Vision Statement: 4 Gadgets to Magnify and Light Up Your Life

Derick Chetty | March 13th, 2020

Photo: Courtesy of Amazon.ca

For people with vision problems, sometimes readers or prescription lenses don’t quite zoom in on the tiny details. Whether that’s reading the fine print in a book or newspaper, watching a live baseball game or working on highly detailed hobbies, you might need magnification to help put things in focus.

We rounded up a few products that help make things look bigger, brighter and bolder.

Hokone Lighting LED 5X Magnifying Lamp, $60, amazon.ca

This magnifying glass with a light is ideal for hobbyists who work with tiny objects like models and miniatures or handicrafts like knitting or embroidery. The clamp easily attaches to a desk or table, making it portable. The lamp head swivels and flips up and down, allowing you to train the dimmable light – it has three colour settings – where you need it most. It’s also lightweight, weighing in at just over a kilo and is USB-powered, which means you don’t need to be near an electrical outlet to use it.

Tasco Binoculars, $25, canadiantire.ca

These particular binoculars are not for serious birdwatchers. But the low price and small size (approximately 10 cm by 12 cm) makes them the perfect addition to your glove compartment, where you can bring them out to investigate something on the road without getting out of the car. With its lightweight, rubber coating, you can slip them in your pocket or hang them around your neck (the strap is included) for hiking or trail walking. With a field view of 90 metres, it’s good for both sporting events and concerts, and it’s simple enough for the grandkids to use without having to worry about them dropping an expensive piece of equipment.

Mity Rain 30X Magnifying Glass with LED Light, $18, amazon.ca

This powerful hand-held magnifying glass provides 30X magnification, along with strong lights to boost vision when reading maps, newspapers or documents. It requires two AA batteries to operate the light, and the double glass lenses (8 cm) are scratch-resistant. They also arrive gift-ready in a velvet box.

Aenmil Full Page LED Light Magnifier With Foldable Legs, $15, amazon.ca

If it’s bothersome or too difficult to hold a magnifying glass in your hands for long periods of time, there is a hands-free solution. This magnifying mini-table with foldable legs can be placed over your book, newspaper or timetable for easy reading. It also has 4 LED lights for night-time use. You can also hang it around your neck with the lanyard that is included.

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