Illumify LED Lighted Desk Magnifying Lamp w/Clamp

To give context for how I planned to use this, I was replacing a prior light I had over my work bench in the garage. I do have overhead lighting above my bench, but sometimes there's not enough light or I'm working on something intricate. My past light was similar in style, minus the magnifying glass, but was adjustable similar to this one.PROs- Well constructed and quality materials- Magnifying glass was excellent- Easy to move and adjustable, with the arm supporting the weight- Mounts well and mount is sturdyCONs- Light is definitely soft. Brightness is okay, but not great. If you're placing the light 5 inches away from what you want to see and using the magnifying glass, then it's great. But place it 2 feet above your work area and it feels too soft. These LED's just aren't that bright. The volume is LED's is good, but they're not bright. I compared it to a relatively cheap LED flash light and the LED's were visibly much brighter (running off two AA batteries).- The joint at the bottom of the light, the one located an inch above the mount, really isn't a fully functional joint. The entire light can move forward no problem (in the direction of the head), but I like to often push my light backward to store it, when not in use. I do this so it's not always sitting over my desktop/work bench. My last one did this no problem; you could push it back and out of the way. On this light that bottom circular joint doesn't allow the upper part or leg to go back any further than what you see in the picture. That means the first arm going up from the joint needs to sit mostly straight up or forward. This also means it's harder to move the light/head down to something that might be located close to the mount, because the arm won't swing back allowing it to come down. This was a serious limitation to the work bench, making it hard to move out of the way (I could only push it up and out of the way). It's one of those things you don't notice until you start using it and then you get frustrated with the design....especially since my other light didn't have this limitation.Ultimately while this met 70% of my needs, my past light was cheaper, far more functional and gave better light. Unfortunately my past light broke after 8 years of use. So I decided to return this light and continue looking for another one.

This meets my needs very well. I do woodworking and sometimes need aid for my old tired eyes. I also need better lighting in my garage shop. I like the flap on top to protect the glass when I don't need the magnifier. This is a well-made product. I already have a little lamp insert for the holes in my bench. This is a convenience for me because I already have a magnifier lamp for my scroll saw so now I don't need to move either lamp. Although sometimes I've thought these various lamps are too expensive, good lighting is very import for hobbies. I have never regretted getting good quality lamps.

Much of this is my fault. After looking at so many of these, I thought I chose a different one so you all be careful not to get too computer blind and tired when looking through the many options of lighted magnifying lamps. I am pretty near-sighted even with glasses. I couldn't see my toenails in any great detail. This lighted magnifying glass is only 3X magnification and I should have gotten 4X or 5X for this purpose. This model does not come with a dust cover, so I put it back in the box after each use. I attach it to the coffee table and try to get it into position much lower than the coffee table to see my toenails and it doesn't like to bend in that direction very well. On the plus side, when using it in any other position, it is crazy easy to put together and adjust and I can see coins, fine print, soldering joints and tiny objects for painting very well.

This light produces a very white light. Some people may not care for the stark nature of the illumination, but I find it an excellent light for reading and illuminating various tasks which require additional lighting. The light has a trim, modern look to it without the exposed coil springs of my florescent lamp of similar design. The clamping attachment device permits for easy use on various surfaces, quick and easy. I rated this for only four stars because I have just received it and cannot speak to how this product will perform over time.

This is my first review so here goes. I have had the magnifying lamp for a month so far and it is very stable and works great. The only negative I can say, is that it has a odd shaped fluorescent bulb that might be hard to find for replacement. Also, it is a little expensive and this might turn of some buyers. Other than that it is a very nice lamp and helps me with my poor old eyes.

In this day and age of bright LED lights, you would think that this lamp would incorporate them. But maybe they weren't available at the time of manufacture. Otherwise, this lamp is very well built and seems to be very strong. I typically replace lamps like this every two years because they break down, but I can see this one lasting much longer than that. My only issue is the lights themselves. They are not strong enough for anything other than closeup work. If that's what you're doing, then this light may be fine for you, but otherwise it's too dim for say... typical office work. The color of the LEDs are also distracting with their bluish color. For my purpose, I wouldn't purchase this lamp again, but it may be fine for you.

Unit was dead on arrival - the lights would not turn on - but being the tech I am I decided to open it up and see if there was just a bad solder job or something. Even better a wire was completely loose from the LED power transformer terminal block. Easy to fix, reinserted the wire and tightened the screw. Then decided to check the other wires and they were all very loose. The assembler of this light needs to "tighten" their Quality Control. All better now, and the unit works great. Giving 3 stars because I had to fix it before I could use it. See attached picture.

Luminosité pas assez forte

ParfaitMerci

Nice sturdy metal clamp came with the light.