Too much information...............

I'm all Googled out.

My brain has gone fizzy and I feel completely confused and befuddled with too much information.

Who would have thought that there would be SO MUCH CHOICE in magnifying lamps?

When I bought my first lamp over 20 years ago the choice was 'do you want it or not'?  Now, as with everything else, there are a myriad options, each more confusing than the next.

Ok, so let's be logical about this and narrow it down to what I actually need.

Right, first it has to be desk mounted with a clamp so that it swivels.  I don't want a weighted lamp base taking up valuable space on my already cluttered workdesk.  Also I need to be able to easily swing it out of the way and bring it back to focus on my work without faffing around and moving it about on the table.

Secondly, the magnifying lens itself MUST be good quality.  My old lamp was a dear old friend but it would be the first to admit it wasn't great at magnifying.  There was a lot of distortion towards the edges and the field of vision was quite limited.  If I have to change it I want crisp, crystal clear magnification to at least x2, preferably more, to compensate for my ageing eyesight.

Thirdly, ideally I'd like a nice clean, white light.  My old lamp used a single incandescent candle bulb which threw a yellow cast.  The light itself was also housed to one side of the lens so shadows could be a problem.  Modern lamps use circular fluorescent tubes, which illuminate all the way round the lens, and seem like an excellent idea.

Fourthly, I'm left-handed, so I need a bi-directional toggle-thingy on the cowl so that I can quickly and easily release it to move the lens/lamp.  This was always a minor niggle on the old one and thankfully, modern ones seem to be more ambidextrous.

Fifthly, it needs to have a good reach so that I don't have to unscrew and move it every time I want to work at the edge of my desk.

Sixthly, it would be really useful if it has an integral lens cover.  I lost the lens cover for my old one years back and have had to resort to covering it with a towel in order to try to avoid airborne dust and debris, not to mention the inevitable scratches.

Seventhly..... well there isn't really a seventhly.  I don't mind what colour it is, although white seems to be the 'in' shade. And I'd prefer it not to cost the earth, although I know from experience that you get what you pay for.

And until I have a replacement I can't get on with anything much.

Decisions, decisions, decisions.......