Cant decide, Help please?!

Good day to everyone!

Ok so here the typical noobie to lasers that cant decide about wich one to buy, However i think theres noone better than this community to lend me a helping hand in deciding

Im after my first laser, wanted to go with a green 50mw/100mw 532nm or the most powerfull i can get for my money. Basically apart from being mesmerized like a little kid with a brand new toy i want to use it for star pointing and amazing people with the visile beam haha so basically the most important thing for me is the beam visibility, However i would also like to burn baloons when i get bored ;D

I have been looking at a few offers and wanted to know what you guys think

• $33.80 - SD-301 Focusable 100mW 532nm Green Laser Pen Pointer with Battery Set (1*18650) - Green Lasers

• www.rayfoss.com

• http://www.ledshoppe.com/Product/ledp/LP1076.htm

These are the main ones that have got my attention, the first link being the one i am most interested in and the second link the second most interesting.

As i said basically im happy with the prices of them aslong as they perform acceptably.

I read this on wikipedia:

"Higher power and higher frequency lasers (green or blue color) may have a visible beam even in clean air because of Rayleigh scattering from air molecules, especially when viewed in moderately-to-dimly lit conditions."

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And am hoping to achive this, in other words be able to view the beam even in normal air (No smoke needed etc.)

So will the first link satisfy me with its results? I hope the user videos and pics of it are correct because if they are then thats what im looking for!

I currently live in Spain so resrictions and laws are not a problem as we practically let anything in

Thanks for all your help guys, and sorry to ramble on a bit, just excited to be able to get one of these babys haha

My suggestion would to, and always will be, for a first laser, buy a cheap $7 green from Ebay.

If you buy anything in the 100mW range I would suggest
you get appropriate Laser Safety Goggles/Glasses first for
the wavelength of Laser you will purchase...

Jerry

Fenzir said:

My suggestion would to, and always will be, for a first laser, buy a cheap $7 green from Ebay.

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And a 5mW (actually 40~60mW) 405nm for the same price to go along with it.
They are so cheap you can even buy a dozen, so you have gifts for friends.

Fenzir said:

My suggestion would to, and always will be, for a first laser, buy a cheap $7 green from Ebay.

Click to expand...

Yup, I started off with a 5mW from ebay as well, great first laser

Thanks alot, i will proberly do a mass buy, the greenies are real cheap and i love the idea of giving a few as gifts to friends, so i will proberly buy a few cheap 5mw greenies and the 100mw one aswell.

Does anyone have any comments on the links i left? Are they decent? Also, any recomended sites for safety glasses? (Must be shipped to spain)

deanzilla,
Welcome aboard! If you want a star pointer: stay with greens, around 30mW will be perfectly adequate in most cases. Most of the cheapie 100mW, or so, will probablly really be around 30 to 80mW. A 'REAL' 5mW (metered to actually produce 5mW of optical power) will produce an adequate beam for star pointing under good seeing conditions (dark, clear sky, little or no light polution). 30mW will give a GOOD beam under semi-dark conditions (some ambient light, after full dusk). over 30mW, up to a 100mW or so, will give a good beam for pointing during dusk (and maybe even a little earlier). Anything higher is, in my opinion, overkill for star pointing.
I use 30mW green modules as finders (rather than finder scopes) on my reflectors ans Schmidt/Cass.es. The work great under most all conditions, so far.
You do NOT need protective goggles for star pointing, BUT, do NOT let others play with your pointers and watch where you point (never at vehicles or people, and NEVER at, or in front of, aircraft of any kind, let them pass before pointing in that direction).

Let us know how you fare. Good luck, good seeing, stay safe and have fun!

I also think ebay is a great way to go. They are dirt cheap and some will work better than others so buy 3 and find a favorite. HOWEVER these are not 5mW they range from 5-50mW possibly more in extreme cases so be very careful and get some glasses now because you will still want to be able to see when you have gained the experience to buy a stronger laser.

It seems that most Chinese sellers (including the ones on ebay) have overspec lasers in the <10mW range, but almost always underspec in the >10mW

hello, i bought the 50mw greenie from DX for 10.80USD, it is very bright even at daytime. the beam is slightly visable at daytime and at night it is an beam wat goes on and on
AND BE SAFE WITH YOUR EYE`S!

mark

Thanks alot guys for all the info, really apreciate it. Recomendations on where to buy some glasses?

Survival Laser Home

The Eagle Pair goggles Garog sells are very good for the price. Ask him about shipping to Spain.