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Get the biggest damn lens you can. They can never be big enough, and craning your neck to look at things is a pain in the ass. I miss clear peripheral vision.
I'm going to have to disagree here. Get frames that look good on you. If you don't like the way you look with them you aren't going to wear them, and end up trying to strain your eyes instead, leading to worse vision.
Giant lenses usually make the wearer look goofy. Find frames that fit your face.
If you want clear peripheral vision, the answer is to get contacts, not giant glasses.
I can't wear contacts because I have a prism in my lenses, and I don't wear my glasses to look good, I wear them to see. Not wearing your glasses because they don't look cool really tends to stop when you start making a paycheck.
I just picked up my paycheck and I still like to wear glasses that look good on me, weird.
I'm saying that if the OP is just now getting glasses, it's likely he's at the point where things are blurry at a distance, but not to the point where he can't see them without straining a bit. He's also probably at least a little self conscious about wearing them, even he's making millions and millions of dollars, and getting glasses that actually look good on him will lessen the temptation to not wear them because, "I can see if fine if I squint a bit," which will fuck his vision up more down the road.
Everybody, thank you for the help. I will certainly be getting the anti-glare and scratch resistant lenses. Probably the metal frames too based on recommendations here. Same with the prescription sunglasses. Think the eye Dr I went to was running a deal of buy a pair, get a second free or cheap. The second pair will be sunglasses most likely.
and yes I will be trying to split the difference between aesthetics and comfort with more emphasis on comfort first. But I gots to look good. I am one sexy mamma jamma :P
I refute people saying that there's no benefit to glasses. I have a couple pair of nice frames, and am constantly complimented on how nice/cool/good-looking they are. They really can be another element to your style.
LavaKnight on
0
YamiNoSenshiA point called ZIn the complex planeRegistered Userregular
edited April 2009
Glasses, just like anything else you put on your person, can look good or bad. Just have to get the right pair.
Anecdotally, make sure any screens you look at are in focus. If you stare at an out of focus screen enough, your eyes will actually adjust to that to the detriment of all else.
How do you test/fix this? I have a secondary monitor that seems to be going more and more out of focus.
Namel3ss on
May the wombat of happiness snuffle through your underbrush.
If you're thinking about transitional lenses, I remember hearing they don't work in cars because the windshield blocks the UV light. I don't know if this is still true.
This is true. I have photochromic lenses and they do not shift dark in the car. I still like them though. I have a spare pair of prescription sunglasses I wear when driving.
If you're thinking about transitional lenses, I remember hearing they don't work in cars because the windshield blocks the UV light. I don't know if this is still true. Otherwise, you might want to get an additional pair of sunglasses or clips-on. I know "clip-ons" sounds nerdy looking, but they're not that bad.
I currently have transition lenses, and no, they do not work while inside of a car, the windshield does indeed block out the necessary UV rays.
Richard Feynman used that property to look directly at the Trinity test. He was likely the only person to see the first atomic bomb detonation without super dark welding goggles.
Maybe my information's coming in late, but I'll bring my lifetime's worth of glasses-wearing information in here:
High-power prescriptions (very positive or very negative numbers in the sphere or cylinder):
Get lens materials with a high index of refraction. If you're above +10 or below -10 you should hope for 1.7 or higher (some places only have up to 1.67). Lenses get much more expensive with higher indexes, but the weight and thickness makes a large difference.
Make sure your lenses are beveled and polished if they're thick. Most places do this for free (sometimes even without a request). Generally, if your lenses don't bulge outside your frames this isn't necessary (and can't really be done). If they do this can make them look thinner.
For high levels of activity:
Spring hinges are a must. You might still end up bending the arms inadvertently, but this prevents them from snapping off outright. You can test this by holding the frame (by the lenses) and pulling out one of the arms with your finger - if it snaps back and bounces a little then it has a spring hinge (for some reason most places I've visited don't indicate this). If you put on your glasses with one hand this can also help their durability. Unfortunately, frames with spring hinges are usually a little more expensive.
An anti-scratch coating will help. Despite assurances of the permanence of coatings they tend to last about 1.5-2.5 years (but most people buy new glasses more often) - but they do help prevent excessive scratches.
Look into polycarbonate or other durable lenses. I haven't seen anyone with glass or fragile plastic in their glasses for a long while, so this probably won't be all that important.
Avoid open-bottomed frames. Make sure the lens will be completely encircled by the frame. Lenses held in directly by screws are more prone to falling out of the frames (I also think half-frames are less appealing, but maybe that's just me).
