about!


    seriosly though, in spain we need eye protection, bauch and lomb rb-3 glass, for me is the best, can wear'em all day.

  10. #10

    Re: Best sunglasses for not making things look too good!?

    seriosly though, in spain we need eye protection, bauch and lomb rb-3 glass, for me is the best, can wear'em all day.

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