List Price: $129.99
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No real complaints at all. I bought this versus the clamp on type because I can use it anywhere I can find room to set the base. The base is nice and heavy and has the footprint of about an 8 ½ x 11 inch piece of paper. I've had clamp on types and they are a bit of a pain to keep fastened tightly to the table or counter in my experience. I'll be more prone to drag this from location to location because I don't have to fuss with the clamp.
Pros:
* Nice heavy base
* Arm stays where you place it
* Decent real glass lens
* Low temperature does not heat up my small room
* No 60 Hz hum at all perhaps solid state devices with no transformer
* Nice wire management... internal to the metal arm tubing
Cons:
* A tad bit pricy, but you get a real glass lens
* Illumination is a very hard white as you would expect from a fluorescent bulb
* Bottom of base need could use some padding or at least some wider feet to distribute the weight over a larger surface area. It may dent or scratch soft wood surfaces.
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Great lamp!I had been using an Ott magnifying lamp, but was having a problem with the small usable magnification area.The Ott lamp has only 1 light bulb at the rear of the magnifier. The professional quality desk magnifier lamp has a circular bulb which provides great lighting to the entire magnifier area. Circular bulb=no shadows cast by your hands or tools. The base is nice and heavy,the arm is adjustable and stays where you put it. My only complaint is that the feet on the base are metal and not smoothly finished. They will scratch your work surface if you move the lamp without picking it up. I put mine on a rubber mat-problem solved.Best Deals for Professional-Quality Desk Magnifier Lamp - 2.25X Magnification
I bought this lamp in order to see the small electronic components for soldering onto PC boards. My work area is actually more of an office desk with a glass top.This lamp arrived in an Amazon box containing only another box and some packing paper. Just gotta have that Amazon logo showing! The lamp was packed well in the inner box, wrapped and in molded styrofoam, in 2 pieces: base and arm/lamp.
The base measures 8x12", and is quite heavy at 8 pounds, centered more near the front than the back. The bottom is black plastic with exposed round-head screws. The top and sides are made of white plastic, molded to form feet on the corners and middle of the sides so that the screws don't damage the surface on which the lamp sits. However, this means there is a very small surface area that the lamp actually sits on, so on a glass-topped desk it slides quite easily. Also, in a rough environment it might be easy to damage the thin plastic feet (think of a vertical sheet of plastic more than real feet), which would send the lamp rocking with no easy fix (other than to sand the other feet and perhaps affix a base covering of rubber or fabric). Since I don't expect to be moving the lamp much, nor is my environment rough, it should work fine for me. However I will have to place a rubber mat underneath to keep it from slipping.
The reticulating arm is made of metal and works well. One thing that I didn't like initially is that the rotation of the bottom joint near the base is of limited movement. However, if the lamp is placed near a wall this limit keeps the arm from digging into your wall, and the arm has a large movement area still, so it doesn't seem to affect performance. The arm has a spike that sits in the base, and a plastic-knobbed screw-in pin secures the spike in place from the rear (this is part of the base). The arm has approximately 30ยบ of swing from the base.
The lamp is mounted to the base on a rotating ring, giving the lamp the ability to rotate into the desired position. The ring assembly is pressure-mounted to the arm, with a knob to adjust the pressure (with detents) so that the lamp can be vertically angled. The lamp is easily positioned. A black rocker mounted on the top of the lamp assembly is used to switch power.
The lens cover has a molded plastic stop to keep it from falling down while you're working. It definitely leaves a small gap when covering the lens, so expect a small ring of dust around the edge of the lens. I'm sure I'll be cleaning it often enough because of solder splatter that it won't affect performance for me.
The magnification is great for older eyes that don't see small details well, like the printing on surface-mount components. I measured the focal distance to be right up against the glass to about 4.5" below it. If you'll need to have your work farther away than that, this lamp may not work for you. The distortion quickly gets painful to look at with work beyond 5". However, your eye position can be at any comfortable distance and still see well; the limit is for the under side.
The lamp is a circular fluorescent, and it is nicely covered in a clear acrylic plastic, which for soldering work means I won't have any solder splattered on the bulb itself, and is easily washable.
Finally, the cord is long enough to reach from mid-desk above left, around the back of my desk, and back to the front-right floor area underneath where I currently have my power strip (we electronic workers are always un/plugging things).
Although I don't like fluorescent lights (they give me headaches when shone directly into my line of sight), the fact that the light is shining away means I can comfortably work with this lamp. I may look for an Ott-light bulb or similar to give full spectrum, but overall I'm going to be very pleased with this purchase.
The only things I think could be better are a factory-installed rubber base cover to prevent slippage and scratches, and of course a lower price (which pretty much applies to everything).
Honest reviews on Professional-Quality Desk Magnifier Lamp - 2.25X Magnification
I purchased the 8606D-D 5D desk magnifier lamp for my work bench. Upon installation on my work bench, I connected AC power and proceeded to examine the product. My test reviled the following:The lamp has an arm with two adjustable limbs. The lower limb, which mounts into the 8"x12", 8 base, is almost fixed, moving only about ~ -30 deg from vertical [abt. -1.0"]. The lower limb however is NOT secure, even though there is a screw on the back side to tighten. The adjustment pin, after about 5 turns will tighten almost hitting the base. It NEVER prevents the pin from leaving the base. The almost fixed lower limb greatly reduced the flexibility of the lamp. It basally rotates about a point with the reach of 23" maximum.
The upper limb moves over a wider range ~ +30deg/-26deg. from horizontal. The lamp is top heavy so, you might have to add additional weight if you plan to operate it at maximum reach.
The base will scar a surface when moved thus, you will have to visit you local hardware store and purchase four ½" feet to prevent movement and scaring it surface.
The fluorescent FCL-22w lamp is bright and shadow free. You will have a problem finding a replacement the lamp. The installed lamp is made by Osram® and cost almost twice the price as other common circular blubs. The lens cover has a molded plastic stop to keep it from falling down while you're working. I now feel it's a gimmick and has no practical use.
The instructions, I use the term loosely, are a joke and appear to have been written by a 4 year old.
The lens is very clear and bright. Not sure it is worth the money! Purchase at your own discretion!
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I do a lot of wood carving and was finding that at times (e.g. chip carving) my old eyes just didn't see as well as I would like. I researched several self standing magnifyers and decided on this one. It arrived in great shape and I've been very happy with the build quality. I bought it for the glass but am suprised how much I enjoy the light. A lot of the time, you have to worry about shadows when carving, but with the light from above, I don't have to turn on the overhead lights at all! Glass quality and focus distance are good. The fixture remains where I put it and the base is well weighted and nicely shaped. I use the base to hold my knives. I highly recommend the product.
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