MAGNIFIERS FOR THE PARTIALLY-SIGHTED
(also known as LVA - Low Vision aids)

FOR LARGE PRINT VERSION
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To read an 'extensive' article about magnifiers and magnifications, including 'how magnification is measured' and featuring every conceivable type of magnifier click here (small print) or click here (large print). To see a list of all the magnifiers we sell (several dozen!) click here. I have also gathered together the seven best magnifiers for the partially sighted and put them all into one section, click here.

By partially sighted I mean that the user has difficulty reading ordinary text (as opposed to watchmakers and engineers, jewellers and gemmologists etc who work with items that are too small for any normal-sighted person); or anyone who doesn't like to use their reading specatcles; or anyone who cannot read clearly even with their reading spectacles. Another term for partially sighted is visually impaired.

Summary

Lighting is all-important, you must have bright daylight, good diffuse overhead lighting or an adjustable light that you can point at the objec - then simply choose any good quality reading magnifier (with a handle or the rest-on-page type). If you don't already have good lighting, choose an illuminated magnifier.

Handheld readers, illuminated

There are two handheld illuminated readers in the special section of magnifiers for the partially sighted. The first (£12.50) has a large square lens, 2X 80X80mm, with four LED lights so that the illumination is good at any angle., You can also rest its handle on the page which saves you from holding the magnifier up for hours. The second magnifier (£17.50) is smaller, 50X75mm, so you will only be able to read a few words at a time, but it is more powerful (3X). Which one? If you are struggling to read small text with your reading spectacles, choose the first; if you can no longer read not-so-small text, even with your reading glasses, choose the second.

If neither of these are powerful enough, I have just one more suggestion, a 4X (clck here then sroll to bottom of page) - it is small, it will only show one or two words at a time, but that's what you get as the magnifiation increases: smaller lenses (it's just the way optics works, explanation). Although I had never intended this to be used as a 'special' magnifier for the partially sighted, I notice that a local optician is selling them for just that purpose. We do have dozens of magnifiers that magnify more than 4X, but as the strength increases the reading area decreases, until you only see one or two letters at a time.

Handheld readers

If you are using an electric light, a bright ceiling light might suffice, but it's better to use an adjustable light that stands on a table or on the floor. Spend a few minutes working out how to position the light.

You must shine the light onto the item below the magnifier, as shown in the pictures on the left. The actual light fitting doesn't have to be underneath the magnifier (it will get in the way!) but you must angle it so that the light is pointing under the magnifier.

Do not position the light as shown in the pictures on the right, with the light shining directly onto the top of the magnifier, all you will see is reflections.

The same applies to small magnifiers, (top pictures- the magnifier is held very close to the object) and to large magnifiers (bottom pictures - the magnifier is held further away). See the explanation of why small and large mangifiers must be held at different distances.

Click on each photograph to enlarge.

Now that we've sorted out the lighting - the magnifiers.

Handheld magnifiers In order of appearance: the largest (125X1.5) is beautifully large, large enough to read nearly a page at a time, but not very powerful. One of my 'testers' likes this, he says that reading is slow because the magnification is a bit too low, but he can read with it (just about) and prefers it to a magnifier that is far more powerful but only shows two or three words at a time. It does, of course, depend on just how bad your eyesight is, this may not be powerful enough under any cicumstances.

The next two are smaller but quite powerful, the 5x50-ed (£20.00) and Zeiss-hmag (£49.00). These are by far the best choice for the partially sighted. They are made of high-grade otpical acrylic and are lightweight. The reason for the difference in price is that one is unbranded and one is made by Zeiss. Personally, I don't think there's much to choose between them. As explained, you will only see two or three words at a time, there is no choice about that, it's how magnifiers work.

Next are two are Russian magnifiers, these are similar in size and power to the two above, but are made of thick glass, are relativley heavy, and not top quality - the image simply won't be as sharp and crips as better magnifiers. I must say, however, that these are very popular. I think many of our customers want something that is 'powerful' and do not have severe eye problems and do not want to spend a lot of money.

Finally, at the bottom of the page, a really awful £2.00 magnifier for those who think that magnifiers should cost about £2.00.

Rest-on-page readers

If you don't like the idea of holding a magnifier in the air for hours (even a lightweight magnifier tires the hands after a while) then a rest-on page magnifier is good. In order of appearance on this page:

The first two items (bar magnifiers) are not suitable for the partially sighted, but are very good for dyslexics, because they stop the eye from 'wandering'.

The next two items are specifically designed for the partially sighted. The illuminated LHP-26 is powerful and has a very bright light and is extremely good optical quality, though at a price: £49.00 (and you do have to plug it into the mains).The non-illuminated version (the 'hedghog') is as good in optical quality but not quite as large in size - bad in that it doesn't cover as large an area when reading, but good in that it's very portable (it even comes in a hard fitted carrying case).

The bottom item is 'OK', it is not the best optical quality, but it's worth a try if your budget is low.

Illuminated, mains-powered

The first one on this page is the one I recommend for reading (£39.50), it is large enough to read an entire page at a time, the light is very bright, it's easily adjustable, and it sits on a table.

The others (£59.50 to £95.00) are, technically, better. Better for engineering work and better for reading books and magazines. But there is a psychological problem. Every one of my 'testers' said, "It's very nice, but there's no way I would use somethng that large! And you expect me to clamp it to the table! These are serious magnifiers for professional engineers, I can't have something like that for reading!" If you did want one, go for the big square version (for reading a large area, even larger than the table-top version at the top), or the more powerful of the two round versions.

There is one more, a smaller table magnifier at £29.50. My opinion - OK for fiddly repairs or craft work for anyone starting with good eyesight, but too small and inflexible for reading text.

Three Case Histories

I have three partially-sighted 'testers', all of whom use magnifiers from the 'low vision' department of their eye hospital.

Thomas has very poor sight, but his main difficulty seems to be with brightness and contrast. When he's out and about he uses a very bright light, he has a special eye-visor to cut out extraneous light, and he's tried nearly every magnifier that we sell. He prefers the lowest power largest magnifiers. He admits that it's a struggle to see the print, but they are large enough to cover an entire page which he likes. and he doesn't have to hold it. When he's at home he uses a mains magnifier with a powerful light

Richard was remarkably un-enthusiastic about all of the magnifiers, claiming not to see much difference between a £7.50 Russian magnifier and a £46.00 Zeiss. But he did like the 2X 80X80 - £15.00 because of the lights. I suspect that if he didn't already have his big mains-powered reader from the hospital, he would have settled for one of the Russian readers.

Harold uses a variety of very powerful magnifiers for reading small print in newspapers (e.g. the football results) but complains bitterly that they are so powerful, they show just 2 or 3 words at a time, and he finds it so painful to read a book that he doesn't bother any more. I explained (see the main article) that this is simply how optics works (if you use a hand lens) - the higher the magnification the smaller the area you will see...and he has now resigned himself to this fact. Eventually he found the one magnifier that works for him, the hedgehog - it still needs to be moved left-and-right to cover an entire line in a book, but it is the only magnifier that enables him to read without struggling.