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link: https://www.reddit.com/r/Vive/comments/5q4x97/comparison_between_vr_lens_eu_and_vr_lens_lab/
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Comparison between VR Lens EU and VR Lens Lab prescription inserts
from: GingerMess
Over the past two weeks I've been playing with two pairs of prescription lens inserts for my HTC Vive, one set from VR Lens EU (VRLEU) and the other from VR Lens Lab (VRLL). This post is intended to give you an idea of how I find using both, which I prefer, and why.
For the record I'm short-sighted with astigmatism to varying degrees in both eyes, and without glasses I can read writing from about 2 feet away at the absolute maximum. I've had my Vive for quite a while and power it with an i7-6700k, 980Ti, 16GB system. I generally prefer lower detail, guaranteed 90+ fps in my VR game settings. Finally, I live in the UK and chose the best shipping method where possible.
disclosure: I am not sponsored by either company, or any person involved in the industry. I literally purchased both inserts with the intent of see which worked best.
tl;dr: VR Lens EU manufacture better lenses for me as they're free of any distortion, didn't induce any nausea, and arrived quicker. I'll be using them over my glasses in future.
Ordering
VRLEU have a very simple website and a very straight forward lens selection and checkout process. The total time from ordering to receipt of the shipment was about 10 days. The packaging wasn't bad: a foam packet containing two sealable plastic bags each containing a lens, a microfibre cleaning cloth, and an invoice. If they ever read this though, I strongly suggest using a small and sturdy box instead, as I can see someone's lenses getting crushed at some point! The shipment originated in Germany and no additional fees were necessary.
VRLL have a more complicated selection of lenses and prices. I went with prescription, Standard Lenses, without Blueguard. Other options include a Plano Lens (no prescription), RABS Lenses (thinner, advertised as better), and the Blueguard coating which I presume reduces the blue light you see. The time from order to receipt was a little difficult to judge fairly as I ordered over the Christmas and new year period, but came out to about two weeks. Packaging is truly superb: a small sturdy box containing a fabric/plastic zip case, within which are both lenses wrapped in padded foam plastic, along with a microfibre cloth and the invoice. This is wise as the shipment originated in Thailand. No fees necessary.
Quality of Lenses
All the lenses from both suppliers are built quite well, although you don't actually get much! The lenses from VRLEU are in deeper inserts due to their concave design, whereas the VRLL inserts are a lot shallower due to the convex design. Both inserts have a gap along the top edge to allow them to sit on top of the existing Vive lenses, and as a result installing all of them was foolproof. All the lenses are clear plastic and came with no faults, and were easy to clean. Tip! Use proper lens wipes, otherwise you'll be annoyed with residue or random dust. I have a fat box of Zeiss lens wipes which I nabbed off Amazon, and they're great. Don't use a cloth.
Installation
The process for both suppliers was the same: extend the Vive's lens distance to maximum using the knobs on the side, insert the lenses, contract the distance back to where it was. Both pairs of inserts work fine at maximum and, most importantly, minimum lens distance. My eyelashes did not touch any lenses at any point, and with the correct IPD neither lens insert pairs impacted comfort. Not that the Vive is particularly comfortable anyway, but there you go.
Experiences
In order to compare fairly I've been keeping note of what it's like to use the Vive in four different ways: no glasses or prescription lenses, my prescription glasses (rimless), and both pairs of inserts. Also note that in order to remove any disorientation from moving or distraction, all comparisons were performed seated. I have not tested the lens inserts with standing or room scale games!
Experience 1: SteamVR background (seated)
The background I used was the one shown in this image: http://media.steampowered.com/apps/steamvr/steam_settings_backgrounds.png This is a baseline to establish that everything is undistorted and set up correctly. I paid attention to the lines and to the stars both in the middle of the view and towards the edges. Moving my head slowly across the scene can check for blurred motion and distortion, as well as provide a baseline for nausea or weirdness. Finally this lets my eyes adjust to each lens before I continue.
No glasses or lenses: blurry. Am I wearing a headset? I can't tell. Comfortable with no nausea.