I'd recommend metal frames, but plastics have come a long way, so they might work alright for contact activities. Depending on how much activity the frames are subjected to you might want to look into a tiny screwdriver to tightening the screws holding the frame shut (and the lenses in place).
General comfort:
Most people find adjustable nose pieces more comfortable than immobile plastic nose pieces connected directly to the frame. Two-piece and one-piece nose pieces are up to individual taste.
Anti-glare coatings are a must if you like looking at TV screens or anything with light.
Find an arm style you like. The classic U-shape that wraps around the ear, the bar, the L-shape, and hockey stick arms are most common, and you'll probably develop a preference for one of them. The simple bar (without a part going behind the ear) are more prone to falling off, but the style is rare. Sometimes you can replace the arms' padding.
Measurements and Considerations:
When you get your glasses fitted they'll ask you to try them on and look straight ahead. They'll put a dot on each of your lenses (the stock lenses that come with the frame). This is for measuring pupillary distance (PD - the distance between the pupils) for grinding the lenses. If you plan on buying eyeglasses online it's easiest if you request this measurement for yourself after they take it (it is almost never included on prescription slips).
When you're fitting your glasses make sure you put them on your face how you plan to wear them. High on the nose or a little lower on the nose makes a big difference. My vision is pretty terrible so I end up pushing my glasses as close to my eyes as possible - this can be important for your lens grinding (and PD measurement).
Photochromic lenses (the ones that darken in sunlight) aren't for everyone so you probably won't want to spend money on them for your first pair. You may be better off buying prescription sunglasses (but this is a highly subjective decision).
Lens shape is subjective, but I would recommend ovoid or circular shapes, and not the older aviator style (as someone preferred earlier). You will almost never look down enough to see through the huge bottoms of the lenses and they add to the weight (they're also not considered especially stylish, but pfft on that consideration). Lenses can only extend as far as your frame and since the frame needs to hold the arms to wrap around your face the width of your lenses only gets so wide. I've never had a problem with peripheral vision (in fact, you can't see in focus in your periphery anyway, so it doesn't really matter).
Frames are imprinted with useful measurements (arm distance, frame width, and occasionally other numbers), you may want to save this somewhere in-case you want replace your frames with something in the same size or you want to buy glasses online at some point.
More information than you'll probably ever need for glasses. If you're going to wear them constantly get something comfortable. There are dozens and dozens of manufacturers with thousands of frame types, don't be afraid to shop around for something aesthetically pleasing and comfortable.
UltimaGecko on
The facehuggers want to play with you in the AvP LP. Facehuggers also want you to check out the TF2 cards here. View the in-progress RE mansion recreation for L4D here.
If you do have a particular place you want to get your glasses from, don't be afraid to look around at other locations. Frames are generally custom ordered after you pick them out, your preferred dealer should be able to order almost any frame you can find anywhere. Just be sure to get some identifying info on the particular model.
proXimity on
0
NappuccinoSurveyor of Things and StuffRegistered Userregular
edited April 2009
@flexon: I had a pair back in gradeschool. They were pretty nice save for the fact I couldn't really find a pair in a style I wanted but my mom insisted (because p.e. was hell on my glasses).
Aside from style, the only problem I had was making adjustments to the glasses- Every so often, they would bend and hold a shape and getting them back to normal was a struggle.
anybody have any experience with this Flexon material? just reading around online I see it is a metal, but can be twisted and will snap back to original form.
im dislexic so sorry about the spelling
im a despenceing opticain in the UK. and in my personal opion flexon frames (thats flexon brand not imatations) are well worth the money for a fre reasons
the really do bend
they are a titaunum alloy so they dont carrode. so the last
and the have a 2 year manifatures garentee
lenses.... most of the time CR39 witch is normal plasic is best. unless you have a strong RX
Anti reflection coatings are always a good idea and most of teh time have a hard coat with them aswell
personly i would avoid pollycarbonate. as is very easy to scratch and it has a low v value or abbe number. this means the lans has lost of cromatic abberation. pollycarbonate is very impact resistent so good for a saftygaless but not really for every day specs, espesaly if you have a strong RX
i really recomend getting them from and onpican and not online. and make sure the person is a quallifyed despenceing optician. there are lots of myths sarrounding glasses. and most problems with glasses are due to bad despenceing. so go to someone reputable
Conroy Bumpas on
Please note I cannot be held responsible for any mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, karma, dharma, metaphysical, religious, philosophical, Logical , Ethical, Aesthetical, or financial damage caused by this post
Get the biggest damn lens you can. They can never be big enough, and craning your neck to look at things is a pain in the ass. I miss clear peripheral vision.
