Robert Acosta, President
Helping Hands for the Blind
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From: dan Thompson [mailto:dthompson5@xxxxxxxxx] ;
Sent: Monday, June 20, 2016 6:52 AM
To: dan Thompson
Subject: Low Vision Technology, Choose the Right Electronic Magnifier, Part
1: Identify Your Priorities, Dan's tip for June 20 2016
Low Vision Technology, Choose the Right Electronic Magnifier, Part 1:
Identify Your Priorities
Shelly Brisbin and Lee Huffman
Editor's note: This is the first in a three-part series covering electronic
magnifiers, and offering advice to readers who want to acquire one.
June 2016 Access World issue
http://www.afb.org/afbpress/pub.asp?DocID=aw170604
People with low vision have more choices than ever when it comes to
magnification. You can choose from full-sized desktop electronic magnifiers
(once called CCTVs), portable units that are small enough to fit in a laptop
bag, and handhelds you can tuck into a pocket or purse. Features, too, give
potential buyers a lot to choose from. To find the right one, you'll need to
prioritize the features, such as viewing options, OCR, connectivity with
computing resources, and high-quality optics, that are most important to
you. But magnifiers are expensive, and it's a challenge to choose one that
does all you need it to do for a price you can afford. In this three-part
series, AccessWorld guides you through the world of video magnifiers,
helping you zoom in on the products, features, and support options that
match your needs.
Along the way, you'll learn how to ask the right questions, not just about
products you're considering, but about how you will use a magnifier in your
daily life; at work, at school, at home, or on the go. In this first
article, we focus on you, the potential magnifier buyer, and how
understanding your priorities is key to making a good purchase decision.
Part 2 will introduce the wide array of desktop and larger
portable/transportable devices on the market. In part 3 we will get small,
with coverage of handheld electronic magnification solutions. These articles
won't tell you which product to buy, or provide reviews of specific devices.
Instead, they will give you as much information as possible about all of the
products available to you, so you can choose a device that does what you
need it to do.
Electronic Magnifier Portability Considerations
Brochures for electronic magnification products often show smiling students,
crafters, seniors, and office workers, each seated in front of the same
device. The message is that whatever your needs, Product X is the right
choice. As consumers, we know that there's more to the story. A full-sized,
feature-rich magnifier can be a great addition to the office, but won't be
of much use if you're traveling a lot. Similarly, a college student might
prioritize Internet connectivity over advanced camera technology or a large
screen. Ease of use and extreme portability are very important to older
folks looking for an efficient way to read medication labels at home. Before
you choose a device based solely on its specs, be sure you've thought about
where you will be when you use it, and how often you need to magnify text
and objects away from your home or office.
A good place to start is to think about whether you want or need to move
your magnifier, and how often. The largest desktop magnifiers feature
displays of up to 24 inches, along with a camera that moves on a sturdy
track or arm. In addition, many units include an x-y table. The combination
of these components makes for a feature-rich system that will take up a fair
bit of space on your desk or table, and is likely to weigh in at 15 to 25
pounds. If you need to traveling regularly with your magnifier or set it up
in locations with close quarters, a desktop unit might not be right for you.
On the other hand, having all the features of a desktop magnifier at your
fingertips, including a bright, easy-to-read HD monitor, can help you
maximize your productivity and your ability to do anything you want to do
with magnification.
For some, extreme portability is critical. With a handheld magnifier in a
pocket or bag, you can take the device to the thing you want to magnify,
rather than the other way around. Do you need to examine documents or labels
in a variety of settings? Perhaps you travel a lot, or perhaps your work
simply keeps you moving within your office or a retail store, for example.
You can share a handheld magnifier with others, or take it out when you find
an unexpected need to read text or zoom in on objects during your busy day.
For many folks the best choice isn't a tricked-out desktop model with a
great monitor or a lightweight handheld, but somewhere between these two
extremes. If that sounds like you, there are still location-based choices
and priorities to consider. If you want a device you can travel with, how
portable must it be, and how easily will you be able to move it? Perhaps you
crave a unit that folds into a shoulder bag and won't slow you down as you
make your way across campus or through an airport. Some portables are based
on Android tablets, and gain their weight advantage by not requiring
separate cameras or screens. There's a subset of desktop-class magnifiers
that vendors call "transportable." You might not want to carry them on a
daily bus ride, but you can move them in a provided case or rolling bag.
These units typically feature a large LCD monitor and camera, all mounted on
a foldable stand. To move the unit, the user often needs to disassemble some
of the unit's parts in order to fold it into a protective case that has
wheels or sturdy handles. This arrangement might work for you if you're a
college student moving once a term between home and school or a worker on
long-term assignment to a different office.
