50mm Circular Welding Lens, Green IR Shade 14

I bought these to see the Transit of Venus; I should have bought them for the eclipse last month. I also have some Hobart welding goggles for a Halloween costume, and these lenses work great with them. I'm thinking of turning one into a camera filter, which I'd imagine wouldn't be too difficult with an empty filter ring and some good glue. N.B. these are not sold in pairs. Another review mentioned chips around the edges; my edges are smooth. You want #14 for looking at the sun.EDIT: As another reviewer said, and as I learned today, the glass is so thick that it causes internal reflections that diminish optical quality. If you want to look at the sun, you're better off with the cheap-looking glasses that are made for it. I hadn't used those glasses until today, and they work much better. This isn't necessarily a problem with the item, it's just that it should be used for welding instead of sun gazing.

I bought this a long time back to view the transit of Venus. It worked extremely well! And by well I mean when you look through it everything is black, but the sun. Which make it a bit tricky to locate the sun while looking through it. I was able to hold it in front of a 70-200 lens and snap a few pictures too. The sun was tinted green from the shade of the glass (obviously), but that was easily fixed in photoshop. There was a person I let use it to view the astronomical event--they actually cried because they were so happy they got to witness it. A moment made possible by a cheap piece of glass.One major warning though, I am writing this review for Shade 14 glass. However, when I click the link for this item on my account's review page it takes me to a page for Shade 10 glass. Be aware that this may be a product change. If so, anything lower than shade 14 is not recommended to view the sun with and can be dangerous to your eyes.

The lenses I received were labeled as 14 shade, and probably are, but when I put them in my goggles and looked at a blind covered window I could see a faint outline of light coming through the mostly closed blinds. I then took them outside and briefly looked at the sun through them. The sun came through as a bright, but not painfully so, dot. I decided I would limit by viewing of the eclipse to glimpses instead of stares to be on the safe side.Later I thought of combining the #5 lenses that came with my goggles with these for added protection. My goggles came with two piece lenses: a plastic 'shade' inside and clear glass outside. The plastic shades are much thinner that the shade 14's and easily fit behind them in my goggles. Now I see absolutely nothing until I look at the sun, which is clear, but not bright. There is some slight ghosting, which may have more to do with myvision (without glasses) than the double lens. The ghosting is more pronounced in one eye, which I can close for a sharper view.Obviously, if these are not true shade 14 they deserve fewer, if not zero, stars. They do appear to be of good quality, were shipped well protected, and fit my goggles perfectly. The problem is most likely overly sensitive eyes and a paranoid desire to protect them.

Great lens. Shade is accurate, and lens is clear. Perfect for solar eclipse goggles, but it will also work perfectly for the indented use, welding. Read the fine print though: You only get one lens. At that price, it's not so good of a deal as I thought.

I was looking for a Glass Lens alternative to the Mylar Solar Film products to view the sun live. This product was just what I was looking for. I purchased two of these lens and fitted to a set of 52mm filter holders plus some stepper rings to screw into my UV Haze 1A filters and all of it positively coupled to the front of my I/S Binoculars and I have an instant solar observing platform. Removing all finger prints, smudges, dust, etc. to insure an image that is free of ghosting. I get an easy on the eyes lime green image, again both lenses must be matching 14 shade for full eye safety.

Purchased for viewing a total solar eclipse, as i didn't trust those cardboard rip offs. Worked great with the arch welding goggles, and we had no eye strain after. (We only looked through them for up to a minute at a time.) Made the sun look dark green, but i highly recommend them for any future solar events.

The lens quality may be fine, but it's important to note that this is ONLY ONE LENS. They don't make this clear in the product description. What the hell am I going to do with one lens? Very disappointed and I feel like they weren't upfront and made any effort to fully describe the product. I'm was going to use them in goggles for the eclipse. Who orders only one lens? So be aware: ONLY ONE LENS.

I purchased this well in advance for the 2017 solar eclipse and was not disappointed. Product was as described in the listing. I used it to view the solar eclipse by holding it to my eye, as well as using it as a filter on the end of my 10x50mm binoculars to safely view the eclipse.My only regret is that I didn't purchase a pair originally as by the time I realized two would be better than one, they were sold out and not in stock until after the eclipse. No scratches or dings and it was the shade it's supposed to be. Very pleased with this purchase.