what works better than a maginfying glass is an Optivisor... hands free, and you can get different magnification lenses... more expensive, though.. about 20bucks...
I agree... don't start with a progressive. If you are pretty sure you might want to go with one later, then you might think about an RCBS Rockchucker... then add the piggyback progressive attachment later. I'm not sure how well they work, but it's an option. I don't think most progressives will handle the larger rifle rounds... most will only do up to about 308 size... because most people don't shoot that many rifle rounds, unless it's in a .308, .223, or 7.62x39... something like that.
It's too easy to miss a step, like charging a case.. or worse, double charging a case with a progressive.... trust us...learn on a single stage, get the basics down WELL... then decide if you really need a progressive. Another downside to progressives is that it is somewhat time consuming changing calibers. Here's a thought... try one of the turret presses.. like Lee.. you can set up your die set for a caliber, then just rotate it to perform each operation.. it's not as fast as a progressive, but it's not as slow as a single station press... it can be used just as a single..do one operation, such as sizing, on all your cases, then the next operation on all the cases, etc... OR you can take one case and do all three operations on it before going to the next case... gives you a little more flexibility....
MAN, I'm long-winded tonight... I'll shut up now..... good luck with your choice...

"Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness..those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." Santayana