Question about quality

I'm thinking about ordering a new laser and have come to a predicament. I want a more powerful laser but I also realize that quality has a measure to play in power.

Basically I have narrowed it down to two choices and I want to know which one would pack the bigger punch/be just plain cooler to have.

My choices are between a 250mW green laser and a 350mW laser. The difference is that the 250mW laser's beam is much more concentrated than the 350mW. The 250 is measured at 1.5mm at the aperture and <1.2mRad. The 350 does not specify the diameter at the aperture but it is 1.5-2.5mRad and <18mm at 10 meters.

Is the difference so minimal that it really doesn't matter or would it really make a difference?

Thanks all!

The lower the divergence, the better. Whatever size the beam is at the aperture, you want it to remain as close to that as possible at distance.

You don't state what brands or vendors you are considering, but if you really want power AND quality, you will usually find that you get what you pay for. If you want cheap, don't assume that you'll also get long lasting quality. If you have the money, I recommend Optotronics.

roosl said:

The lower the divergence, the better. Whatever size the beam is at the aperture, you want it to remain as close to that as possible at distance.

You don't state what brands or vendors you are considering, but if you really want power AND quality, you will usually find that you get what you pay for. If you want cheap, don't assume that you'll also get long lasting quality. If you have the money, I recommend Optotronics.

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Well yes I realize that the lower the divergence the better. And I didn't state the vendors in order to avoid any bias from people on the forum

What I was mostly wondering was if the lower divergence of the 350mW laser would really make much of a visual/effectual difference when comparing it to the higher quality but lower power of the 250mW laser.

swimminsurfer256 said:

The 250 is measured at 1.5mm at the aperture and >1.2mRad.

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Remember that >1.2mRad could mean anything and tells you nothing about the divergence of this particular laser. That's such a deceptive way to rate that laser:scowl: This is the same as advertising a laser as >50mw......that could mean anything:gun:

KGB_Productions said:

Remember that >1.2mRad could mean anything and tells you nothing about the divergence of this particular laser. That's such a deceptive way to rate that laser:scowl: This is the same as advertising a laser as >50mw......that could mean anything:gun:

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Ah shit that is my bad. I meant to type <1.2mRad.

swimminsurfer256 said:

Ah shit that is my bad. I meant to type <1.2mRad.

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That's allot better.:san:

I just hate it when they companies rate their lasers with >:tsk:

KGB_Productions said:

That's allot better.:san:

I just hate it when they companies rate their lasers with >:tsk:

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Yeah that does drive me crazy too. So do you have a recommendation? Does the higher divergence of the 350 make it lesser in comparison to the 250?

swimminsurfer256 said:

Yeah that does drive me crazy too. So do you have a recommendation? Does the higher divergence of the 350 make it lesser in comparison to the 250?

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Depending on what lasers you are actually getting the 250 could be more like 100-150(stable) if from DX but from Optotronics it would really be 250mw. Also if your buying from a cheaper website you cant really ever trust the specs they give you.

KGB_Productions said:

Depending on what lasers you are actually getting the 250 could be more like 100-150(stable) if from DX but from Optotronics it would really be 250mw. Also if your buying from a cheaper website you cant really ever trust the specs they give you.

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Well I know for a fact that both of the lasers I am looking at are from very trusted sites. So assume they both are of accurate information.