Effect of yellow-tinted lenses on contrast sensitivity

The effectiveness of yellow-tinted lenses (Norton Visitor Wrap-Around) on contrast thresholds for achromatic sinusoidal gratings was measured on a large sample of healthy, young adults. These measurements were compared with those obtained through luminance-matched neutral goggles. Contrast sensitivity functions for stationary and drifting (2 cycles per second) gratings were measured on two groups of subjects. The results of both experiments show that those subjects demonstrating a subjective preference preferred the yellow tint to the neutral lenses by 2:1. Despite the subjective impression, however, contrast thresholds obtained with the yellow and neutral lenses were not statistically different for either the stationary or drifting gratings.