Proper illumination is vital to the success of persons with low vision for near tasks, such as reading, writing, and crafts. One study revealed that persons with visual impairments need four times the amount of light to read and do other near tasks as do persons with normal vision. There are many kinds of lamps that may help: incandescent, fluorescent, halogen, and total spectrum (replicated sunlight).... Since many people with low vision report difficulties with glare and other problems with fluorescent lighting, I review one lamp from each of the three remaining categories: total spectrum, incandescent, and halogen.
