My Sapphire dosnt have a lever to lift the foot. It has a push button that I only have to use when I finish sewing. It automaticly lowers the foot when you start to sew. It has an autolift when in needle down mode that lifts the foot just enough to slide the next piece thru or to turn your fabric. I love this feature and use it always. It does make it tough when it is in for servicing and I have to use my cheap Brother with no bells and whistles. I keep forgeting to lower the foot since that is not necessary with my Sapphire.
I can wind bobbins without unthreading the machine and since I can see the bobbin I know when it is getting low on thread
It has a 10 in throat also. The only thing it lacks is a stitch regulator. The bobbin is slightly larger than standard size but still to small.