This is the review for the FireDragon III 300mW laser by Lasersman.

Link to the laser LINK HERE!

First off I would like to say, this is an unbiased review and I will only give factual, observed information about this company and MY experience with them.

So I ordered this laser via the former DinoDirect company, Lasersman’s GB#2



The laser came well packed and came with everything you need to get started.



Unfortunately Lasersman did not include an Australian adapter for the charger, so that pretty much rendered it useless... oh well I have another one.

This was the content of the package....



In my opinion this laser is very high quality and a great asset to a laser enthusiast’s collection. It has an amazingly durable and rugged feel, while at the same time feels exotic or unique. It has the classic RPL style host which weighs in at an impressive 420 grams (381 grams without batteries). The laser feels heavy in your hand and looks impressive.



The laser has some draw backs though; I do not like the touchiness/sensitivity of the on/off button. It seems to be incredibly sensitive to light touches, which in a high powered laser is not preferable. I would recommend that the company seriously considers changing the switch out for a much firmer one, because I see it as a safety issue.



The laser is rated on Lasersman’s website with the following data:

Name: Firedragon-Ⅲ Green Laser Pointer
Wavelength: 532nm
Output Power: >300mW
Divergence: <1.5m Rad
Beam Diameter at Aperture: ~1.5mm
Power Source: 1 x 3.6V 18650 Lithium-ion battery
Expected Lifetime: 5000 - 10000hours

I have run my own tests on this unit and have concluded my own results as can be seen below.

Peak output power: 628mw (300mw version tested)
Average output power: 487mw
Observed divergence: 1.95mRad
Beam diameter at aperture: 3.4mm
Current draw: Steady 2.61A
Estimated battery life: 54 mins (@ 2.6A with provided 2400mAh battery)

*Note all measurements were measured with calibrated digital calipers, and your results may vary.

This is a LPM graph of the laser over a 3 min time period.



My overall satisfaction with the company and laser can be summarized in the ratings below.

Product quality: 9/10
Customer support: 9.5/10
Email notifications: N/A
Packaging: 10/10
Shipping time: 9/10 (6 days shipping, not bad from china!)

Overall rating 9.38/10

Lastly here is an in depth review of the laser, showing all of its aspects and LPM output.



Beam Shots to follow….

Thanks for reading!
-Adrian

Well, for 300mW, it's certainly... that and more. For $200, pretty good; I wonder how consistent that'd be . Good review. thanks.

That's a might fine looking laser you got there =D

Great review! Can't wait to see the video of it

Great Review. Seems to perform just like the different style one I recently got and did a review on.

Thanks for sharing.

Nice review ! You have a nice laser there !
400mW for 200$ is very cheap !

Jim

Great review!
I have a 350mw firedragon waiting at the post office to be picked up at the moment.
I hope mine is as efficient as yours.

Any chance of some IR testing and also beam geometry? I find with these high output 532's that are cheap they use large crystals to get the power output but the exit beam diameter is quite large >1mm which lowers the power density. i have an early 100mw 532 pen that has an incredibly narrow beam and is effectively brighter than my 300-400mw later pointer that uses larger crystals. also for the IR testing it would be good to know what the spectral transmission specs of the IR fitter you are using is.

Good initial insight into this laser though!

These seem to be very consistent in being overspec. So far every single one that has been reviewed and LPM came in at roughly the same specs, and there are at least 3-5 reviews of this specific laser floating around.

That's exactly the problem I had with mine and the reason I later sold it. While it was more than double overspec at peak, the beam diameter at aperture was quite large. Divergence was also rather lousy.

You may want to check out rhd's thread though since he had some luck correcting the beam diameter issue... though not the divergence.

Nice review!
+1

I want one now after seeing the 600mW+ peak!!!!!!
Congratulations

This is Interesting, I am also looking for a decent brightness green, this looks like a nice host and decent power... I wonder how visible the bean is though.

With my phone camera, I was unable to see any IR leakage. I will grab an IR filter off someone and try again.

As for the beam profile... check the OP. It's meant to be <1.5mm at aperture, but from my measurements its 3.4mm. Divergence is pretty poor... at 5.4m the beam dia is at 13.9mm.

To be honest I'll probably try out a beam correction solution, but I'm not too fussed. But then again, with this beam I can't even light a match :/

Careful everyone...this review looks great but check the reviews on the 500mw on the latest GB....very poor performance. Does not meet any of the specs stated...at least for two of us. Also, we are having a horrible time getting the lasers returned for a refund...they are not following ANY of their listed policies regarding returns and refunds...so far for two of us it has been a total cluster you know what....

Link Please.? I would like to see the testing.

GB #2: LaserMan (Dinodirect) FireDragon 250, 300, 500mW GroupBuy - CLOSED - Page 12 - Laser Pointer Forums - Discuss Lasers & Laser Pointers

Yeah it seems that the 500mW ones are not great however the 300mW ones seem to be doing well as well as from the previous GB

All i see is this one "Test"
GB #2: LaserMan (Dinodirect) FireDragon 250, 300, 500mW GroupBuy - CLOSED

If you can call it that since NONE of his Picture/Graphs work.

Iam not going to comment though.

lol, are you sure laserman didnt screw up your orders?
that would explain alotttt
100% overspec?!?!

congrats btw on getting this super laser!

The module number is different to the one used in the 500mW model. Also the characteristics really do match those of all the other 300mW rated firedragons people have got. I do believe I got what I ordered. The 500mW model has a lot of dodgey units out there... and this is just perfect.

