I have always had bad eyesight, my bcva is over 20/200. I have tried all kinds of assistive tech, but surprisingly it never dawned on me that I have been carrying one on my hip for years; my cell phone!

My phone has an easily accessible camera with a surprisingly powerful zoom. If I take a picture at full zoom I can then zoom in even further on the picture.

It has become my go-to device for overcoming trivial things like reading the menu behind the counter at fast-food places, identifying foods in the freezer section at the grocery store (without having to open the door), reading the frustratingly small print on medicine bottles and sometimes, just seeing what everyone else is looking at.

I figured if this had escaped me for so long when it seemed like it would be so obvious, that maybe some here might not realize the power of their phone-camera too! Sure, it can look a little strange in public (eg "*mommy, why is that man taking a picture of frozen peas?*") but no more strange than any other uniquely suited device.