KIRKAS Magnifying Glass with Light and Stand, 5X Glass Lens, Upgrade Any Color Modes & Stepless Dimming LED Magnifying Lamp with Clamp, 2 in 1 Lighted Magnifier for Craft Reading Hobby Close Work

This is a great lamp and magnifier that I can recommend, despite several minor design and workmanship flaws. Instead of essentially repeating the seller's own marketing pitch, what I'll focus on in this review are my observations.1) Power rating. I read that another reviewer noticed that the stated rating on the units power supply (12 watts) is half the stated draw on the product instruction sheet (24 watts). Since that would be a potential fire hazard, and since I have a digital power meter anyway (sitting gathering dust), I decided to measure what is the actual draw. Good news. At power-on, with the brightness set to maximum, the lamp draws just 13.80 watts, increasing to 14.60 watts after 15 minutes. At that 15 minute mark, the power supply was just warm, not hot at all. Now, maximum brightness is *very* bright (someone want to buy me a light meter for my birthday?), so if you're a worry-wart dial back the brightness just a teeny bit and you'll be guaranteed fine.2) Clean lens. I would have liked the magnifying lens to have covers for both its sides. The unit folds to its most compact with the lens pointed sideways, which will draw dust and be prone to taking direct hits. You can mitigate that by storing it with the lens face-down (less compact) or slipping a cloth pouch / sleeve over it.3) Underside pad. This component is thin and low-quality. Also, part of it covers a void in the base in a way that *could* be ripped with abuse. Not a deal-breaker; just exercise normal care.4) Base screw attachment. I found it very difficult to insert the lamp arm into the base, and for all my effort still haven't got it pushed in deep enough for the retaining screw to completely insert. That's not a deal breaker because the lamp arm is in almost completely, and that's sufficiently secure for me.5) Desk vise attachment pad. The lamp comes with a vise-style attachment that can be used instead of the base. Its underside pad is a thin cheap rubber cover over a cheap piece of metal that has a void in the center. I haven't tested it, but I don't have confidence in it.6) I want to commend the seller for designing the power cord to be detachable !!

I have old eyes, and sometimes even reading glasses aren't enough. This definitely helps, and has earned a place on my crowded work bench.I'm using it with the weighted base, which seems perfectly adequate, and it's easier to move around on my workbench than the clamp would be (see my first photo). I'll keep the clamp in case.The lens is not achromatic, meaning you can see color fringes; these are more obvious near the edges of the view--notice the odd color pattern in the upper right of my second picture, and the color around the edges of the print near the top of my third picture (The gray banding in my second photo seems to be an artifact of my camera.) You can also see some distortion in that third picture, which makes the edge of the piece of paper look curved (pin cushion distortion, if you know about optics). Both of these issues are to be expected with a large but inexpensive lens, and are not real troublesome.The instruction sheet says there are two switches (true), and that one controls the warm (reddish) light, while the other controls the cold (blueish) light--this is not correct. It goes on to say "both can control the brightness level", which is also incorrect. Actually, the left-hand switch controls the color, from cool to warm, while the right-hand switch controls the brightness. There is not a click at the off position, it just dims completely. None of this is a problem--you'll easily get used to it--it's just doesn't work the way the instructions say.Apart from those minor issues, I'm pleased with this.

I needed a magnifying glass to see better while working on tiny components on circuit boards. The Kirkas light looked like a good choice. I was impressed with the build quality and the heavy duty feel of the lamp. The built in led light is very nice and offers two dials for different warmth of light.The magnifier zooms in quite well and enlarges items clearly. How ever it’s focal length does not allow me to work on the circuits because when focused it is to close to the item being worked on. This may be great for reading or inspection but it does not work for my intended use.

Updated Review:We got this lamp 6 months ago and it worked pretty well. Then one day last week it just stopped working, doesn't turn on. It was used pretty regularly 5 days a week for a couple of hours a day.Original Review:This is a nice table lamp with a great magnifying glass feature, it looks modern and the light is bright. A nice addition to an office desk. The only thing that is odd on it is there is no off switch, there are two knobs on top, one changes the color of the light and the other the brightness. The brightness knob needs to be turned down to turn the light off, but there is not click to let you know that the light is completely off. Seems like it would be a good idea to put an on/off switch in, otherwise a nice lamp.