AUMED-VGA Video Magnifier

Electronic magnifiers for the partially sighted, digital magnifiers

 

Contents 


Key Features
Review
Other Models

Key Features

 

Aumed-VGA

  • Portable (carrying case included).
  • Large shaped buttons on the camera and also on a bright yellow control pad.
  • Magnification 3.5X to 79X, so you can read the smallest print.
  • Guide-lines if required (to stop the eyes from wandering)
  • Left or right-handed use.
  • The camera also swivels for use as a self-viewer (40-50cm), or for use as a distance viewer (1-5m) - good for lectures and meetings.

Review

Its tall stem makes for easy positioning not only for reading and writing but also for craft work such as sewing.

It plugs into a monitor, not supplied (you can use any monitor, you do not need a computer).

Close-up of the camera (left picture), note the large brightly-coloured shaped buttons.

The same buttons are repeated on the keypad (right picture), which saves you from stretching over to reach the camera. Also note the magazine at the top right of the picture, see the cartoon? This gives you an idea of its actual size when looking at the pictures below.

 

Three examples of zooming in - from seeing most of the comic strip in one go, to filling the screen with just a couple of words. The zoom is smooth and continuous, just hold your finger on the 'zoom in / zoom out' buttons to change magnification. These pictures give a good idea as to what it's like to use the camera for handwriting.

The left picture shows Beth using the camera for real. She doesn't need great magnification, the problem is with focusing her eyes (I could explain...but I shan't). The Aumed-VGA completely solves the problem (left picture). The other two pictures are examples of how far the camera will zoom. The perspective of the photograph makes the monitor look small. It is not. It is a 23 inch monitor.

The camera can be swivelled, either towards you or away from you. When swivelled toward you (as a self-viewer) it focuses at 40 to 50cm (15 to 20 inches), useful for makeup. It could probably (I haven't tried this) be used in the same mode for crafts such as embroidery.

When swivelled away from you it will focus as 1 to 5m (a few feet), good for classrooms and lecture halls, easy to flip back and forth from note-writing and distance-viewing.

To give you some idea of where to point the camera, there's a fold-out lens. In this case it's pointing at a calendar on the wall.

Here are two examples of zooming in on the calendar, the second photo shows the camera on maximum zoom.

Other Models

  • All handheld models:
  • Looky video magnifier with handle (3.5 inch screen)
  • Looky Plus video magnifier (3.5 inch screen)