Magnifiers are a handy tool for working on crafts, hobbies, and reading. But in order to ensure you are purchasing the right magnifier there are some thing you need to understand about using a magnifying lamp.
There are many different styles of magnifying lamps on the market. Some are very portable, others are floor models, and some could easily pass for a classy addition to your décor. There are also many different magnifications and diopters. It pays to know what you need before you start shopping.
There is a direct relationship between magnification and light. Proper and correct lighting is just as important as good magnification for good viewing. A magnifying lens would be of no use in the dark and the more you increase the lighting the better that same magnifying lens will perform. In fact the more light you have the less magnification you need for the same results and the less magnification you use the bigger your viewing field is. So evaluate all aspects of the lamp you are looking at.
Your viewing field is the size of the magnified area that is in focus under the lens. As the lens power increases the viewing field size decreases. The more powerful the lens the larger a small area of detail will look but the less of the object you will be able to see. It's always a trade off between how much you want to be able to see at once or how much detail you want to see.
You'll see the word diopter appear when magnifying lamps are being described. This refers to the curvature of the lens. As the diopter increases the curvature gets greater and the lens gets thicker. As the curvature increases the light fills a larger portion of your retina so objects look bigger.
Power is written as 2X or 4X and refers to how much larger the object will appear from its regular size when viewed through the magnifier. It works in close relation with the diopter.
The focal length is the distance from the bottom of the lens to what you are viewing. The stronger your lens the shorter your focal length will be. The viewing area is the size of the lens you are looking through. The stronger the lens the smaller the viewing area becomes.
Dazor is one of the best names in the magnification lamp industry and they produce the largest glass lens called the stretch view magnifier which is a 3 diopter lens measuring 6.75" x 4.25" with a magnification of 4X. If you need more than 4X magnification you will need to look at lenses such as the ScreenLens Magnifier.
A magnifying lamp is very easy to use. Just turn on the light, position your object under the light, move the head towards you and view. It's that simple. The price you pay for your lamp will depend on the model you choose but there are some great online buys at the many lighting websites.
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Absolute Home
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