Buying my first laser from Lazerer, thoughts?

LZSK - Stick 532nm 100mW Focusable Green Laser Pointer

I'm purchasing my first laser, was wanting to get something around 100mW. Would anyone agree/disagree with this being my first laser? And should I get the power certificate?

I would definitely get the Power Certificate, but I just like to know the specs on my lasers. And yes, I have heard good things about the stick from lazerer.

If you don't care if it is green or not you could probably get a higher power for a similar price or the same power for a lower price, but if you want green then that seems like a good option.

-Isaac

Will there be any difference in the performance of the laser if I save some money and get a blue? Or is it just aesthetic difference?

Also would a blue beam be just as visible in the night sky?

Here is what you will see:

Green(532nm): Highest Visibility Beamwise, Burns okay and costs more
Blue(445nm): High Power for reasonable price, Not a pretty dot though. Beam will be less visible than the 532's.
Purple(405nm): Power lies between the blue and the greens. Beam is least visible due to it lying so close to the ultraviolet spectrum. Dot is hard for your eyes to focus on. Plus side: burns like crazy. My 550mW 405nm laser burns skin on contact and turns my walls black.

I am a big fan of the purples, so if you are looking for solely thermal power then go for either the purple or the blue. If you want beam visibility I don't think there is a better option than a green laser.

WHATEVER YOU DECIDE! Make sure you have good laser safety glasses rated for the laser's wavelength you are getting. I cannot express how bad looking at the dot these powerful lasers produce. If you are burning anything, do it with glasses on. If you are utilizing your laser indoors, glasses on. If you hand your laser to a friend....you best have donned your laser glasses and him too.

Hope that helps,
Isaac

Interesting, I may have to pick up two lasers then. I think I'm going to get a 100mW of both green as well as violet.

Glasses are only rated per wavelength, though? Is it feasible to spend 30 dollars or so and end up with a pair of glasses for 405 and 532, and they actually be good glasses? (Keeping in mind they won't be any stronger than 100mW for now)

Yes, absolutely! I have a great pair of OD4+ rated laser safety glasses for wavelengths 290-560 or something. That means that the transmitted power from my 261mw green is less than a mw. You can get a similar pair from survival lasers I believe. Also, if you wanna get a nice purple for burning I would wait and get one 150mw or more. A 100mw green will be nicely visible, so that choice is good.

My 100 mw green has a hair thin beam, but very low divergence, bright at night for a very long range. Can't burn anything, not even warm on my skin.

My 1300 mw blue has a wider rectangular beam, brilliant at night with a wide beam, but higher divergence. It doesn't seem to go any further than the green at long range, and the batteries die fairly quickly. Side by side with the much lower power green, they seem to have roughly the same "range" outdoors at night, although the blue beam is fatter. Compare the diameter of a fat pencil (blue) with a pencil lead (green) Burns quite well at medium range, even unfocused. You are insane if you use this indoor without goggles. Treat this one with utmost respect, or it WILL put your eye(s) out.

500 mW violet has a circular spot, medium divergence but hard to focus because my eyes don't focus well on the colour. It is only faintly visible at night. Would make a decent astronomy pointer because it isn't too bright until/unless you point it at the ground. Perceptually it is dimmer than the green. I wouldn't use this indoor without goggles either, although it is a class 3r, slightly less dangerous than the blue. The fact that your eyes are less sensitive to the red or violet end of the spectrum can mislead you as to the potential for eye injury.

Slight correction there...Class 3R lasers are limited to less than 5mW. Class 3B is anything up to and including 500mW, and Class 4 is anything higher than 500mW. So if your laser can ever possibly go above 500mW(likely with the violet) then it should be considered a Class 4 Laser.

You are quite right, it is nominally a 500mW but I have a power certificate that shows it running a hair higher.