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ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Which laser to buy?

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Apr 16, 2012
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To start, my main intent with the laser I wish to purchase is long distance pointing at night (and day if possible) as I go camping in the summer, I want to be able to point at mountains that are quite a distance away (and I know are safe to point at). My budget is $250 :) I've been saving up for this! Right now I have the 'LZCS 100mW classic 532nm' and I would like to bring a higher powered one with me! Thanks to LPF, I know I can trust someone to give me a good answer and opinion on what I should get for my purpose! I do have safety glasses for 532nm and 445nm lasers.

As of now, these are my options:

Cyber 445nm - 1.2W Focusable - $159.99
Cyber 445nm - 1.2W Focusable Blue Laser Pointer Water Proof

LZSK High Power Green Laser Pointer Separate Crystal - 400mW Focusable - $219.99
LZSK - 532nm 400mW High Power Green Laser Pointer Separate Crystal

I'm debating whether I should choose this between Lazerer's:

Power Rock - 1W Focusable - $152.99
Power Rock 1W Blue laser torch /Focusable/ waterproof [OL-PRBL1000] - $152.99 : Zen Cart!, The Art of E-commerce
 





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just an update, the mountains are about 3km away I'm assuming the aperture of each laser is average of about 1.5mm and mrad of each laser is average <2
 

ARG

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Well, if you're talking at night or twilight pointing all of those lasers will have similar visibility. The 400mW 532nm will be very similar in visibility to a 1W 445nm laser. Both have similar big beam as well, so it really depends on whatever you want.
 
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I'm assuming the 400mw green probably won't be worth the money if the 1W blues are equivalent in visibility. Hey btw, PM incoming.
 
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The blues won't reach out as far and they're divergence are pretty bad.

The greens are much more suited for pointing at far-away objects.
 

ARG

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The blues won't reach out as far and they're divergence are pretty bad.

The greens are much more suited for pointing at far-away objects.

Do you even have a high powered 532nm pointer? The beams are pretty thick and diverge pretty fast. Very comparable to a 445nm point with a 3 element lens.
 
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Do you even have a high powered 532nm pointer? The beams are pretty thick and diverge pretty fast. Very comparable to a 445nm point with a 3 element lens.

No I don't have a high-powered 532nm, but if they diverge as much as a blue, that's pretty bad, gee. My 150mW greenie has pretty decent divergence and reaches to farther objects than my 1.2W, so maybe a lower powered green would be better for OP.

I think most importantly is that, because OP aims for "long distance pointing", the greens will be a better choice as they reach out much farther distances (at least we perceive it to be).
 
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Okay so I've changed my mind since I will probably buy the 445 from ARGLaser. It's either a 100mW from O-like with a beam diameter of 6 - 8mm which will mean the divergence will be very low or the crown 400mw from O-like? My objective is to see the dot at long distances.
 
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It is really hard to see the dot on >700 meters, unless you use a beam expander... low divergence green is the better bet though... -GH
 
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well the 100mw from o like has an internal beam expander which is interesting me. so in your opinion would you choose the 400mw for its power or the 100mw for its divergence?
 




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