Review: BenQ e-Reading LED Lamp

How much time do you spend working on screens each day? We all worry about the amount of screen time our kids are getting, but chances are as adults we spend much more time than them staring at computers, tablets and smartphones.

I spend a lot of time working on screens, and by the end of the day I’m often feeling the strain in my eyes, especially when the natural light in my office is poor, or I’ve been working in artificial light.

Over the last few weeks I’ve been trying out the BenQ e-Reading LED Lamp, to see how it performs as a task light and whether it can help reduce eye strain.

The BenQ e-Reading LED Lamp is specifically designed for digital screen time, and claims to reduce glare and offer even lighting that’s easy on your eyes. So, does it work?

First impressions

The lamp is supplied in two pieces; the base and the lamp arm/head. Assembly is quick and simple, just tighten a bolt to attach the arm to the base and you’re done.

I love the look of this lamp. The design is very modern and sleek, with a pop of colour on the flex and lamp shade. We tried out the blue colourway, the lamp is also available in gold, silver, green and red.

The base, arm and shade all have a matte texture, which feels really premium and contrasts nicely with the shiny, touch-sensitive on/off silver circle. It’s simple and easy to use, with just two controls.

This is not a small, lightweight lamp; the base is heavy, and at around 22cm diameter takes up quite a bit of desk room. That weight and size allows for maximum control on the lamp’s position though.

Performance

There are so many things I like about this lamp. For starters, the actual lamp is really big, so you get great coverage. I have a huge computer screen, and it’s all perfectly, evenly covered with light. No other desk lamp has ever come close to achieving this. It’s big without being intrusive though, and the slim rectangular shape is ideal for positioning discreetly above a screen.

The quality of the light provided is fantastic too. There’s a light sensor built in, which detects the brightness of the surroundings and adjusts the light accordingly (you can manually control the brightness as well). And there’s absolutely no flicker.

The hinged design of the lamp arm makes it easy to adjust and really flexible; I’ve yet to find an angle it can’t cope with. You turn the lamp on and off via the touch-sensitive silver ring, and all other controls are done using the dial on the top of the lamp. With this dial you can toggle between two modes: one press allows you to manually adjust the brightness, while a second press allows you to control the temperature of the light.

This temperature feature is actually really clever. You can navigate from crisp, cool white tones right through to warm white tones by turning the dial. This means you can choose the mood of your lighting to suit the activity you’re doing; so for example, you might choose cooler tones when focusing on work, and warmer tones for relaxed reading. I like the fact that this makes the lamp very versatile, and suited to far more than just desk work. I’ve used it on the warmer settings as a reading light a few times and really enjoyed the softer but still crystal-clear effect.

I work underneath a window, so glare is often a real problem on my screen. The BenQ lamp is designed to reduce contrast and reflective glare by adjusting for brighter illumination at the sides, and dimmer in the centre of the screen. This translates into an even light that really does reduce glare and allow your eyes to work less hard.

I have a pretty small desk, and I’m not crazy about the amount of space taken up by the base, but given how great the actual lamp is I can live with that. And you can still use most of the base area, so it isn’t all dead space; I’ve popped a little plant on there to green things up a bit.

My verdict

I’m loving the BenQ e-Reading lamp. It looks fabulous, it’s easy to control and adjust, and it really delivers on light quality and coverage. For me, it’s first and foremost a desk lamp, but the sleek design and clever temperature feature make it a great choice for a modern living area too. Could you find the perfect spot for it in your home?

The BenQ e-Reading LED lamp is currently retailing on Amazon for £142.40, find out more here. You can also grab a 10% discount if you order before 31st March 2018, just select “BenQ Webstore” as the seller and use the code BENQ10EF.