Photochromic Lenses and Outdoor Photography Don’t Mix

My nerd glasses have photochromic lenses, y’know the kind which darken in the sunlight?  That’s all fine and dandy, but it makes outdoor photography a challenge.

More after the break.

I’ve had to wear glasses most of my life (I think since Kindergarten). This makes some tasks a bit more difficult for me than someone without specs.

Examples:

• Sports. Although, that didn’t stop me from playing street hockey in my youth. But, I popped out more than a few lenses. I also have to wear those dumb looking glasses-rope-things when I kayak or canoe.

• Swimming is a pain, because I have to stash my glasses somewheres, and hope they don’t get stepped upon.

• I can’t wear cool sunglasses. Sure, I could get fancy prescription lenses, but they are pricey and a pain to replace (speaking from experience).

This last factor led me to get photochromic lenses for my most recent pair of nerd glasses.

One problem:  I can’t stand them when it comes to taking photos on sunny days (or bright snowy days).

And I can’t just ‘take them off,’ smarty pants–because then I can’t see. I’m far sighted, so putting a camera next to my face without glasses ain’t gonna work. Stuff gets blurry real fast.

First, my LCD screen is nearly impossible to read. I have to crank the brightness up in order to read any of it (and shortening my battery life in the process). Yes, I realize this an issue for any LCD screen in the sun, but tinted glasses don’t help.

Second, and most annoying, it affects how I see exposure. More often than not, I have to look over/under my glasses to double check how dark or light something looks (and being far sighted, this doesn’t always work). The problem here is, I forget my lenses are dark most of the time and I often have overexposed shots.

Thankfully, as I get accustomed to using my camera’s built in light meter and histogram, this is less of an issue. But, it still annoying.

This commercial is just silly (and inspired this post). When I first saw this commercial, I cried foul.

Photochromic lenses and photography just don’t mix, at least not for me. My next pair of glasses will not have them.

Do you have these lenses, and do they bother you when taking pictures outside? I’m curious if other people have this issue.