Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum. Sorry if this is a thread topic you've all seen many times. I have read the guide on selecting your first green laser and it helped a lot. I have narrowed down the options for my first laser pointer to the following;

I'd like a green one!
I'd like 50mw as it seems like a nice balance between power and cost, 50mw just seems the right choice for me.

I've been looking at the options from rayfoss. I like their site and they seem like a good company to buy from. The only problem I'm having is picking a model!

I've looked at the following choices;

1. www.rayfoss.com
This one has 120 second duty cycle, can be focused as well. They give the option of battery type too.

2. www.rayfoss.com
This is another option, seems fairly similar, but no choice of battery and shorter duty time.

3. www.rayfoss.com
Another of similar price and spec.

4. www.rayfoss.com
There are 2 or 3 of these waterproof type ones and they seem fairly similar.

5. www.rayfoss.com
This is a cheaper 50mw laser pointer.

And there are a number of others, including pen-style lasers that are cheaper than the above. Sorry if thats a lot to pick from, but they mostly seem similar in price and spec so its hard to choose. I am most interested in the laser being up to spec, and the beam quality and physical characteristics are also more important(for example, divergence seems to be important to many people so I'd want that to be decent enough), I'm not that bothered about it being water proof or looking like a flashlight etc. I read on this forum in a review of the waterproof one that the beam wasnt the cleanest and had noticeable artefacts. I think the first one in the list is probably the best choice but I just dont know! The focusing seems cool but then I dont know if I'd be better off without it for simplicity. Any advice from knowledgeable members as to which is the better laser?

Also, I read in the forum that if I ask the person at rayfoss, faona I believe, to include a battery charger she will do so, is that correct?

And lastly, if I did choose the first option above, which type of battery would be best to get with it? I guess the 16850 since it has a larger capacity? And if a charger is included, would it be the right one as the person who said she gave them one said it turned out to be the wrong charger. Would it be expensive to order a charger elsewhere to be shipped to Ireland?

Sorry for all the questions and the number of different lasers to consider, this is the first time I've ordered a laser and I could do with some opinions and help. So far it seems that the first laser I listed will be the one I choose, would that be a good decision do you think? Cheers for any advice offered!

Welcome to LPF, and I don't have the expertise to answer your questions but I can tell you that rayfoss is the best place to get a quality cheap laser. I bought my "50mw" green laser from LEDShoppe which is supposedly decent and I got a 20 to 30mw laser instead. I'm disappointed but I realize that lasers are not that easy to make and there's bound to be a couple bad lasers. I hope you get a nice 50mw green laser from rayfoss and remember be safe and have fun. Get safety glasses.

Well, you could always give Simminsurf's overspec 5mw's a try, they are WAY overspec, into the 44mw+ range. You can pay $12.50 for something 30+ ish or $15 for something >44mw (which is close to 50...)

O right. Rayfoss has awesome lasers but I've heard good things about swimminsurfer's lasers and he offers them at a good price. Go PM him up. Just search for his name swimminsurfer.

Here's the actual thread so you can look for yourself =]
http://laserpointerforums.com/f39/ne...een-50256.html

Good luck =]

Thanks for the quick response! I forgot to include this one,
Buy 50mW 532nm High Power Green Laser Flashlight at GadgetTown.com

But the price is fairly low so I'd wonder about the quality. I'd be happy to pay the 49 dollars for option number 1 in my original post if it meant I'd be a lot more likely to get a good quality laser. Yeah I got the idea of rayfoss from reading the buying guide on this forum. Thanks for the reply.

Ah, thanks for the suggestion, I'll look into that.

No problem, Rayfoss and O-Like are both good options as well. But try Swimmindurf first.

Thats actually the smartest choice IMO because he tests them before shipping so you know exactly what you will be getting, and dont have to wonder if its up to spec or not.

Exactly, I'm still thinking about buying one from him or not...I need a multi-meter, so I think I'll buy that instead =] Good luck With your laser though, I have heard nothing but good things about swimminsurf, IF and I can't stress enough the 'IF', there is a problem, he'll replace it

He will also lower the price a bit if it is under the ordered specs. I am planning to get a w/p greenie from him. And yeah, a multi-meter is definitely a must have....

LEDSHOPPE 50mW Greenie
http://www.ledshoppe.com/Product/ledp/LP1076.htm

I actually intended to list that one too but I forgot about it. Its so hard to decide! I'm considering getting one from swimminsurf and a 50mw from rayfoss or somewhere else if I can get a good quality laser. Does anyone have any idea which of the 50mw greenies in this thread are probably the best quality and least likely to disappoint? I think I might go for a 50mw, and then maybe one of the overspecs from swimminsurf. He did say though that he will no longer be providing guaranteed specs, as so many people had requested them, the first post from his thread says its just a random pick from the ones he has now. Think he'd be willing to test a laser before shipping it so I would know exactly what I'm getting?

EDIT: This is kinda how I am sometimes. I decide I want something, then I cant decide from the available options so I end up wanting more than one! Usually my sense kicks in and I make a decision, but this time I dont know, I might get two! Would a 25 dollar 50 mw laser really be up to spec? What is the average price of a good quality 50mw laser? I dont wanna get a seemingly good deal to only end up disappointed, I'd be happy to pay around 40-50 dolllars for a 50mw if I was fairly confident it'd be fully up to spec and wouldnt disappoint or have problems.

If you want high quality gauranteed spec and warranties that sort of thing, buy a CNI from CNI or laserglow.com or dragonlasers.com or the CNI GB here on the forum, but be ready to spend a good amount of money...

Well, I took your advice and looked into the CNI group buy. some really nice options there, I was very close to getting that 50mw that is said to usually be around >75mw, but when I considered the price it would be over 100euro, so I thought if I was gonna spend that much I may as well go for a decent 100mw or more! So I've already contacted rayfoss to make an order for this,
www.rayfoss.com
Its a 100mw of the same type as the first laser in my original post, its about 65 euro (80 dollars) and has the battery and charger included. I think thats pretty decent. I hope its bright though! Last thing I want is the hassle of sending it back and stuff. (EDIT: I dont mean returning it simply because of it not being what i expected, i just meant that if it was way underspec or something.)

I will still get one of swimminsurfers overspec lasers too I think but maybe in 2 or 3 weeks.