Magnifiers: Circline fluorescent or rectangular LED - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: carcachute
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 13, 2016, 07:16:44 pm
content: Hi folks, I want to buy a magnifier for my new workbench. I've considered a Harbor Freight special but would prefer to step the quality up to something that will last many years. I've looked at O.C. White, Dazor, Electrix, and Waldmann. I considered Electrix because of their halogen Model #7426 but ruled them out after seeing close-up pictures of cheap plastic construction (such as the mount to the arm) and reading reviews about melting plastic housings.I then checked O.C. White's Green line of LED magnifiers. They use a small number of very bright LEDs fully exposed with no diffuser, which will cause weird shadows and reflections. They advertise dimming capability but would not disclose whether PWM vs. constant current is used for dimming. Their LEDs are 5700k which may be harsh in the living room at night, and at that price I'd rather not be stuck with that.I can get a Dazor 1408 (or 2MC, which is the same but with plastic covers) 5" lens circline fluorescent model with 3- or 5-diopters for about $225. It comes with a polycarbonate lens over the FC8T9 bulb (6500K, 75 CRI). Dazor offers a 5500K 91 CRI replacement bulb and a 4100K 62 CRI (ugh) bulb but no way to order a unit with a custom (or no) bulb without buying direct and paying full list price. The T9 circline bulbs seem to have largely missed the transition to triphosphor except for some tubes from TCP available on Amazon. Dazor has an LED version of the circline that their engineer confirmed uses constant-current dimming, but only 6500K LEDs are available (albeit high CRI), and there are 110 of them on the board--a big job if I want to change to lower CCT chips. Their LED version is about $300 through distributors. If other CCT choices were available, it would be a compelling option.The German-made Waldmann OmniVue has a rectangular (4x7) lens and 4100K CRI 85 LEDs (totaling 13 watts) switched in two banks--both sides together or the far side. This means there is no light cast from the near side directly, but there's no bulky bezel on that side either. The lens pivots separately from the lamp housing--very cool, not sure how useful though. The cheapest I can find it is about $350. Only a 3-diopter base lens is offered, and I have little feel for whether 3 or 5 diopters would be best for soldering. I like the idea of a lower, but still white, 4100K CCT and the generous lens dimensions, but I think 5 diopters might be better for close-up soldering, though. The housing appears to be plastic--the optional "ESD safe" version is quite a bit more, and I would likely skip that.Both these lamps come with generous warranties.Does anyone here have experience with the quality of either of these brands or any thoughts on whether a rectangular lens or the LED light source are worth the premium?Thanks!

author: Ian.M
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 13, 2016, 08:17:16 pm
content: If you are intending to solder under it you need a glass lens. Polycarbonate doesn't stand up well to the chemicals you need to use to remove flux fume residue, will be permanently damaged by solder spatter and is difficult to keepclean and scratch free.

author: carcachute
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: August 14, 2016, 03:03:29 am
content: Hi Ian,Good point. Both use optical glass lenses and have polycarbonate diffusers over the light source. (Some of the reviews of the Harbor Freight special, on the other hand, have said that it uses a plastic lens!)

author: georges80
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 26, 2017, 11:36:40 pm
content: I have been using a Luxo wave for many many years. Great magnifier. I gutted the original fluoro lights and replaced with my own LED (3 XPG class leds on each side with current dimming). Also an additional 1W LED on a locline extension to place light where I want/need it. Additionally a LED strip along the one edge (width). The combo of a lot of LEDs creates minimal shading and decent flood of light that can be dimmed if needed.The Luxo wave is a very nice magnifier with decent mechanics that hold the lens where you place it - many of the cheap mechanisms are obnoxious since they will not 'stay put'.cheers,george.

author: LaurentR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2017, 12:22:15 am
content: Not directly answering your question but after having tried lots of magnifiers, I ended up with a pair of Donegan Optivisor (with 2 different maginifications) with the Quasar Led Lighting System mounted on them.It's pretty much industry-standard for many types of precision work (jewelry...), it's pretty affordable and the system hasn't changed much for decades, showing how well it works. The Quasar LED system easily beats the Donegan lighting accessory.

author: artag
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 27, 2017, 12:27:11 am
content: ++ for the Luxo mechanics here. The cheap ones are horribly frustrating.