I also use a desk mounted magnifier with the built in light and it has worked very well for me for the past 15 years. I find the biggest difference between the cheap desk mounted magnifier and the more expensive ones is in the articulating arm that holds the magnifier and light. On the cheap ones, the extension arm tends to be weak and will not stay where you position it. It will sloooowly creep down until you find yourself all scrunched up trying to see the vise and fly. On the more expensive models like Luxo, the arm stays exactly where you put it. I also think that the magnifier and the light are bit better on the Luxo, but the biggest difference is in how the arm stays in place. If you decide to go with a desk mounted magnifier with the built in light, I would strongly recommend that you look on Craig's list or Ebay and buy a used Luxo rather than a cheap model from your local office supply store chain. Just one man's opinion...


Jim Smith