One of the best lens colors is green, a darker, more relaxing tint.
In This Article
How Do Green Lenses Work?
The “Green” lens is one of the only lenses that uses a tint actually on the light spectrum. Grey, brown, and rose are not on the light spectrum as visible colors (Our eyes can only see blue, green, and red). Blue and red are sometimes used as lenses, but neither are particularly useful.
A green lens isn't typically pure green, but rather grey/green. This means the tint is only slightly green, not a striking rich color. If it were a pure green the tint would be unusable and overwhelming, making the view too distorted. Only a subtle tilt towards green is needed to achieve the effect of the green lens.
The color of the lens will let more of the same color light through relative to other colors. A green lens lets more green light in, and a rose lens lets in more red and blue (what combine to make rose).
The color opposite the lens color on the color wheel (the complementary color) will generally be the least transmitted and most muted. A green lens will most block purple (a mix of blue and red), a brown lens (which is shades of orange or red) will block blue, etc.
Letting relatively more light of a color through the lens brightens that color relative to other colors. Letting less of that light in relative to other colors will make other colors brighter relative to that color.
Our eyes will therefore get more green light and less red and blue light. However, red and blue are not opposite green on the color wheel (purple is), so neither are drastically reduced and even some yellow and light blue are highlighted as they are neighboring green on the color wheel and light spectrum.
People often refer to green lenses as neutral lenses, the same as grey. This means they keep the colors of our view more or less the same as how we would see them without the lenses causing any color distortion.
This is only partially true. It may feel that way when the sunglasses are put on without any visual context, but putting them on right before or after wearing a grey lens will demonstrate the obvious differences between them.
See here for a simulated view of no lens, grey lens, and green lens. Remember, it is impossible to accurately demonstrate what a lens will really look like, and it will always be much better when you try it for yourself.
The greens are much brighter, but the reds, as seen on the car, as more muted. The road, which is also more red than blue or green, gets a sort of rusted look. The blues of the sky are similar but a slightly darker shade.
This is how green lenses work. Now let's see how to use them.
What are green lenses good for?
Interesting fact: Oakley doesn't make a green lens. Ray Ban, Persol, Serengeti, and Revo feature green lenses as some of their main offerings.
Why is that?
Green lenses are generally not considered contrast-enhancing lenses, which are needed for sports. They are used more for relaxing the view, cooling the bright light, and facilitating a more or less neutral view. They are mostly used as an alternative to gray lenses.
The reason for that, in short, is that we need more red light to enhance contrast and less green light. This doesn't mean a green lens cannot somewhat enhance contrast, but the ways it can do that are far behind what a redder lens like a brown or rose can do.
To add more detail, the sensitivity of the human eye varies with wavelength or color. Because of the physiology of the human photoreceptors, the sensitivity of the eye falls off rapidly for colors in both the blue and red ends of the visible spectrum and is highest for wavelengths near the middle of the spectrum - green. This means that considerably higher quantities of blue or red light are required to elicit the same sense of brightness as, for instance, yellow-green light. A plot of the relative sensitivity of the eye as a function of wavelength is known as the relative luminous efficiency function. During the day, the eye is maximally sensitive to yellow-green wavelengths near 555 nm; this is the photopic response of the eye.
In other words, it is much easier for us to see green than any other color, and it is much easier to brighten green while still keeping a dark lens.
Therefore, green lenses are great at being a "relaxing" or "soothing" lens, as the can use a high tint to darken the lens more than other tints, but still elicit a feeling of brightness since the greens are easy to boost for our eyes.
Additionally, green is on the "cool" side of the color wheel. According to color psychology, different color temperatures evoke different feelings. For example, warm colors are said to bring to mind coziness and energy, while cool colors are associated with serenity and isolation.
Cool colors are the colors from blue to green and purple. These colors are said to bring to mind coolness, like water.
Green lenses therefore have a sweet spot for lenses, being both "brightening" due to our increased sensitivity to green light, but also calming, as they are on the cool side of the spectrum.
Overcast conditions usually call for added contrast to add to the dulled environment. Green lenses will feel too dark and cold.
Sports
For sports, lenses are better when they evoke feelings of energy and boost colors. Green doesn't do that. Hence, why Oakley and most other sport brands do not use green lenses.
Driving
Green lenses are best as casual, relaxing lenses to be worn in full sun. Perfect for driving, especially in green or red areas. Green areas will feel brighter while still subdued, while high-contrast red environments like deserts will be calmer. I am happy to wear green lenses on bright days around the Atlantic northeast, and I really enjoy them when I travel to Arizona for work.
Golf
Contrary to some, green lenses are not good for golf, with one exception. The goal of sunglass lenses for golf is to enhance the contrast of the grass and show dimension that would make spotting the ball, the difference in the grass, and changes in slopes much easier. pop in a sense. To do that the greens need to be relatively reduced as compared to the complimentary colors. That is why rose lenses are the best for sunny or overcast golfing. All Oakley golf lenses are rose-based.
The exception is early morning golfing in bright conditions. There, the contrast is already present as early morning is the best time to take in perfectly angled sunlight, and it is just a matter of making the greens greener to brighten the view. Maui Jim's HT lens is great for that.
Beach
Green lenses can be great at the beach. They are dark and comfortable and allow for a much more relaxing experience. They can also be beautiful if the water has green highlights.
Top Green Lenses
Here are my picks for the best green lenses:
The Randolph AGX and Cobalt (a blue mirrored version) are ‘relaxing’ green lenses that selectively highlight the soothing green/yellow wavelengths of the light spectrum to reduce eye fatigue and improve visual performance. Slightly leaning towards the blue side of green, this lens is the most calming green lens I have tried.
Serengeti 555nm
Putting Serengeti 555 lenses on after wearing the Randolph AGX feels like someone turned the contrast and color saturation right up. I wear this green lens more than any other.
Revo Smokey Green
This lens is nearly identical to the AGX, and the differences are very hard to discern. The Revo is slightly more comfortable in direct sun and the AGX has slightly better color rendering, but it's really splitting hairs.
Persol Green
A slightly more grey lens than the others. It is a good in-between choice if you do not like grey but green is too much.
Conclusion
I didn't appreciate green lenses for a while, mostly because I was into high-contrast, exciting lenses. That was until I went to Arizona for work and it was scorching hot and sunny, surrounded by desert. Brown lenses were overwhelming. Grey lenses were fine but when I put on the green lenses I had with me (Serengeti 555nm) I was blown away by how well they handled the high glare and bright colors. Everything became so easy to look at. When I returned home I continued to wear green lenses on bright days and thoroughly enjoy them.
I highly recommend you try on a premium pair of green lenses and see for yourself the amazing views they can produce.