Grey
Polarised · UV protection · Flat bright sun, driving, everyday
Dims everything evenly and changes colours least. The neutral choice, and of the five the one to reach for behind the wheel.
What it does to the scene
A neutral grey attenuates the whole visible spectrum together rather than favouring one end of it, so colour relationships survive behind the lens better than with any other tint. That is why it is the default for bright open light and the one to pick when you need to judge a colour, a traffic light included.
The pair with this lens
Questions, answered
What is a grey lens for?
Dims everything evenly and changes colours least. The neutral choice, and of the five the one to reach for behind the wheel. A neutral grey attenuates the whole visible spectrum together rather than favouring one end of it, so colour relationships survive behind the lens better than with any other tint. That is why it is the default for bright open light and the one to pick when you need to judge a colour, a traffic light included.
Is it polarised?
Yes. Every lens in this range carries a polarising filter, which removes the horizontally polarised glare that comes off water, roads and glass. The tint and the filter are two separate things doing two separate jobs.
Is this the darkest option?
We have not measured the transmission of any of the five, so we are not going to rank them by a number we do not have. What we can say is what each is built for: grey for flat bright sun, driving, everyday; brown for variable light, hiking, judging distance; dark blue mirror for open water, midday sun; ice blue mirror for water, snow, high glare; red mirror for patchy light, cycling, ball sports.
The other tints