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A Guide To Buying Your First Green Laser

randomlugia

randomlugia

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Paddy said:
Bought the Rayfoss 300MW green earlier this month.
it arrived fast (DHL shipping), but wasn't able to use until batteries came with normal shipping.
Just thought i'd share this, don't go with fast shipping unless you have the batteries already :)
Click to expand...

Good advice, I never would have though of that. So the order worked out okay, and you only payed $135?
 





More Power

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Question, in your opinion what would be the best current laser for me, here are my guidelines:
<$300
Main focus being on the brightness - mainly beam, not necessarily power, as IR can skew this...

I have looked around all the suggested sites at the begging of this thread, and I'm baffled by the ridiculously low price at WL, i know its on the bad list, but they don't really have a history of scamming and most of their lasers ( exeption of early arctics ) are high quality. why is it so low? is their a diode their using that other companies dont have their hands on? which makes me wonder if i should wait to buy one a little longer, as the technology might yet again improve doubling power and maintaining low price. hmmm... Just thought id ask your opinion. :yh:
 
randomlugia

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More Power said:
Question, in your opinion what would be the best current laser for me, here are my guidelines:
<$300
Main focus being on the brightness - mainly beam, not necessarily power, as IR can skew this...

I have looked around all the suggested sites at the begging of this thread, and I'm baffled by the ridiculously low price at WL, i know its on the bad list, but they don't really have a history of scamming and most of their lasers ( exeption of early arctics ) are high quality. why is it so low? is their a diode their using that other companies dont have their hands on? which makes me wonder if i should wait to buy one a little longer, as the technology might yet again improve doubling power and maintaining low price. hmmm... Just thought id ask your opinion. :yh:
Click to expand...

They don't have a history of scamming? Really? They used to be absolutely terrible! I admit, they have improved a bit, and I have considered moving them to a "caution" list, but the occasional scam I see involving WL just makes me not want to buy from them, regardless of the good sales. It's up to you if the risk is worth it or not...

IMO the best laser money can buy is an RPL from Opto. And when you're looking to spend THAT much money, I'm sure you could get a very high powered unit (I'm not sure about the pricing). Another cool thing about Optotronics is that you can upgrade your laser later on.
 
More Power

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Thanks allot Ill look their, and maybe scamming isn't the right word, because yah, they did have some ridiculous prices on low end lasers. I meant they build quality lasers, not the usual crap you would expect for a price like $80 for 200 mw.
 
More Power

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Do they just sell diodes? I don't currently have a host, or the soldering skills to build one. What exactly did you mean by opto?
 
Paddy

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I'd recomend a Rayfoss 200mw (but ask for it without waterproofing)
My friend has one and i have the 300MW one, and honestly i can hardly see the difference (if any)
They're bright enough to still stand out next to my Spartan 1W.
I can make some videos comparing them with distance etc tonight if you want.
 
Paddy

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Ok, i couldn't make the vid tonight cus the weather outside is terrible, i can hopefully get one done tomorrow with some fireworks included in the shot :p
 
More Power

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Np, cant wait... and a finale is key in any laser vid :D

Currently I'm looking at the RF532-300mw-FWB. Is this similar to yours? I cant find a review on it but I'm glad you directed me to this sight, they have a great selection and affordable lasers.
 
Paddy

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Yes that's the one i have, i didn't originally want it but the smaller RF532-200mW-QST were out of stock.
My friend has the newest 200mw (the black one with a fat head [isn't that fat in real]
I'd go for the one he has over the added 100mw, as the focusing lens on the 300mw is awkward to use and im starting to get a smudgy effect around the dot on the wall.
Pics of my 300mw+Spartan;
P1000594.jpg

P1000592.jpg

P1000595.jpg

P1000596.jpg

P1000597.jpg

P1000598.jpg


Note: it's hard to capture the beam comparison with the two in one shot cus the reflection up close is too bright, but green is still visible to the eye when shone at distance (will made a vid+pics)
 
randomlugia

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More Power said:
Found optronics but starting at over 400 way out of my price range.
Click to expand...

Ohh, sorry man, I read it as $1300! Haha I bet my post didn't make too much sense. The most power you can get for 300 is probably this: www.rayfoss.com. You could step up the quality and get this one, but it wouldn't be as bright: www.rayfoss.com

Is a green laser a priority? You said that you wanted brightest, and a 1W 445nm laser would be brighter than any green laser you can buy for <$400. A nice blue laser made by a trusted forum member or a DL Spartan wouldn't be outside your price range.
 
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Wow, really? I was under the impression 445nm was so far on the edge of our eyesight that it was something like 10 times dimmer, in which case the 800 extra mw would still put it short of the green in visibility. Thanks Ill look at the 1W, its all about the beam, thats what i need for my project. This makes sense too because, even though Paddy said it wasn't a perfect comparison, in the beam shots the blue beam is much more visible.
 
randomlugia

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More Power said:
Wow, really? I was under the impression 445nm was so far on the edge of our eyesight that it was something like 10 times dimmer, in which case the 800 extra mw would still put it short of the green in visibility. Thanks Ill look at the 1W, its all about the beam, thats what i need for my project. This makes sense too because, even though Paddy said it wasn't a perfect comparison, in the beam shots the blue beam is much more visible.
Click to expand...

Yeah, take a look at some beamshots in the media section. It surprised me too.
 
Paddy

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The blue does stand out quite a bit more on my spartan, couldn't get a good vid today, bonfire night drunk a bit too much xD
 
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