Flexon type glasses can be good, as they're light as hell, but the pair I had was poorly designed and would always fall off my face. Make sure any frames you try stay on your head in most circumstances.
if your prescription is strong donot but large lenses it will make you lenses thicker and weigh alot more
Conroy Bumpas on
Please note I cannot be held responsible for any mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, karma, dharma, metaphysical, religious, philosophical, Logical , Ethical, Aesthetical, or financial damage caused by this post
Getting glasses with smaller lenses will only seem like a problem at first. When I got my new glasses the lenses were only about half the size of my first pair. It bothered me at first that my periphery was uncorrected, but I honestly stopped noticing. I had actually forgotten about the problem until I read a post in this thread.
That said, people who say there is no upside to glasses are silly. Glasses shopping is my favourite kind of shopping. Glasses stores usually have a lot of shapes and styles. As long as you don't get something completely ludicrous then you'll look fine. I prefer thin, dark wire frames that are rounded rectangles, one friend has dark red plastic sharp rectangles, another has large circular gold metal frames. They all look good on them. It really is up to you.
I agree, personally I like how I look wearing glasses, and my wife does too.
My previous pair were Flexon and they were pretty nice. The bridge completely snapped after having them a year or so, but I think that was caused by being too rough with them while cleaning (holding one side and wiping the other created tension on the bridge).
Oh, I also forgot to mention, I'm not sure if anyone else did, wearing glasses for the first time is a pretty amazing experience. You will feel like you have super powers because you will have the clearest sight you will ever have for those first few days.
You'll notice tiny imperfections on what you thought to be smooth walls, extra details in writing and art. But really, the thing you absolutely have to do is look at a tree. Especially a tree with light shining through it. It will blow your mind!
This super-sense will fade after a few days, and you'll get it back a little with each new prescription, but it'll never be the same.
BTW, post pics when you get them if you don't mind. It's nice to have a solid conclusion to H/A threads.
I did get a pair yesterday and all the posts here were helpful. I stuck with the Dr's office as I could have my insurance pick up the tab there. My wife was great for helping pick frames, and without you guys I wouldn't have anti-glare or anti-scratch. The woman working there wasn't really helpful beyond how the frames look on me. She didn't even mention that any options were available for lenses.
Thanks again for your help.
Yami I'm up in Woodbridge every once in a while, just look around at guys with glasses and try and guess which one is me :P I'm not the biggest fan of putting any personal data up on the net....not even photos.
Photos always get turned nasty on the net. I may have another story, don't know where it belongs on the forums, but a couple of us recently found embarrassing pics of another co-worker on failblog.org. When you have a pic of yourself with FAIL in giant letters.....oh man was he squeamish telling us what that photo was about.
If you're going to get anti-reflective / anti-scratch coatings make sure you get a good one. Whatever rubbish they put on my last pair of glasses got scratched up really easy and they collected dust like anything. Then the coating started peeling off and I barely see through them.
I bought my latest pair from frames direct and got them with Crizal Avance coatings. I found a forum for independent optometrists where they were debating with a sales rep whether it was worth the extra money, and the general consensus was the it was.
I've had the new ones for a few days and so far so good.
Oh, I also forgot to mention, I'm not sure if anyone else did, wearing glasses for the first time is a pretty amazing experience. You will feel like you have super powers because you will have the clearest sight you will ever have for those first few days.
You'll notice tiny imperfections on what you thought to be smooth walls, extra details in writing and art. But really, the thing you absolutely have to do is look at a tree. Especially a tree with light shining through it. It will blow your mind!
This is all true. But for me, the thing that most shocked me was grass. Being able to make out the individual blades so clearly was what astonished me the most.
Oh, I also forgot to mention, I'm not sure if anyone else did, wearing glasses for the first time is a pretty amazing experience. You will feel like you have super powers because you will have the clearest sight you will ever have for those first few days.
You'll notice tiny imperfections on what you thought to be smooth walls, extra details in writing and art. But really, the thing you absolutely have to do is look at a tree. Especially a tree with light shining through it. It will blow your mind!
This is all true. But for me, the thing that most shocked me was grass. Being able to make out the individual blades so clearly was what astonished me the most.
It was fall and I walked home in the evening after picking my glasses up. I looked through these trees as the sun was setting and it was just breathtaking. Being able to see tiny twigs on branches, and little stems of leaves.
One of the cases where I wish your senses didn't habituate. It'd be nice to see like that again.
