Great Desk/Reading Lamp
Written: Aug 25 '04 (Updated Aug 26 '04)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Great luminescence, great white natural light, small, easy to use, very little assembly, replaceable bulb.
Cons: No on/off switch, relatively pricey
The Bottom Line: If you spend significant amounts of time reading, writing, typing or otherwise working in an area that needs to be well lit the ott-light should be an obvious choice
|
|
|
| planktos's Full Review: OTT-Lite Task Lamp |
As I am going into my senior year in an undergraduate university I have spent approximately 6 hours a day underneath a desk lamp laboring away at my studies. Needless to say, I take my desk lighting very seriously. For the past three years I have managed to suffice on regular and halogen lamps but have noticed an increasing strain developing on my eyes resulting in poorer and poorer vision. My past desk lamps have generally taken up a significant amount of room on my desk crowding surfaces and still failing to provide sufficient and crisp lighting. I recently purchased an Ott Light Task Lamp and immediately noticed the difference.
The Ott Light 13 watt bulb casts a white/natural light hue onto every surface within its beam. The lamp has about a 4 or 5 foot cord (its a plug in lamp) and uses high contrast illumination to ease and enhance reading, writing and even typing. It casts little to no glare upon my computer screen and is small, relatively durable, and easy to flip up and down. The box boasts of improving visual acuity by sharpening images while also reducing eyestrain and I have found this to be accurate. In addition it gives off very little heat which is an extra advantage in hot college dorms where any surplus heat is unwanted. The bulb is easily replaced by direct ordering from ott-light, its multiple online retailers, or actual retail stores.
I plugged my halogen lamp next to it and the difference in color and light output is striking: the halogen gives off a yellow/orangish hot UV light which casts everything in a hue of what appears like a tea stained aged page. It gave off a good amount of light but couldn’t compare to the ott-lights output when flipped to the up position. The ott-light gives off a beautiful and crisp natural white which leaves books and pages looking white and new. Finally, the ott-light takes up very little surface area and is easily manageable…a great portable lamp. In addition I would recommend checking out the new true color lamp which is the same size and shape with the added advantage of replicating original colors of items to a higher degree than the regular ott-light task lamp bulb.
The only cons I find with the light is its price relative to other desk lamps and that due to its design it needs to be flipped up to be turned on and flipped down to be shut off. There is no switch. I worry that in the future this will create unnecessary usage upon the hinge holding the top half of the task light together with its base and thus make the top likely to drift to a down position. I don't see any immediate way to tighten this and thus hope it doesn't happen.
Specifications (borrowed from Connie):
• Initial Light Output: 980 lumens
• Color Rendering Index: 85
• Color Temperature: 5000 degrees Kelvin
• Power Requirements: 118 volts AC, 60 HZ
• Dimensions: Up to 22.0" High, 3.5" Wide, 3.5" Deep
• Rated Lamp Life: 10,000 hours
• Warranty: One Year Manufacturer Warranty
• Manufacturer Model #: OTL13BRB
• Manufacturer: Environmental Lighting Concepts
• Origin: Taiwan
Can be found online for roughly 35 dollars, in Staples type stores it sells for around 60.
Recommended:
Yes
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
planktos
|
|
Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 1 member
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.