473nm - Minumum mW for Good Beam Visibility at Night without fog?

450 nm is very good at night. any sort of fog or rain even better. I assume 473 beam is almost as good. I can see 10mw indoors in the dark pretty well.

Old thread, I know, but the kind of info being discussed here is going for ongoing discussion. keep in mind that the beam brightness is also a factor of the power density of the beam. meaning a narrower beam of the same power will appear brighter because "more power is packed into a smaller area". so the beam geometry is good to know and usually quoted "at the aperture".

One thing we've all notices is that laser manufacturers are expanding the beam waist to get more power out of the laser without having to go to the expense of creating a smaller waist, lower divergence beam. some of us older guys know that early DPSS lasers had this characteristic. but consumers simply want power, in mw, and the beam geometry be damned.

I'd rather have a lower power thinner less divergent beam, than a more powerful in mw's but larger beam profile.

Gonna confiscate your SpyderIII plexus :beer:


That´s the reason why a SM 150mW 635nm is much more interesting for me than let´s say 1W of MM 635nm.

LOL good one DJNY. that threw me for a loop.

It IS a good laser. also my 473mw labby that has a tighter beam geometry than my argon! i am kind of focused on getting lasers with nice tight narrow beams (pun intended).

You need to get a CNI 589nm then. They have the tightest beam I´ve ever seen from handheld.

I second that, I'm going to make a deal with my local gas station to measure the spot there. It's a good distance away and the spot can't possibly be any bigger than my hand

Remember that a tight beam at aperture means poor divergence. If you want longer range visibility, assuming you have the power, you'll want a beam expander.