Oh, I also forgot to mention, I'm not sure if anyone else did, wearing glasses for the first time is a pretty amazing experience. You will feel like you have super powers because you will have the clearest sight you will ever have for those first few days.
You'll notice tiny imperfections on what you thought to be smooth walls, extra details in writing and art. But really, the thing you absolutely have to do is look at a tree. Especially a tree with light shining through it. It will blow your mind!
This is all true. But for me, the thing that most shocked me was grass. Being able to make out the individual blades so clearly was what astonished me the most.
It was fall and I walked home in the evening after picking my glasses up. I looked through these trees as the sun was setting and it was just breathtaking. Being able to see tiny twigs on branches, and little stems of leaves.
One of the cases where I wish your senses didn't habituate. It'd be nice to see like that again.
Enjoy it, OP!
Aww man, I don't ever remember that feeling. I got my glasses at age 3 or so. Apparently though I couldn't see the bottom of our street from our house before I got them. And it was a pretty short street.
Now I feel like I missed out on something.
EDIT: To contribute, you might think the glasses will be a huge hassle but they're really not. You barely notice em most of the time.
Unless they get dirty. I hope you got one of those li'l lint-free cloths to clean 'em with. Failing that, you can try using a cleanish part of your shirt if you huff on the glasses first. Clean boxer shorts are good for cleaning lenses, bizarrely, but it depends on the material.
I'm just coming in here to agree with Asiina that glasses shopping can be great, I love wearing mine, they really compliment my face in a way. Plus, yeah, putting on a new set of glasses can be awesome if you really needed a new set. That first day is so cool.
Plus, I had transition lenses once but opted out of them this go round. They never worked quite right for me, and when you go from outside back indoors it can take quite a while to adjust back, and during that time you can be practically blind from the darkness inside, coupled with the darkness of your glasses.
Plastic lenses maybe less durable than their metal counter parts, but they also reduce the weight of the entire ensemble. So if you have a fairly thick lens and the weight of it becomes an issue, it might be an attractive alternative. Plus it comes in much more colors than the metal frames if you want a funky look.
Also, I'd invest in some contact lenses as well because prescribed sun glasses can be a real damper on the wallet and also having to carry it around all the time gets pretty annoying as well. And as mentioned before, any kind of sporting, esp. ones which require some type of eye protection (squash) will become much less of a hassle.
But contacts have downsides as well. Specifically, eye fatigue. They've gotten better over the years, but after an 18 hour stretch (not uncommon for me) I always felt pretty significant eye fatigue. Which was uncomfortable and caused slightly blurry vision until I got some solid sleep.
When I was 24 I got my first proper post-college job. It involved work in a laboratory. Stupidly, the safety committee forbade contact lenses. I even forwarded them academic studies wherein it was concluded that there was no risk to contact lenses in a lab. "DURRRR," said they. "SPLASH INTO UR EYES AND THE CONTACTS WILL TRAP TEH CHMIKALS"
"Fuck you guys, you are ignoring SCIENCE. In a lab!"
"DURRRRRRR DO IT OR U LUZ UR JOB KEKEKEKE"
So, kicking and screaming, I went back to glasses. Surprise! I like them.
No more eye fatigue.
Plus I look hella sexy with a nice pair of frames.
It's been four years and I wouldn't go back to contacts. I was considering surgery until my brother tried and was told by the surgeon, on the table, that his corneas were too thin and that the surgery might blind him. Thank god it was an honest surgeon. I'll probably never try the surgery now; too afraid I'll get a surgeon that thinks, "well, it's borderline. Let's see what happens!"
So I just got glasses for the first time at age 28 yesterday.
I used to have better than vision than most of the people I know, apparently my eyes were just really good at adjusting.
Right now, everything on the right side of my vision (the better eye) looks like it is falling down and away from me. For example, the my monitor is shaped like the top part square here, but looks to me like the bottom one:
Everyone so far has told me that it's because it's new glasses. It's just really odd. Also, driving around and it looks like my dashboard is pushing away from me to the right. Pretty crazy. So far, my brain has been trying to fight it. Also, fun headaches as I get used to ridiculous clarity. Boy are my pores more noticeable than I thought they were and games in HD on my 360 look brilliant.
Take them back to the optometrist and make sure the fit is correct, as well as the center (thinnest point) of the lens being over your eye. If the lens is off, you can have the visual oddities you describe. You could try tilting, panning and shifting the glasses to see if there is a point where it stops.
stigweard on
0
NappuccinoSurveyor of Things and StuffRegistered Userregular
edited April 2009
That's really odd, i have to admit. I don't think i've had that problem once with any of my glasses, though some times, if the frame is tilted, I get that effect- but it isn't so much the lense causing the problem as the glasses frame "framing" my view in an odd way.
