Illumify LED Lighted Desk Magnifying Lamp w/Clamp

There were three items that caught my attention - the clamp, the magnification and the lighting. These are as accurately described by other reviews - I highly recommend this lamp. The clamp is sturdy and easy to attach, and the lighting provided is beyond my expectations. The magnifying glass is great. The flexibility of the lamp arm is also better than I expected. I would recommend this for needlework, fine print, jewelry making, - anything were detail is important.

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.

When I bought two of these lamps, they were perfect. Very bright! I have each one mounted on each side of my workbench, and since I work with a lot of small parts, these have worked perfectly!That is, only for about the first month of regular use. From then on, I noticed that they were starting to dim significantly. After about 6 months, they don't even provide as much light as an offset sky light without direct sunlight in a neighboring room. I can look directly at the lights without even a flinch. This wasn't case when I bought these.Attached are two pictures, hardly differentiating when the light is on or off, and a third showing the direct light while it's on.Some of the LEDs are a little brighter than the others, and the ones that are dimmer have a black tint to them. This leads me to believe that there are likely power supply issues that are over-powering these LEDs, causing them to burn out over time.Either way, something is cheap about these lamps; they're not worth the money!!

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.

I guess for the price it's OK. I would have rather spend more money for a better quality. The knobs for the adjustment is hard to turn and wouldn't stay at a certain position without me holding it down with my chin. I have another lamp that is of a better quality, so I have something to compare it with. Plus it came with the bulb broken, I had to replace it. The packing was not enough to secure the bulb.

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.

This is much bigger and has a larger diameter glass than I expected, which is positive. Huge viewing surface, and I especially like that the LEDs completely encircle the glass, the arm works well, and has a padded clamp. Only drawbacks are that to adjust the magnifyer pivot, you have to loosen the tension, but at least it's got a large knurled knob for that. Also came with a completely useless dust cap or lid which won't stay up when pushed back, but I just took it off. Magnification could be a bit higher and there is some edge distortion, but for the money, I'm satisfied with it.