Help with Prescription Lens diopter strength to buy with mask?

[rascal1933]

Can anyone give me advice(or)share some of their insite and experience,
On how to choose the correct prescription lens for your dive mask?

Have worn contacts> but want to try dive lens.
wanting to get lasik done next year (I'm sure that is best route to go with diving and vision correction.)

I understand that the standard lens placed in masks are in .50 increments (-3.5-4.0,-4.5 etc.....)

Scuba 101 say's that Water magnify's objects So....

Should i go with my standard eye prescription which is -4.5 for both eyes?
(or) should i drop down to -4.0 ?

I am trying to figure this out factoring in water magnification + the mask sitting further from eyes?

Any and all feedback/advise/comments are very much appreciated.
It will help me make my decision on what is the correct strength to order with mask.

Optometrist who are also Divers are far and few in my area.....

Regards,Rascal

 

[spectrum]

Just go with the prescription. Whatever magnifiaction takes place will be comparable to your uncorrected buddies. It will also leave margin as your eyes age.

My mask was sent out for bicocal overlays but no mention was made of devaiting from the prescription.

Pete

 

[scubamickey]

I use -3.00 and -1.50 in my mask

My actual prescription in my glasses correcting to 20/30 is -2.75 and -1.25

I see perfect with my mask and wouldn't think of lowering the strength.

 

[DennisW]

Use your prescription as Pete suggested. Or, as close to it as you can get.

 

[hdtran]

I'm mildly nearsighted (-1.5 correction, more or less). I don't need glasses to work on a computer screen or to read books (though my arms seem to be getting a bit shorter...)

I don't use prescription in the water. I'm fine with that, as (a) most objects/fish that I'm interested in are relatively close, and (b) visibility becomes the issue more than distance fuzziness.

A correction of -4 to -5 is more significant. You could try the paste-on plastic lenses (see near the bottom of http://www.scubatoys.com/store/sear...romSearch&txtsearchParamTxt=prescriptionmask), or the Hydrooptix mask (same page, near the middle).

 

[scubamickey]

The paste on lenses are for far-sighted people. They are essentially reading glasses. They will not help the OP.

The prescription inserts are what correct myopic vision which is what lay people call near sightedness. That's what is identified by the minus in the diopter correction.

 

[dannobee]

Are you opposed to keep on using your contacts with an uncorrected mask, especially if you're getting lasik done. I've been wearing contacts for years and wouldn't use a prescription mask. Save your money for the lasik.

 

[CompuDude]

If I was dead on -4.5 I'd go for the Hydroptix mask in a heartbeat... as long as it fit well.

Be aware that there are drawbacks to lasik. Perfect vision YAY but visual actuity is reduced in the real world, i.e., when you're not looking at a black-on-white eye chart. Do a few searches here and some threads should come up. It's one reason why I've avoided Lasik, as tempting as it is. I just have a prescription mask, which works great. Why mess with lasers in your eyes when glasses work fine? (Mind you, I LIKE how I look in glasses, and have worn them all my life, so they don't bother me in the slightest.)