Brightech LightView PRO XL Magnifying Clamp Lamp – Super Comfy, Easy to Use Craft & Pro Magnifier with Bright LED Light for Desk, Table & Workbench - Wide Glass Lens – Dimmable & Light Color Adjusting

This was not a Vine item; I paid for it and it's worth every penny. After about 15 years my old Brightech lamp gave up the ghost, the wire running along the swivel wore out. I ordered a less expensive lap here and as soon as I opened the box I knew it was nothing like my old Brightech. Flimsy, awkward the move and a mediocre lens. Plugged it in, used it a bit and sent it back. Ordered this lamp and couldn't be happier. It's built like a tank, hence the 3 star rating for "light weight" but I did not want it to be light weight. It's not like I'm going to carry it around! Articulates easily, has a very bright adjustable output, and a rectangular magnifier which I really like. It is made as well of better than my old one, which as I recall was 75.00 15 years ago, making this a great value. Important to remember that value is not about price but price and performance. Long run it will be cheaper than the $35.00 on I returned.

After returning five different lights to different retailers I finally found a light/magnifier that helped my mother with her crocheting. She has severe macular degeneration and found this lamp to help her. Not perfect but better than the first 5.

Adjust levels of brightness, good magnifier, like the lid that covers the magnifier it so it doesn’t get dust on it. Arm clamped on desk well and stays in place. Light does not get hot

We just bought our 3rd one. Even with the clamp being a softer plastic and the metal-bent-pipe style bushing/shaft for the mounting of the lamp, it's still a great value, but plan to make a modification in the future (there's no way around this - the clamp receiver will fail with use).The first two pics in my review are of clamp wear on our 2nd unit which was just put into light use just months ago. The 3rd pic is of one that I acquired and have been using moderately since 2017. This older unit recently had to be modified with heatshrink around the bushing because there was so much play from the plastic clamp being eaten away with every swiveling of the lamp. The heatshrink "fix" isn't that good honestly, and at some point I think I'll have to fabricate something more permanent and higher quality.If the manufacturer made a machined bushing and receiver clamp design, I'd gladly pay $20-40 more. It would make the lamp move more smoothly too.In the pics of that 2nd lamp purchased this year, you can see the plastic powder. That's not a dry lubricant. It's literally powdered plastic being generated from the metal bushing grinding the receiver of the clamp. If you use any pneumatic stuff on your bench, or if you blow any air at all towards the clamp, be careful, as that plastic powder does go airborne and can become a health hazard.This issue aside, this lamp is still the best bench illumination out there, especially for the price. I would rather buy these at the current price and prepare to CNC a receiver out of aluminum at some point years down the road than buy anything else. Here's why...When you're doing detailed, steady-hand repair or restoration work, your illumination is the last thing you need to be annoyed by. As we get older, our eyes become more picky. We also dislike all these new LED products out there, because let's face it: LED often generates noticeable flicker and de-humanizes life, making us feel like we are in a simulation. It makes life not fun. But sometimes you come across an LED product that implements the technology very well, creating just the right illumination for work by humans, and that's THIS baby. I've tried many different light sources and find this lamp to be the absolute best light quality at ANY chosen brightness setting (which is done by a touch sensor, not a clicky switch that will break or get dirty later). Work is actually fun. I've had to return some totally lame lamps because the light spectrum was so weak and unnatural, our brains took forever trying to translate and identify what exactly where this odd highlights and shadows, causing us to second-guess everything. It slowed us down and decreased the precision we needed. A good light source makes work easier. This light design will bump your skills up several notches.The optic quality of the magnifier is amazing! It's actually USABLE. I love it for winding speaker voice coils by hand. There is no unnatural distortion, so it doesn't feel like you're looking through aquarium glass or something cheap like all the other bargain lamps that you should avoid. This magnifier lense is surprisingly very crisp and well appreciated. Being able to close the lid is a huge plus, and it does not affect the light quality, open or closed.I like the way the telescoping/reaching/swivel movement all works so smooth together while keeping the same angle for the light housing. Even though the clamp receiver is becoming enlarged over time, the movement is still good, but the lamp does tilt more and more. If you let the clamp receiver get enlarged too much, the metal bushing of the lamp attachment will bend a little as my oldest unit has done. A metal sleeve tapped into the plastic receiver could be a fix, but maybe a metal clamp altogether might be better. I haven't decided yet on what to do here, but at some point I will have 3 nice lamps with 3 unusable clamps unless I salvage them at some point.It's going to be a love/hate thing about that clamp in a few more years I can tell. Hopefully the lamp doesn't fall on a fresh speaker recone and destroy my work, because I could forsee forgetting about this if I don't make it a point to check every now and then.To the manufacturer:You make an amazing light source. Are you planning on improving the clamp and bushing at any point? If so, will we be able to receive the updated clamps? Please let me know if you will move forward with that. Otherwise I may capitalize on making an improved clamp system that is specially made for this lamp. I think people would be interested. The light is worth upgrading everything for it!

Great magnifier and light combo for close work with beading projects. Glad I choose this one!