Types of lenses used by Ray-ban

Date : 12 July 2010
By : Abang Chik

Malay Version

Ok disini Abang Chik akan berkongsi info tentang lens atau cermin kanta yang digunakan oleh Rayban kerana terlampau banyak yang bertanyakan saya tentang hal ini.

Sebenarnya buat pengetahuan anda, Rayban mempunyai empat jenis lens iaitu B15 XLT lens, G15 XLT lens, polarised lens dan normal lens (saya tidak akan bincangkan disebabkan tiada ciri istimewa lens jenis ini).

1) B15 XLT lens

Ray ban yang menggunakan lens B15 XLT lens adalah selalunya bewarna brownish, ianya menghalang 100% sinaran UV dan hanya membenarkan 15% sahaja cahaya nampak yang melaluinya (85% lagi akan ditapis). Lens brownish ini akan menapis dan mengurangkan jumlah cahaya biru yang memasuki mata. Cahaya biru merupakan cahaya yang mudah dikesan oleh mata manusia dan memberikan corak dan kesan terhadap penglihatan manusia.

G-15 lens yang digunakan rayban clubmaster

2) G15 XLT

Lens jenis ini mempunyai ciri yang serupa seperti B15 XLT tetapi bezanya ia bewarna greyish/greenish .G-15 lens sebenar dibagunkan oleh Ray ban untuk kegunaan tentera Amerika dengan design Aviator.

Cabaran untuk membangunkan lens G-15 adalah "colour natural” dengan kata lain, lens G-15 XLT menapis cahaya seperti mana mata manusia melakukanya. 

Jika anda mahukan lens yang memberi kesan contrast yang yang minimum antara colour, lens G-15 XLT adalah sesuai dengan anda kerana memberikan colour sensitivity kepada mata manusia. Ini bermakna warna yang anda lihat melalui lens akan secara semulajadi dan secara lembut masuk kedalam retina mata.

Kedua-dua kanta B15 XLT dan G15 XLT mempunya ciri anti-calar. Kualiti kedua-dua jenis kanta ini sangat unik dan hanya dimiliki oleh ray ban.

Contoh Lens G-15 yang digunakan oleh Rayban

3) Polarized Lens

Kanta polarized penting untuk memotong kuantiti cahaya “glare” yang di hasilkan oleh pantulan permukaan seperti air atau semi-transparent object dan juga pantulan dari permukaan metal.“Glare” bermaksud kesukaran untuk melihat sesuatu dalam cahaya yang terang.

Cahaya matahari, sebagai contoh akan memacarkan cahayanya melaui radiation secara rawak pada semua arah. Kanta jenis polarized sesuai untuk pemandu/penunggan motosikal yang sukar untuk melihat disebabkan cahaya terang ketika memandu (selalunya matari berada pada kedudukan depan pemandu).

Kanta polarized mempunyai permukaan “laminated” dengan vertical stripes yang dibaluti filter, dimana berfungsi untuk cut-out cahaya lintang dengan hanya membenarkan cahaya tegak (vertical-light) untuk melaluinya. Dengan kata lain, jika anda memakai kanta polarized, anda akan melihat secara baik jika berada berhampiran laut atau tasik serta ketika pemanduaan.

wayfarer yang menggunakan kanta polarized

4) Lens Base

Kanta jenis ini lebih merujuk kepada base curve atau front curve diukur dengan menggunkan istilah “diopters”, term yang digunkan oleh opticians. Oleh itu, anda dapat melihat pada Ray ban Aviator mempunyai “Lens Base 6” bermakna mempunyai curved,design dan fungsi sebagai kaca mata.

English Version

Ok here Abang Chik will be sharing some info some info regarding lenses used by Ray ban. Since so many people asked me and here i used to explain as well as i can.

Actually Ray Ban uses four different types of lenses for their sunglasses. The B15 XLT lens, the G15 XLT lens, polarized lenses and normal lenses, which we won't discuss here because there's nothing special about them (they just come in different colours).


1) B15 XLT Lens

Ray Ban B15 XLT lenses are brownish in colour, block 100% of all UV rays and allow only 15% of the visible light to pass through them (that's an 85% reduction!). These brown lenses also offer a bit more contrast by cutting down on the amount of blue light. Blue light is very easily captured by the eye and has the effect of softening other colours that are harsher to our vision.

2) G15 XLT Lens

The G15 XLT lenses have the same properties as the B15 XLT lenses, however they're of greyish/greenish colour. The G15 lens is the original aviator lens that the military requested Ray ban to develop. The challenge was to design a lens that was "colour neutral"; in other words, a lens that filters light like the human eye does. If you want a lens that offers a little less contrast between colours, then the G15 XLT lens is for you because it offers similar colour-sensitivity to the human eye. With a lower contrast lens, the difference in colour and brightness of objects will be dampened. This means that the colours you see through these lenses will be natural and soft on the eyes.

Both the B15 and G15 XLT lenses are made of impact resistant optical glass that is naturally scratch resistant. Quality and stability are remarkable and over time you will notice virtually no fading whatsoever in the colour.

3) Polarized Lens

Polarized lenses essentially cut down the amount of glare produced by reflective surfaces like water or other semi-transparent objects, and even some metallic surfaces. Glare refers to the difficulty of seeing in bright light.

Sunlight, for example, bounces off surfaces in all directions (i.e. vertically, horizontally or diagonally). For people who are active in the "horizontal plane", it means that the bright sunlight bounced horizontally enters the eye in a similar fashion. This causes the pupils to constrict and significantly reduce contrast. That's why drivers have difficulty seeing the road ahead of them if they're driving in very sunny conditions (if the sun is ahead of them).

Polarized lenses have a laminated surface with vertical stripes that create a filter, which effectively cuts out the horizontally-polarized light and allows only vertically-polarized light in. In other words, if you happen to be on a clear lake you can probably see under the surface or if you're driving, you can now see the road ahead.

4) Lens Base

The lens base simply refers to the base curve or the front curve of the lens measured in "diopters", which is a term that really only matters to opticians. You'll find that many Ray ban aviators have a "Lens Base 6", which basically means that they're sufficiently curved and designed to to function as sunglasses