Electronic Magnifier Feature Considerations
An electronic magnifier will make all sorts of things easier to see. But
what do you need to see most? What kinds of magnification will add the most
productivity or enjoyment to your life? Figuring out how you plan to use a
magnifier, and which magnification features are critical versus those that
might be merely nice to have, will significantly narrow down your choices
and build confidence in the purchase decision you ultimately make.
Enlarging text is the first use most people will think of for an electronic
magnifier. There's good reason for that. Everyone needs to do some amount of
reading, whether it's mail, a recipe, or a printed contract at work. Many
people also need to be able to view objects and activities, like crafts or
tools, up close. A number of the features that make it easier to read text
will help you magnify objects, too. A number of magnifiers also give you the
ability to view what's happening across a room, such as what is being
written on a whiteboard in class, or a performance in a theater. A video
magnifier with a camera that flips gives you the option to use it to apply
makeup, style your hair, or just take a look at yourself. Consider the
combination of features you need, and whether you want to purchase
accessories or attachments that make it easier to add features to the basic
magnifier you choose. Like knowing where you will use a magnifier, thinking
about how you use it most will narrow your search for the right product.
Most magnifier users want to enlarge and enhance text. This might mean that
you want to read books, articles, or other lengthy documents associated with
your job or education. Other reading tasks consist of smaller blocks of
text, such as mail, package labels, or appliance instructions. To read and
process long text blocks, you might prioritize a large display and a camera
that supports a wide range of text enhancement and color options. You might
also want to add an x-y table, or at least consider whether the unit has the
ability to display an entire page of text at once. If reading a lot of text
is important, yo may also want to capture text with OCR, either to hear it
read aloud by your magnifier's speech software, or to convert it to a
computer file for later use. Some magnifiers provide OCR as a core feature,
while others offer it as an option, complete with a camera and software
optimized for that purpose.
As we discussed in the portability section, it's sometimes easier to read
text where it is, rather than bringing it to your magnifier. For reading
bills, pill bottles, or the serial number on a television, flexibility in
your magnifier hardware is important. A portable unit might serve you best
if you like to read the mail or recipes in your kitchen, or when you need to
read a label that can't be placed under a stationery camera. In these cases,
you will need to be able to position the camera at will, while also being
able to view the screen.
Many jobs, as well as most classrooms, involve some kind of group viewing,
using a whiteboard, a slide projector, or other distant presentation method.
Some electronic magnifiers include a camera specifically for distance
viewing, or an option to switch the main camera to distance mode by rotating
the camera. If you choose a device that supports distance viewing, you
should also consider its portability. Carrying the device to class or to a
conference room will be easier if your magnifier is foldable or light enough
to be carried in one hand. Also consider where you will be seated while
viewing what's going on across the room, and whether this location makes it
possible for you to train your camera on the board, stage, or presenter. How
often do you need to view far away happenings? Is it enough to warrant
choosing a magnifier that supports distance viewing?
Just as distance viewing is a special case for some users and a daily need
for others, self-view can seem like a luxury for those who don't need it,
and a necessity for those who seek to maintain a flawless appearance.
Consider where you and your magnifier will be when you use self-view mode.
Is the device portable enough to move where you need it? Is the light
provided by the device, along with your room's ambient light, sufficient for
you to get the most from self-view?
Electronic Magnifier Cost Considerations
Video magnification does not come cheap. That's sometimes a source of
frustration, especially as magnifier makers move to off-the-shelf parts that
remind users of the monitors and cell phones they may already have. Vendors
point out that most magnifiers include custom hardware, such as stands,
remotes, and control panels adapted for users with low vision. Software,
too, is often custom. OCR programs and even the apps that control the
operation of the magnifier are built or licensed specifically for desktop
and portable magnification systems. Cost is also a function of volume: far
fewer video magnifiers will be sold this year than computer monitors, or
handheld HD cameras. Whatever the reason, buying a video magnification
system is usually a major purchase, so choosing well, and knowing what to
expect when shopping, is important.
Prices of electronic magnifiers can be thought of in ranges. At the high end
are desktop models and large transportables whose prices range
conservatively from $2,400 to $3,000. A few units, with accessories like x-y
tables, rolling bags, and OCR cameras, cost more. In the middle range,
costing up to $2,500, are larger portable units, some of which are based on
tablet computers, others featuring a screen with an integrated camera.
Others resemble desktop or transportable units, but include mid-sized
displays. In the low range are true handheld magnifiers, ranging in size
from three to seven inches in size. You can pick these up for under $1,000.
Next Steps
In this first installment of our magnifier series, we focused on how
different kinds of people can make smart decisions about the type of
magnifier that's right for them. Next month, we will take an in-depth look
at the range of large and mid-sized electronic magnifier options, with an
emphasis on features and specs. We'll also discuss how you can tell the
difference in important features, and how to think critically about product
hype.
The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never
fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. Lamentations
3:22
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