To me, this sounds worthy of going back to get it checked out and see if something's up whith your prescription.
(is one eye way worse than the other? that could be a problem, i guess)
Just_Bri_ThanksSeething with ragefrom a handbasket.Registered User, ClubPAregular
edited April 2009
If you have a stronger prescription get smaller frames. The lenses thicken considerably for nearsighted folks, and smaller lenses mean less weight.
Get in the habit now of not touching your face. Getting fingerprints on your lenses is rage inducing sometimes.
When you put your glasses down do not put them on a surface with the ear pieces out and right side up. They are more likely to tip up onto the lenses that way.
If you have a glasses case get one with hard sides.
If you regularly do something that is rough and tumble consider a second pair with cheap plastic frames. Rather break that one than your 300 dollar wire frames.
Do not sleep with your glasses on.
Do not get punched in the face with your glasses on.
If you trip and fall cover your lenses first, at the expense of bruises. Bruises will heal, scratches on glass (or plastic) are forever.
Do not let anyone touch your glasses. (Your mileage may vary, but nine times out of ten when I get my glasses back I have to clean them.)
Get a soft bristled toothbrush for the express purpose of cleaning your nose pads. That area collects oils from your skin easily and will turn green.
Just_Bri_Thanks on
...and when you are done with that; take a folding
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
0
NappuccinoSurveyor of Things and StuffRegistered Userregular
I'm going tonight to get glasses for the first time ever. Beyond finding frames that I find visually appealing there are things I have no clue about.
Do I get scratch resistant lenses? or is that baloney like undercoating on a car?
for those who wear glasses are there other options that you have grown to "need" in your purchases?
wish I had some more directed and pointed questions, but I'm clueless in this area.
I need them for reading, computer use, and driving at night. Seeing as I sit in front of a computer all day I'll probably be wearing these all the time. Is there any other info needed here?
I'm a little wary of some scratch-resistant coatings after my last pair had the lens surface craze. Yeah, not fun. Became nigh-impossible to see out of the right lens and was stuck with an old, barely-usable set for two weeks while they replaced the lens.
If you have a stronger prescription get smaller frames. The lenses thicken considerably for nearsighted folks, and smaller lenses mean less weight.
Get in the habit now of not touching your face. Getting fingerprints on your lenses is rage inducing sometimes.
When you put your glasses down do not put them on a surface with the ear pieces out and right side up. They are more likely to tip up onto the lenses that way.
If you have a glasses case get one with hard sides.
If you regularly do something that is rough and tumble consider a second pair with cheap plastic frames. Rather break that one than your 300 dollar wire frames.
Do not sleep with your glasses on.
Do not get punched in the face with your glasses on.
If you trip and fall cover your lenses first, at the expense of bruises. Bruises will heal, scratches on glass (or plastic) are forever.
Do not let anyone touch your glasses. (Your mileage may vary, but nine times out of ten when I get my glasses back I have to clean them.)
Get a soft bristled toothbrush for the express purpose of cleaning your nose pads. That area collects oils from your skin easily and will turn green.
Heh, I can add - don't get "smart" in the laboratory
"Hey, acetone does wonders for cleaning this glassware! I'll use it to clean my glasses!"
/found out the hard way that acetone basically destroys polycarbonate lenses
So I just got glasses for the first time at age 28 yesterday.
I used to have better than vision than most of the people I know, apparently my eyes were just really good at adjusting.
Right now, everything on the right side of my vision (the better eye) looks like it is falling down and away from me. For example, the my monitor is shaped like the top part square here, but looks to me like the bottom one:
Everyone so far has told me that it's because it's new glasses. It's just really odd. Also, driving around and it looks like my dashboard is pushing away from me to the right. Pretty crazy. So far, my brain has been trying to fight it. Also, fun headaches as I get used to ridiculous clarity. Boy are my pores more noticeable than I thought they were and games in HD on my 360 look brilliant.
this is most likly due to astigmatism. the your eye is stronger in one mariden than another. and the lenses conter act this. your eyes normal do there best to ignore the efect. and your eye and glasses are now bothe doing it. this will go in a few days. maybe evan a few hours. sound like you had an astigmatic pprescription that you where useing acommidation to over come. and no its got to the stage that that was causing you some eye strane or headaches. this effect is normal for a new astigmatic prescripion
Conroy Bumpas on
Please note I cannot be held responsible for any mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, karma, dharma, metaphysical, religious, philosophical, Logical , Ethical, Aesthetical, or financial damage caused by this post
Posts
I just picked up my paycheck and I still like to wear glasses that look good on me, weird.
