schnitzeraffe
Oakley Expert
So now that the Oakley M2 is out, the original M Frame is being put out to pasture. 
M Frame lenses direct from Oakley are now extremely limited.
Your options are clear and gray... and you better be a fan of the Strike style lens (which I am not).
Oh how I long for access to replacement lenses for my beloved M Frames.
I do not want aftermarket lenses, and I get tired of scouring the B/S/T boards for used lenses that may be hit or miss on quality and authenticity.
After reading the thread that @Rustpot has on the Evolution of the M Frame, found here, I began wondering how / if M2 lenses could be modified to function in an M Frame.
If it worked it would be great, right ?!?!?
New, unmolested lenses for my M Frames... and better yet even in versions never available with my original M Frames (ie - Prizm)!
So I sent out a request for help to @Chris A Hardaway.
He agreed to take a stab at it, so I ordered a test lens.
Now since this was a test and only a test I didn't want to risk a perfectly good OEM M2 lens which would cost me $50 plus shipping on the cheapest available, so I picked up a yellow Inew aftermarket lens from eBay for a measly $10.99... SHIPPED!
As soon as I received that lens it was packed up with a few M Frames, a few M Frame lenses, a little cash, and sent to @Chris A Hardaway for a little "massaging".
I have about half a dozen M Frames and about a dozen M Frame lenses in varying degrees of age and usage.
Some lenses fit tightly in some frames and some fit loosely.
And there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to how or why they fit like they do.
Old frame-new lens, new frame-old lens, old frame-old lens, new frame-new lens (sounds like Dr. Seuss).
I have some that fit tightly and some that fit loosely in any and all of the previous combinations.
The M2 lens that @Chris A Hardaway modified for me was named Goldilocks, partially because of her color, but more importantly because in manner of fit in the M Frame "it was just right".
These are pictures of the M2 lens and a M Frame Sweep lens stacked together before and after M2 lens modification.
Not much to look at, but the nosepiece attachment area is noticeably higher on the M2 lens (more about that later).
Viewed from above you can see the arc was longer on the M2 lens prior to modification.
These four different before and after sets show how the flanges on the lens were modified to interface with the M Frame.
Since the outcome of his lens modification was positive, I ordered a few M2 nosepieces from Oakley so I could verify fit on my head.
Unfortunately, that's also where this story becomes much less positive and starts to show the failure in using M2 lenses in our M Frames.
When wearing the glasses, the bottom of the lens ever so slightly touches both right and left cheeks.
When talking or smiling it is VERY noticeable.
It is bothersome enough that I would never consider wearing them for any sort of use whatsoever.
It is a little hard to see in the picture, but if you look close enough you can see that the M2 lens curves back more towards the face as it approaches the bottom edge of the lens.
If you remember back when you started reading this novel, I mentioned the nosepiece attachment area on the lens.
The nosepiece sits higher on the M2 lens which makes the bottom of the lens sit lower on the face than the M Frame lens.
So ultimately the M2 lens in the M Frame curves back towards the face too much and sits too low on the face.
This is how the lens should fit (I had to use a clear lens because the Black Iridium blocked too much of the camera's flash).
But unfortunately it fits like this.
A long read for a negative result I know.
But I thought this failure had as much of a right to be documented as one of our achievements.
M Frame lenses direct from Oakley are now extremely limited.
Your options are clear and gray... and you better be a fan of the Strike style lens (which I am not).
Oh how I long for access to replacement lenses for my beloved M Frames.
I do not want aftermarket lenses, and I get tired of scouring the B/S/T boards for used lenses that may be hit or miss on quality and authenticity.
After reading the thread that @Rustpot has on the Evolution of the M Frame, found here, I began wondering how / if M2 lenses could be modified to function in an M Frame.
If it worked it would be great, right ?!?!?
New, unmolested lenses for my M Frames... and better yet even in versions never available with my original M Frames (ie - Prizm)!
So I sent out a request for help to @Chris A Hardaway.
He agreed to take a stab at it, so I ordered a test lens.
Now since this was a test and only a test I didn't want to risk a perfectly good OEM M2 lens which would cost me $50 plus shipping on the cheapest available, so I picked up a yellow Inew aftermarket lens from eBay for a measly $10.99... SHIPPED!
As soon as I received that lens it was packed up with a few M Frames, a few M Frame lenses, a little cash, and sent to @Chris A Hardaway for a little "massaging".
I have about half a dozen M Frames and about a dozen M Frame lenses in varying degrees of age and usage.
Some lenses fit tightly in some frames and some fit loosely.
And there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason as to how or why they fit like they do.
Old frame-new lens, new frame-old lens, old frame-old lens, new frame-new lens (sounds like Dr. Seuss
).I have some that fit tightly and some that fit loosely in any and all of the previous combinations.
The M2 lens that @Chris A Hardaway modified for me was named Goldilocks, partially because of her color, but more importantly because in manner of fit in the M Frame "it was just right".
These are pictures of the M2 lens and a M Frame Sweep lens stacked together before and after M2 lens modification.
Not much to look at, but the nosepiece attachment area is noticeably higher on the M2 lens (more about that later).
Viewed from above you can see the arc was longer on the M2 lens prior to modification.
These four different before and after sets show how the flanges on the lens were modified to interface with the M Frame.
Since the outcome of his lens modification was positive, I ordered a few M2 nosepieces from Oakley so I could verify fit on my head.
Unfortunately, that's also where this story becomes much less positive and starts to show the failure in using M2 lenses in our M Frames.
When wearing the glasses, the bottom of the lens ever so slightly touches both right and left cheeks.
When talking or smiling it is VERY noticeable.
It is bothersome enough that I would never consider wearing them for any sort of use whatsoever.
It is a little hard to see in the picture, but if you look close enough you can see that the M2 lens curves back more towards the face as it approaches the bottom edge of the lens.
If you remember back when you started reading this novel, I mentioned the nosepiece attachment area on the lens.
The nosepiece sits higher on the M2 lens which makes the bottom of the lens sit lower on the face than the M Frame lens.
So ultimately the M2 lens in the M Frame curves back towards the face too much and sits too low on the face.
This is how the lens should fit (I had to use a clear lens because the Black Iridium blocked too much of the camera's flash).
But unfortunately it fits like this.
A long read for a negative result I know.
But I thought this failure had as much of a right to be documented as one of our achievements.
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