Took a 450mW beam shot last night.

Last night on a practice photo shoot I had my 450mW green laser out while messing with my camera. The laser has a lot of saftey features(key, plug, shutter) all of which were open and ready as I was using it. I was outside at night, no need for glasses right?

I needed to change a setting on my camera and instead of pulling the plug or setting the laser down, I was holding the laser between my chest and arm. I THOUGHT I had it pointing down and away, but it was pointed right at my face and sure enough I tripped the switch. The laser was about 7-8" from my eye and I got a hit....THANK GOODNESS I HAD MY EAGLE PAIR GLASSES ON! I avoided a double whammy:
1: I was outside at night, but I still used my glasses
2: I bought a pair of "Eagle Pairs"...no doubt if I had not done that, then I would have been wearing the "Wicked Laser" glasses and I would have took them off to see my camera due to how dark they are.(Maybe not, I'm not even sure if they cover the 532nm wavelength)

I don't think it was a direct eye shot but it was pretty damn close. It also hit me at a low angle so having the proper side-wrap around glasses was lucky.

I learned a pretty good lesson last night. ALWAYS (no matter how little the danger) have your glasses on. Sure its fun to take them off to look at the beam, just be extra cautious when doing so. The only reason I even took them with me was I knew there was achance of a reflected beam shot...never thought I would really need them. I am sure glad they were there and on my face and not in my pocket.

Lesson two: pointers usually don't make a rigid setup, good thing you had your goggles on. Did you test the laser for IR output? The eagle pair goggles have a fake certification, you'd have to be sure at least the OD was right.

Sometimes people chuckle when I mention treating a HPL like a firearm, especially after a close-call-accident you could have suffered from. Good for your glasses and for you for using them - but next time just set the laser down You wouldn't hold a handgun under your arm with the muzzle pointed upwards when re-loading it, the same should be considered with a laser IMO. Thanks for sharing :beer:

The laser has an IR filter on it. I didn't set it down because I just wasn't thinking. Quick f-stop adjustment was all I needed and I tucked the laser under my arm for a few seconds...that small, short, little lack of common sense could have been a major problem in a heartbeat. How easy that happened,... and to think how many people are out there buying these things and just waving them around like a flashlight.

Must be your lucky day! Its a bit of a freak accident, but is also a murphy's law thing - if its going to shine at your head, it'll probably hit you in the eye too.

Lucky guy.....

Btw i love your avatar, i read the thread on how u made it aswell

Completely agree with Danefex, I try to treat my HPL's like a firearm. If they have a safety make sure it's on, always make sure it is unloaded(batteries), never point it at any target I don't intend to shoot, and wear the necesssary protection aka Goggles.