I'm saying that if the OP is just now getting glasses, it's likely he's at the point where things are blurry at a distance, but not to the point where he can't see them without straining a bit. He's also probably at least a little self conscious about wearing them, even he's making millions and millions of dollars, and getting glasses that actually look good on him will lessen the temptation to not wear them because, "I can see if fine if I squint a bit," which will fuck his vision up more down the road.
and yes I will be trying to split the difference between aesthetics and comfort with more emphasis on comfort first. But I gots to look good. I am one sexy mamma jamma :P
Steam
XBOX
I refute people saying that there's no benefit to glasses. I have a couple pair of nice frames, and am constantly complimented on how nice/cool/good-looking they are. They really can be another element to your style.
How do you test/fix this? I have a secondary monitor that seems to be going more and more out of focus.
This is true. I have photochromic lenses and they do not shift dark in the car. I still like them though. I have a spare pair of prescription sunglasses I wear when driving.
Richard Feynman used that property to look directly at the Trinity test. He was likely the only person to see the first atomic bomb detonation without super dark welding goggles.
High-power prescriptions (very positive or very negative numbers in the sphere or cylinder):
Get lens materials with a high index of refraction. If you're above +10 or below -10 you should hope for 1.7 or higher (some places only have up to 1.67). Lenses get much more expensive with higher indexes, but the weight and thickness makes a large difference.
Make sure your lenses are beveled and polished if they're thick. Most places do this for free (sometimes even without a request). Generally, if your lenses don't bulge outside your frames this isn't necessary (and can't really be done). If they do this can make them look thinner.
For high levels of activity:
Spring hinges are a must. You might still end up bending the arms inadvertently, but this prevents them from snapping off outright. You can test this by holding the frame (by the lenses) and pulling out one of the arms with your finger - if it snaps back and bounces a little then it has a spring hinge (for some reason most places I've visited don't indicate this). If you put on your glasses with one hand this can also help their durability. Unfortunately, frames with spring hinges are usually a little more expensive.
An anti-scratch coating will help. Despite assurances of the permanence of coatings they tend to last about 1.5-2.5 years (but most people buy new glasses more often) - but they do help prevent excessive scratches.
Look into polycarbonate or other durable lenses. I haven't seen anyone with glass or fragile plastic in their glasses for a long while, so this probably won't be all that important.
Avoid open-bottomed frames. Make sure the lens will be completely encircled by the frame. Lenses held in directly by screws are more prone to falling out of the frames (I also think half-frames are less appealing, but maybe that's just me).
I'd recommend metal frames, but plastics have come a long way, so they might work alright for contact activities. Depending on how much activity the frames are subjected to you might want to look into a tiny screwdriver to tightening the screws holding the frame shut (and the lenses in place).
General comfort:
Most people find adjustable nose pieces more comfortable than immobile plastic nose pieces connected directly to the frame. Two-piece and one-piece nose pieces are up to individual taste.
Anti-glare coatings are a must if you like looking at TV screens or anything with light.
Find an arm style you like. The classic U-shape that wraps around the ear, the bar, the L-shape, and hockey stick arms are most common, and you'll probably develop a preference for one of them. The simple bar (without a part going behind the ear) are more prone to falling off, but the style is rare. Sometimes you can replace the arms' padding.
Measurements and Considerations:
When you get your glasses fitted they'll ask you to try them on and look straight ahead. They'll put a dot on each of your lenses (the stock lenses that come with the frame). This is for measuring pupillary distance (PD - the distance between the pupils) for grinding the lenses. If you plan on buying eyeglasses online it's easiest if you request this measurement for yourself after they take it (it is almost never included on prescription slips).
When you're fitting your glasses make sure you put them on your face how you plan to wear them. High on the nose or a little lower on the nose makes a big difference. My vision is pretty terrible so I end up pushing my glasses as close to my eyes as possible - this can be important for your lens grinding (and PD measurement).
Photochromic lenses (the ones that darken in sunlight) aren't for everyone so you probably won't want to spend money on them for your first pair. You may be better off buying prescription sunglasses (but this is a highly subjective decision).
