First thing is that you need to know your prescription. Seiko Trivex has a range from

  Sphere Power: +1.00 to -4.00
  Cylinder Power: +2.00 to -2.00
  Extended Range Available

If you're ADDing for a laptop distance that needs to be added in.

Look at the online sites and look at the lens choices:

http://www.eyeglasslensdirect.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=282

So I really like Trivex over standard polycarbonate or plastic.

http://www.eyeglasslensdirect.com/Trivex-Single-Vision-Lense...

You can easily drill Trivex so you can have rimless if you want. Polycarbonate cracks more easily.

So know your prescription and frame type. Learn about lens materials, lens types (single vision, progressives, free form, ...), tints, coatings, .... This seems like a lot to know but imagine your optometrist trying to figure out everything in 20 minutes. It's better if you do some homework.

All that said, I went to Berkeley and I use their School of Optometry. They don't mind at all if I ask questions and if I'm pretty direct.

> All that said, I went to Berkeley and I use their School of Optometry

wait, can you expand on that? i went to ucsd, is there some uc program where alumni get some kind of benefits from the medical programs? or is it just cal?

I get 20% off exams and frames+lenses as a member (life member actually) of the Cal Alumni Association. I usually schedule my visit in the summer when things are slow. It's always nice to be on campus again.

I don't think there's a reciprocation agreement. There is for library privileges. You can actually join as a UCSD alum. Life is about $750 (it was less when I joined) which has paid for itself for me. I believe there are alumni advantages at UCSF Dental as well.

Have you purchased from eyeglasslensdirect? Seems to be a one-person operation, which could be good or bad. They are the only online retailer of well known lens brands.

On their single vision lens order page, there is no input field for fitting height. Do they calculate a fixed percentage of frame height, or can you email them with your fitting height?

No, I haven't. I educate myself about lens materials and choices online but then I get my prescriptions and glasses at the Berkeley School of Optometry brick and mortar. You're asking about fitting and I think opticians are really good at that. Berkeley is. I'm talking about educating yourself on choices.

This is another online site with a lot of information:

http://www.visio-rx.com/vision-topics/lenses/polycarbonate-v...

UC Berkeley Optometry is a wonderful resource for the community. I've used them for years for both exams and glasses. Their website has info on their services and prices: http://www.caleyecare.org/general-info/

Professional opticians (watch out for jargon) are at Optiboard, e.g. here’s a good post on single vision lens manufscturing:

http://www.optiboard.com/forums/showthread.php/49935-Free-fo...

It's a good resource but professional grade.

I first got into this when I was taking Physics 7C which has a chapter on lenses. There's an approximation they use and I thought couldn't they use ray tracing and do a better job? So I started reading and yeah, they could and they do. What I was wondering about is what free form lenses actually are. And with modern CNC capabilities, you can do a much better job.