Either way I paid for a 300mW model and I received this unit, so that's all I can say. There is no serial number on the laser, so Lasersman can not confirm either way or the other.

You got the correct laser trust me. It performs exactly like the different style 450mW one that i bought.

This is the way they perform. No matter you buy the 300mW,400mW,500mW etc.

THe 500mW ones are the same but just more stable around the 500mW mark. Thats the difference.

People dont understand that not all will be over spec and when they see that there laser is Slightly under the rated power some think they got a bad laser. I would take a stable laser at 500mW then a laser that peaks for 1 minute to 600mW then jumps around like crazy.

Plus ~50mW off at 500mW is still well within spec.!

My point exactly. I tried to explain that to people in the other thread, but they are too angry to listen to reason. So I just gave up. In my opinion, Lasersman did a great job for me and I would buy from them again.

Exactly way i dint comment on it.

I agree, Iam happy with my laser from Lasersman.

Good Batteries make a huge difference too. Thank you for pointing that out.! I have notice this aswell.

My laser peaks at near 600mW but is stable ~450-500mW at 5 minutes on.

I would buy from lasersman again.

Nice review!

Btw Adrian, you can bend the contact on a US plug to fit in a aussie power jack. The wall is AC so it wont matter which way its plugged in

Don't waste tour time or money with Laserman, they sell crap and are a bunch of dishonest liars...the latest GB went awry and several of the lasers sent out were total garbage...many did not meet their gaurunteed power and some had other issues like cross threaded end caps, non TEM00 operation, and loose internal wiring. You are taking a huge gamble with this seller and if you are unfortunate enough to get a messed up laser they will not honor their policies. You will end up having to pay all the return shipping and there is no guarantee they wil refund your money. Several of us had to file fraud complaints with our credit card companies.

Also, ask yourself why they don't except PayPal...they claim PayPal won't allow them to use their service because "lasers are dangerous", this is an outright lie...many other laser sellers use paypal and I inquired with PayPal about this and they said they would have no problems if I used their services to operate a laser store...the truth...PayPal is way too strict with crappy sellers who don't follow their return and guarantee policies...Laserman won't use PayPal because they would end up getting charged back to often. They are a bunch of liars...are you really going to take the risk when there are other sellers out there with a good reputation. You will get what you pay for, there's no free lunch. Also, remember Laserman is just AKA Dino Direct...same bunch of liars.

Save up your money and buy from a reputable seller like O-like. They have some really nice greens that really do meet advertised specs. They also follow their policy. I had problems with a lost in shipping laser and after a quick review of their tracking system they promptly refunded my money.

Please learn from a few of our mistakes...I am potentially out $340 for a Gaurunteed 500mw laser that won't peak over 380mw and settles around 320mw. The end cap was cross threaded and the button is loose and the contact doesn't work properly...the laser flickers and the button must be continually pressed to keep it from flickering. It also does not operate in TEM00. I am not the only one, there are others who got screwed on this last GB...just check the thread on the Firedragon GB...

Sorry Kath but I warned you I would be everywhere you were...warning the unsuspecting innocent not to buy from those you represent...

You may be correct about some of the lasers sold but what about the ones who had problems besides not meeting the expected output. They guarantee the power output to be at least what is advertised AND they claim you will always get more than what you buy, just check their policies statements. So yes, some of us are very angry, not because we thought we would get 700mw for a 500mw laser...it's because we didn't get what was promised and they failed to act reputably and in accordance with their policies.

Why would you want to take the risk when others are being screwed? You could be next...

Why take the risk when you can buy the same power for essentially the same prices from reputable companies?

We are not a bunch of crybabies complaining because out lasers didn't come in over spec, we have legitimate complaints about the products we received and how the company has handled these legitimate complaints.

I believe you are doing a real disservice to the community in your statement, it makes it seem like we are the ones in the wrong when we are not.

When a real disservice has been done by a seller it is our responsibility to warn others about it and band together to let the sellers know we can't be treated like this without some sort of adverse repercussions.

If we let them get away with it then they will continue to screw others...

You may be happy with what you got and I am glad for you but please don't misrepresent what happened in the last group buy, some of us really got the shaft and, it should only take one person getting the shaft from a seller before the rest of us band together and tell them we won't accept that type of service and business practice.

I would take only one legitimate complaint about a company that wasn't handled properly for me to never use that company no matter what type of savings I might think I am getting...at least until that company made the situation right again.

So, when you decide to buy from these people when they have screwed others and refuse to act in accordance with their policies you just add insult to injury to your fellow forum members who got screwed...especially when you can go elsewhere and get a better product for a similar price.

I paid $340 for a "500mw" laser that peaks at 380mw and generally runs at 320mw, it has poor internal wiring and a loose switch that malfunctions, the end cap was cross threaded, and it jumps modes. Those are the facts. To date they have thrown every roadblock known to avoid living up to their responsibility. After a week of continuous emails they still have not provided me with an RMA number for return, they have not agreed to refund my shipping costs if when they receive the laser it is as I claim it is, and they haven't provided a return shipping address.

I can feel your anger, Jmillerdoc, and I am sorry for this. Frankly, I did try to help out the issue, and our after-sale are performing our responsibility according to the Policy. If there is any dispute about the policy, I suggested you to have further communication with our after-sale dept. Laserman has been serving laser fanatics with good reputation more than 15 years, and we will continue the service as always. As your issue, If there still anything I can help, I would like to it.
A greeting to you all, Christmas is coming, hope you all would enjoy a happy holiday.