Lens shape is subjective, but I would recommend ovoid or circular shapes, and not the older aviator style (as someone preferred earlier). You will almost never look down enough to see through the huge bottoms of the lenses and they add to the weight (they're also not considered especially stylish, but pfft on that consideration). Lenses can only extend as far as your frame and since the frame needs to hold the arms to wrap around your face the width of your lenses only gets so wide. I've never had a problem with peripheral vision (in fact, you can't see in focus in your periphery anyway, so it doesn't really matter).
Frames are imprinted with useful measurements (arm distance, frame width, and occasionally other numbers), you may want to save this somewhere in-case you want replace your frames with something in the same size or you want to buy glasses online at some point.
More information than you'll probably ever need for glasses. If you're going to wear them constantly get something comfortable. There are dozens and dozens of manufacturers with thousands of frame types, don't be afraid to shop around for something aesthetically pleasing and comfortable.
Aside from style, the only problem I had was making adjustments to the glasses- Every so often, they would bend and hold a shape and getting them back to normal was a struggle.
I usually wear glasses, but I have contacts for activities. It works out pretty well.
im dislexic so sorry about the spelling
im a despenceing opticain in the UK. and in my personal opion flexon frames (thats flexon brand not imatations) are well worth the money for a fre reasons
the really do bend
they are a titaunum alloy so they dont carrode. so the last
and the have a 2 year manifatures garentee
lenses.... most of the time CR39 witch is normal plasic is best. unless you have a strong RX
Anti reflection coatings are always a good idea and most of teh time have a hard coat with them aswell
personly i would avoid pollycarbonate. as is very easy to scratch and it has a low v value or abbe number. this means the lans has lost of cromatic abberation. pollycarbonate is very impact resistent so good for a saftygaless but not really for every day specs, espesaly if you have a strong RX
i really recomend getting them from and onpican and not online. and make sure the person is a quallifyed despenceing optician. there are lots of myths sarrounding glasses. and most problems with glasses are due to bad despenceing. so go to someone reputable
if your prescription is strong donot but large lenses it will make you lenses thicker and weigh alot more
That said, people who say there is no upside to glasses are silly. Glasses shopping is my favourite kind of shopping. Glasses stores usually have a lot of shapes and styles. As long as you don't get something completely ludicrous then you'll look fine. I prefer thin, dark wire frames that are rounded rectangles, one friend has dark red plastic sharp rectangles, another has large circular gold metal frames. They all look good on them. It really is up to you.
My previous pair were Flexon and they were pretty nice. The bridge completely snapped after having them a year or so, but I think that was caused by being too rough with them while cleaning (holding one side and wiping the other created tension on the bridge).
You'll notice tiny imperfections on what you thought to be smooth walls, extra details in writing and art. But really, the thing you absolutely have to do is look at a tree. Especially a tree with light shining through it. It will blow your mind!
This super-sense will fade after a few days, and you'll get it back a little with each new prescription, but it'll never be the same.
I did get a pair yesterday and all the posts here were helpful. I stuck with the Dr's office as I could have my insurance pick up the tab there. My wife was great for helping pick frames, and without you guys I wouldn't have anti-glare or anti-scratch. The woman working there wasn't really helpful beyond how the frames look on me. She didn't even mention that any options were available for lenses.
Thanks again for your help.
Yami I'm up in Woodbridge every once in a while, just look around at guys with glasses and try and guess which one is me :P I'm not the biggest fan of putting any personal data up on the net....not even photos.
Photos always get turned nasty on the net. I may have another story, don't know where it belongs on the forums, but a couple of us recently found embarrassing pics of another co-worker on failblog.org. When you have a pic of yourself with FAIL in giant letters.....oh man was he squeamish telling us what that photo was about.
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I bought my latest pair from frames direct and got them with Crizal Avance coatings. I found a forum for independent optometrists where they were debating with a sales rep whether it was worth the extra money, and the general consensus was the it was.
I've had the new ones for a few days and so far so good.
This is all true. But for me, the thing that most shocked me was grass. Being able to make out the individual blades so clearly was what astonished me the most.
Son of a bitch, I didn't know that!
It was fall and I walked home in the evening after picking my glasses up. I looked through these trees as the sun was setting and it was just breathtaking. Being able to see tiny twigs on branches, and little stems of leaves.
One of the cases where I wish your senses didn't habituate. It'd be nice to see like that again.
Enjoy it, OP!
Aww man, I don't ever remember that feeling. I got my glasses at age 3 or so. Apparently though I couldn't see the bottom of our street from our house before I got them. And it was a pretty short street.
Now I feel like I missed out on something.
EDIT: To contribute, you might think the glasses will be a huge hassle but they're really not. You barely notice em most of the time.
