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Like I said, now I've had a bit more time to use this laser, here's a more complete review of the Spartan BP 40mW from Dragon Lasers.
Firstly, Dragon Lasers them selves. I have bought a couple of laser from Dragon Lasers now, the first time was a bit nerve wrecking as you never know what you're buying first time round. They turned out to exceed me expectations with the excelent customer service and support with your order or technical questions. Shipping times are roughly 4 - 14 days depending where you are and when you order, but it always arrives well packed and on time. The first SBP40 I order was actually faulty, the tail switch didn't function properly and didn't turn on the laser. The threads also crossed super easy on the tail cap, causing it to jam. Of course, I RMA'd the unit and Dragon Lasers offered a replacement without any questions asked. It took around two to three weeks to complete the process due to shipping the items back and forward, but that asside the RMA went through smoothly and without a hitch. If you ever get a faulty unit you're guarenteed a fast replacement.
Spartan BP
Now onto the laser. Upon arrival, it was shipped in a nice sized box, wrapped in lots of bubble wrap and placed into a foam box (no fancy cases here), so plenty to protect it from damage. Inside the box was also the charger and batteries which came as part of their package. The first thing you notice when taking out the Spartan is how good it feels in your hands, the build quality is extremely sturdy and the rough metal provides plenty of grip, without making it uncomfortable to hold. It's roughly half the diameter of the larger flash light style (RPL, Hulk etc) and around 3/4 of the size, so it's quite small in comparison.
Hulk with Spartan
The Spartan's Main Build features are it's tail cap switch, and removable protective lens/IR Filter. Firstly, the front lens can be removed by unscrewing, leaving an unprotected (IR leaking), open face laser. There is no real reason to do this, as I can't notice any difference in beam quality, other than more glare from the laser head. Also the tail cap/switch combo unscrews at the bottom, for you to place one LI-Ion battery. The switch it's self is pretty simple, which you just switch on and switch off. This is not a preasure switch so you can not apply preasure to turn the unit on, it's either on or off. In the long run I guess this helps keep it in good condtition, as it's not repeatedly being switch on and off more than it needs to.
Lens cap
Tail cap
This laser is 473nm, is pulsed at 2000Hz and has a tranverse mode of near tem00. Because this laser is so sensetive to temperature, it will some times operate in tem01 or part tem01 instead if it's too cold, or too hot. This however isn't much of a problem, as the beam brightness doesn't seem to drop all that much (although more observations might say otherwise) and the laser dot remains well diverged. If you're using this laser in colder temperatures, it might take a second or two to lase as like I say, they're very sensetive. But if you're in the right conditions you get full power and tem00 almost straight away.
Beam shot at night
I'm currently awaiting a laser power meter in the next couple of weeks where I'm going to test that actual power of this unit, to see where it peaks, where it averages and were it drops etc. So I'll get back to you guys with more accurate stats when the time comes. But for now, I'm pretty confident that this laser puts out what they're saying it is, as for a pulsed laser, it's incredibly bright and stable.
The only cons I find is that I wish tem00 was guarenteed and that brightness is most likely sacrificed with being pulsed action. I realy wish I could truely compare it to a constant wave laser of the same output. At the time I bought this laser it was $899 and at that price, it was worth every penny saving $300 - $400 off of Optotronics' price for the same power. But now with this laser being priced at $1099, I'm not so sure I would be convinced to buy one over the RPL Blue 35. Over all this is a great laser, has great portability, great beam quality, divergence and incredible brightness, but the competition is hard.
In the end (in a biased opinion) I'd say this laser is no worse or no better than the RPL Blue 35, it's different. Before you buy a blue laser, you need to ask your self what exactly you want the blue laser for and what effects you can create with it. Take note of the stats of each blue laser on the market, not only mW, and then you'll be able to make your own decision. Personally I don't regret buying this laser and look forward to all the fun experiments I can have with it; all I can say is that I'm not dissapointed.
4/5 ****
Firstly, Dragon Lasers them selves. I have bought a couple of laser from Dragon Lasers now, the first time was a bit nerve wrecking as you never know what you're buying first time round. They turned out to exceed me expectations with the excelent customer service and support with your order or technical questions. Shipping times are roughly 4 - 14 days depending where you are and when you order, but it always arrives well packed and on time. The first SBP40 I order was actually faulty, the tail switch didn't function properly and didn't turn on the laser. The threads also crossed super easy on the tail cap, causing it to jam. Of course, I RMA'd the unit and Dragon Lasers offered a replacement without any questions asked. It took around two to three weeks to complete the process due to shipping the items back and forward, but that asside the RMA went through smoothly and without a hitch. If you ever get a faulty unit you're guarenteed a fast replacement.
Spartan BP
Now onto the laser. Upon arrival, it was shipped in a nice sized box, wrapped in lots of bubble wrap and placed into a foam box (no fancy cases here), so plenty to protect it from damage. Inside the box was also the charger and batteries which came as part of their package. The first thing you notice when taking out the Spartan is how good it feels in your hands, the build quality is extremely sturdy and the rough metal provides plenty of grip, without making it uncomfortable to hold. It's roughly half the diameter of the larger flash light style (RPL, Hulk etc) and around 3/4 of the size, so it's quite small in comparison.
Hulk with Spartan
The Spartan's Main Build features are it's tail cap switch, and removable protective lens/IR Filter. Firstly, the front lens can be removed by unscrewing, leaving an unprotected (IR leaking), open face laser. There is no real reason to do this, as I can't notice any difference in beam quality, other than more glare from the laser head. Also the tail cap/switch combo unscrews at the bottom, for you to place one LI-Ion battery. The switch it's self is pretty simple, which you just switch on and switch off. This is not a preasure switch so you can not apply preasure to turn the unit on, it's either on or off. In the long run I guess this helps keep it in good condtition, as it's not repeatedly being switch on and off more than it needs to.
Lens cap
Tail cap
This laser is 473nm, is pulsed at 2000Hz and has a tranverse mode of near tem00. Because this laser is so sensetive to temperature, it will some times operate in tem01 or part tem01 instead if it's too cold, or too hot. This however isn't much of a problem, as the beam brightness doesn't seem to drop all that much (although more observations might say otherwise) and the laser dot remains well diverged. If you're using this laser in colder temperatures, it might take a second or two to lase as like I say, they're very sensetive. But if you're in the right conditions you get full power and tem00 almost straight away.
Beam shot at night
I'm currently awaiting a laser power meter in the next couple of weeks where I'm going to test that actual power of this unit, to see where it peaks, where it averages and were it drops etc. So I'll get back to you guys with more accurate stats when the time comes. But for now, I'm pretty confident that this laser puts out what they're saying it is, as for a pulsed laser, it's incredibly bright and stable.
The only cons I find is that I wish tem00 was guarenteed and that brightness is most likely sacrificed with being pulsed action. I realy wish I could truely compare it to a constant wave laser of the same output. At the time I bought this laser it was $899 and at that price, it was worth every penny saving $300 - $400 off of Optotronics' price for the same power. But now with this laser being priced at $1099, I'm not so sure I would be convinced to buy one over the RPL Blue 35. Over all this is a great laser, has great portability, great beam quality, divergence and incredible brightness, but the competition is hard.
In the end (in a biased opinion) I'd say this laser is no worse or no better than the RPL Blue 35, it's different. Before you buy a blue laser, you need to ask your self what exactly you want the blue laser for and what effects you can create with it. Take note of the stats of each blue laser on the market, not only mW, and then you'll be able to make your own decision. Personally I don't regret buying this laser and look forward to all the fun experiments I can have with it; all I can say is that I'm not dissapointed.
4/5 ****
