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- Apr 1, 2015
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My first review on LPF, so go easy on me :wave:
INTRO
Now as the title says it is possibly a clone. There is a story behind this laser... I picked it up second hand at a carboot sale, without a battery for only £3 EPIC BARGAIN!?!?! It does however have a far brighter, more constant beam than my ebay pen which is around 20mW and is brighter than a genuine 50mW I once owned which has since died.
I've got a few night time beamshots taken at varying exposures on my Nikon D90, so I'll pop them into the review as eye candy at various points
THE HOST AND IT'S POTENTIAL ORIGIN
Here is a picture of it next to my Spartan.
It is about 11cm long, and made of aluminum. The laser weighs in without battery, at exactly 65g. It possess a simple matte black finish. The standard warning sticker reads "Tesoar". I'm clueless as to who or what "Teasoar" is. :can: enlighten me please as it may be a clue to it's origin? I've used a laundry marker to write plus on the tailcap to remind me of it's polarity (Please excuse my scrawl in the picture).
It strikes me as having the same host as the LZMN, which is odd as I am located in England, UK. HOWEVER the chequering on the focus wheel and the sticker are different to those found on the LZMN. I've also heard reports that the LZMN doesn't focus despite being advertised as "focusable".
I have no idea how the gent selling it came by it, or how long he had previously had it. It was obviously very near new, with no scratches, and the sticker still attached. My suspicion is that it may well be a cheap Chinese laser from ebay. Either way he only asked for £5, which I bashed down to £3 in my typical mercenary fashion. For what looked like a new laser which I was assured worked, I simply had to grab it.
PERFORMANCE
I got it home, grabbed a charged up 16340 and slapped it in, and let rip. Nothing. I had the wrong polarity. I soon discovered that the positive end goes toward the tailcap on this laser. I popped on a pair of safety glasses shortly after firing it up for the first time as immediately I realised it was fairly powerful. This mysterious laser lights matches from a few inches away and cuts through black polythene very easily. It has adjustable focus, via a threaded wheel near the front of the host, it can be tightly focused, or shone akin to a Green flashlight of sorts.
This burning ability leads me to believe it would be sold as a 100mW model. Here it is zapping away at a garden shed.
The dot appears well collimated, round and far tighter than that of a 445/447nm. Compared to my cheap 20mW 532nm pen it boasts a tighter, brighter dot. Divergence I've no idea of, as I'm still new to the hobby, and honestly I'm unsure of how exactly I calculate it. Feel free to educate me! Knowledge is power :eg:
At night it really comes into it's own. Here it is sat on a mini tripod.
The beam is prominent and far reaching. I've noticed that when the host's temperature drops it comes on at full strength, then almost instantly drops to a dimmer, less vibrant version of itself. This is rectified when you warm it back up by sticking it in your pocket to absorb the warmth of your crotch for a few minutes :crackup: I'm told that DPSS lasers are affected by temperature and this is normal, so hey ho. Warm up time on this model is around 5 to 10 seconds. Last night I was stood outside for 2 hours with it at 6 degrees C and it managed to work entirely as expected.
During daytime the beam is faintly visible and the dot is clearly spotted impacting targets, even out to 600 metres. The tailcap is the standard push button affair, identical to the LZMN tailcap.
SUMMING UP
Overall I am very happy I grabbed this gem!! It's capable of burning, it doesn't have an IR filter, and isn't the highest quality. It certainly warrants eye protection, and boasts a wonderful beam provided it is kept at a sensible operating temperature. It's heat sinking must be alright as it can endure a minute on and minute off duty cycle without feeling warm to the touch. It's focusable too! Undoubtedly the best purchase I've made so far at a carboot sale.
Here is exactly how it looks to me when I'm stood next to it.
Beam unfocused, camera's lens focused on the foreground as the beam zaps off into the night.