Unless they get dirty. I hope you got one of those li'l lint-free cloths to clean 'em with. Failing that, you can try using a cleanish part of your shirt if you huff on the glasses first. Clean boxer shorts are good for cleaning lenses, bizarrely, but it depends on the material.
Plus, I had transition lenses once but opted out of them this go round. They never worked quite right for me, and when you go from outside back indoors it can take quite a while to adjust back, and during that time you can be practically blind from the darkness inside, coupled with the darkness of your glasses.
Also, I'd invest in some contact lenses as well because prescribed sun glasses can be a real damper on the wallet and also having to carry it around all the time gets pretty annoying as well. And as mentioned before, any kind of sporting, esp. ones which require some type of eye protection (squash) will become much less of a hassle.
At 15, my parents let me get contacts. Hooray!
But contacts have downsides as well. Specifically, eye fatigue. They've gotten better over the years, but after an 18 hour stretch (not uncommon for me) I always felt pretty significant eye fatigue. Which was uncomfortable and caused slightly blurry vision until I got some solid sleep.
When I was 24 I got my first proper post-college job. It involved work in a laboratory. Stupidly, the safety committee forbade contact lenses. I even forwarded them academic studies wherein it was concluded that there was no risk to contact lenses in a lab. "DURRRR," said they. "SPLASH INTO UR EYES AND THE CONTACTS WILL TRAP TEH CHMIKALS"
"Fuck you guys, you are ignoring SCIENCE. In a lab!"
"DURRRRRRR DO IT OR U LUZ UR JOB KEKEKEKE"
So, kicking and screaming, I went back to glasses. Surprise! I like them.
No more eye fatigue.
Plus I look hella sexy with a nice pair of frames.
It's been four years and I wouldn't go back to contacts. I was considering surgery until my brother tried and was told by the surgeon, on the table, that his corneas were too thin and that the surgery might blind him. Thank god it was an honest surgeon. I'll probably never try the surgery now; too afraid I'll get a surgeon that thinks, "well, it's borderline. Let's see what happens!"
Probably glasses for life, but I don't mind.
I used to have better than vision than most of the people I know, apparently my eyes were just really good at adjusting.
Right now, everything on the right side of my vision (the better eye) looks like it is falling down and away from me. For example, the my monitor is shaped like the top part square here, but looks to me like the bottom one:
Everyone so far has told me that it's because it's new glasses. It's just really odd. Also, driving around and it looks like my dashboard is pushing away from me to the right. Pretty crazy. So far, my brain has been trying to fight it. Also, fun headaches as I get used to ridiculous clarity. Boy are my pores more noticeable than I thought they were and games in HD on my 360 look brilliant.
To me, this sounds worthy of going back to get it checked out and see if something's up whith your prescription.
(is one eye way worse than the other? that could be a problem, i guess)
Get in the habit now of not touching your face. Getting fingerprints on your lenses is rage inducing sometimes.
When you put your glasses down do not put them on a surface with the ear pieces out and right side up. They are more likely to tip up onto the lenses that way.
If you have a glasses case get one with hard sides.
If you regularly do something that is rough and tumble consider a second pair with cheap plastic frames. Rather break that one than your 300 dollar wire frames.
Do not sleep with your glasses on.
Do not get punched in the face with your glasses on.
If you trip and fall cover your lenses first, at the expense of bruises. Bruises will heal, scratches on glass (or plastic) are forever.
Do not let anyone touch your glasses. (Your mileage may vary, but nine times out of ten when I get my glasses back I have to clean them.)
Get a soft bristled toothbrush for the express purpose of cleaning your nose pads. That area collects oils from your skin easily and will turn green.
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
awesome advice
chair to Creation and then suplex the Void.
I'm a little wary of some scratch-resistant coatings after my last pair had the lens surface craze. Yeah, not fun. Became nigh-impossible to see out of the right lens and was stuck with an old, barely-usable set for two weeks while they replaced the lens.
Heh, I can add - don't get "smart" in the laboratory
"Hey, acetone does wonders for cleaning this glassware! I'll use it to clean my glasses!"
/found out the hard way that acetone basically destroys polycarbonate lenses
this is most likly due to astigmatism. the your eye is stronger in one mariden than another. and the lenses conter act this. your eyes normal do there best to ignore the efect. and your eye and glasses are now bothe doing it. this will go in a few days. maybe evan a few hours. sound like you had an astigmatic pprescription that you where useing acommidation to over come. and no its got to the stage that that was causing you some eye strane or headaches. this effect is normal for a new astigmatic prescripion