I solved the problem of seeing the weld puddle by using a drop light in front of the helmet, pointing at the weld area. With the auto darkening lens set @ 10, and with a "tru-color" helmet, I can clearly see the weld area. My current helmet is a $129 Hobart true color auto darkening helmet (often on sale for $99), it is about 2 years old now, and has replaceable round batteries. Adding that light above the work area sure helped as well (been doing that for 10 years or more). I'm 65 and have been welding full time for over 30 years.

One more thing I've noticed, my prescription glasses have the sun darkening lenses, sometimes they will darken if I'm doing a lot of welding in a short time. I've noticed sometimes they are about 2 shades darker when I lift the helmet. Gene