Glasses: no distortion and no nausea. Uncomfortable, with extra pressure on the top of my nose. Clear picture with occasional glasses-induced glare.
VRLL: heavy barrel distortion towards the edges of the lenses to the extent that the background lines are bent all over the place, with a palpable sense of unease as you look around. Not much glare. As comfortable as no glasses.
VRLEU: zero distortion with straight lines. No nausea. As comfortable as no glasses.
Experience 2: Elite Dangerous via Steam VR (seated)
This is the best seated VR experience I'm aware of, so it made sense to try it next. Up-front disclosure: I get slight discomfort when rolling a ship regardless of how long I've been playing, and when I first started with all four setups I was nauseous for a few minutes. In all cases it subsided after I flew around a bit.
No glasses or lenses: I could be flying a boat through a closet for all I can tell. Minor cockpit UI glare.
Glasses: as detailed as you might expect being my glasses, but still uncomfortable. Moving my head quicker with focal changes isn't great with glasses. Some glare from the cockpit UI.
VRLL: for the first 5 minutes I felt ill and had to abort. The second attempt an hour later was a lot more successful, but the barrel distortion is noticeable. I couldn't play for longer than about 45 minutes. Blurry image the further out you go from the centre of the lens, with additional glare from the contrasting cockpit UI.
VRLEU: no ill feeling or nausea, but there was a short adjustment period where my eyes had to 'click'. No distortion, but possibly the most glare of all setups. In terms of comfort, this is on par with no glasses or lenses. I played for 90 minutes and could have played longer.
Experience 3: Windlands (seated), or "Vomitlands" as I like to call it
This is a jarring experience for me, and not something I like to play in VR. I haven't yet fully adjusted, so this is a worst case experience for any setup.
No glasses or lenses: if Spiderman were short-sighted and prone to nausea, I would be his stunt double. Actually not that bad but blurry as always.
Glasses: mild nausea, but everything seems clear. Not much glare at all considering the much lower contrast difference in this game due to a universally bright image.
VRLL: not playable for me, within a minute of swinging around I had to go and lie down in a dark room.
VRLEU: mild nausea, the clearest image. Not much glare, and quite comfortable. I played the longest like this, but still only for about 15 minutes.
Experience 4: recovery (walking, cooking, 2D gaming, etc)
This experience is what I did after taking the headset off after each setup, after playing Elite Dangerous. I would have done this with Windlands as well but that's not a fair test. I took as long as needed to recover and not feel nauseous or otherwise weird.
No glasses or lenses: zero downtime, absolutely fine.
Glasses: almost instantly fine as I wear them day-to-day.
VRLL: I had to close my eyes for a short time, but then adjusted.
VRLEU: my eyes took about 30 seconds to adjust and then were fine. Note: moving from the lens inserts to my glasses was much better, especially for VR Lens EU inserts.
Conclusion
If I could play without glasses I'd be so happy, as it's the best experience. But without laser eye surgery I'm left with two choices: my glasses, or VRLEU's inserts. I would not consider VRLL's inserts to be viable at all, as the distortion and resultant nausea and discomfort is just not tolerable. I would much prefer to wear my glasses over using the VRLL inserts, and I'd probably consider no glasses or lenses over them as well. It's odd really as otherwise everything is in focus, but I suppose the lenses are the wrong way round.
Now I'm left with my glasses versus the VRLEU inserts. At this stage I haven't done extensive testing, but I've put a fair number of hours into this and I'm confident the inserts are going to be better than my glasses, for the simple fact that all things being equal, they're more comfortable. There's no distortion, no additional nausea, and they don't intrude on the experience at all beyond a bit of blurring which occurs with all inserts anyway. My main complaint now is that the Vive's resolution isn't that high, and I've realised I need to upgrade my graphics card as soon as Volta or Vega are released so I can up the supersampling!
I hope someone gets some benefit from what I've done here, however unscientific it probably is. If you have any questions just ask and I'll do my best to answer. Lastly, thanks for providing such a great Vive community, you guys rock!
vr lens lab is sub par. VR LENS (EU) is the way to go.