Thank you for reading my first ever LPF review, I wish I could narrow down exactly what make it was, but it's enjoyable, and that's the main thing. Hopefully one of you owns a genuine LZMN and can confirm whether or not it is the real thing. Thank you again everyone :thanks:
INTRO
Now as the title says it is possibly a clone. There is a story behind this laser... I picked it up second hand at a carboot sale, without a battery for only £3 EPIC BARGAIN!?!?! It does however have a far brighter, more constant beam than my ebay pen which is around 20mW and is brighter than a genuine 50mW I once owned which has since died.
I've got a few night time beamshots taken at varying exposures on my Nikon D90, so I'll pop them into the review as eye candy at various points
THE HOST AND IT'S POTENTIAL ORIGIN
Here is a picture of it next to my Spartan.
It is about 11cm long, and made of aluminum. The laser weighs in without battery, at exactly 65g. It possess a simple matte black finish. The standard warning sticker reads "Tesoar". I'm clueless as to who or what "Teasoar" is. :can: enlighten me please as it may be a clue to it's origin? I've used a laundry marker to write plus on the tailcap to remind me of it's polarity (Please excuse my scrawl in the picture).
It strikes me as having the same host as the LZMN, which is odd as I am located in England, UK. HOWEVER the chequering on the focus wheel and the sticker are different to those found on the LZMN. I've also heard reports that the LZMN doesn't focus despite being advertised as "focusable".
I have no idea how the gent selling it came by it, or how long he had previously had it. It was obviously very near new, with no scratches, and the sticker still attached. My suspicion is that it may well be a cheap Chinese laser from ebay. Either way he only asked for £5, which I bashed down to £3 in my typical mercenary fashion. For what looked like a new laser which I was assured worked, I simply had to grab it.
PERFORMANCE
I got it home, grabbed a charged up 16340 and slapped it in, and let rip. Nothing. I had the wrong polarity. I soon discovered that the positive end goes toward the tailcap on this laser. I popped on a pair of safety glasses shortly after firing it up for the first time as immediately I realised it was fairly powerful. This mysterious laser lights matches from a few inches away and cuts through black polythene very easily. It has adjustable focus, via a threaded wheel near the front of the host, it can be tightly focused, or shone akin to a Green flashlight of sorts.
This burning ability leads me to believe it would be sold as a 100mW model. Here it is zapping away at a garden shed.
The dot appears well collimated, round and far tighter than that of a 445/447nm. Compared to my cheap 20mW 532nm pen it boasts a tighter, brighter dot. Divergence I've no idea of, as I'm still new to the hobby, and honestly I'm unsure of how exactly I calculate it. Feel free to educate me! Knowledge is power :eg:
At night it really comes into it's own. Here it is sat on a mini tripod.
The beam is prominent and far reaching. I've noticed that when the host's temperature drops it comes on at full strength, then almost instantly drops to a dimmer, less vibrant version of itself. This is rectified when you warm it back up by sticking it in your pocket to absorb the warmth of your crotch for a few minutes :crackup: I'm told that DPSS lasers are affected by temperature and this is normal, so hey ho. Warm up time on this model is around 5 to 10 seconds. Last night I was stood outside for 2 hours with it at 6 degrees C and it managed to work entirely as expected.
During daytime the beam is faintly visible and the dot is clearly spotted impacting targets, even out to 600 metres. The tailcap is the standard push button affair, identical to the LZMN tailcap.
SUMMING UP
Overall I am very happy I grabbed this gem!! It's capable of burning, it doesn't have an IR filter, and isn't the highest quality. It certainly warrants eye protection, and boasts a wonderful beam provided it is kept at a sensible operating temperature. It's heat sinking must be alright as it can endure a minute on and minute off duty cycle without feeling warm to the touch. It's focusable too! Undoubtedly the best purchase I've made so far at a carboot sale.
Here is exactly how it looks to me when I'm stood next to it.
Beam unfocused, camera's lens focused on the foreground as the beam zaps off into the night.
Thank you for reading my first ever LPF review, I wish I could narrow down exactly what make it was, but it's enjoyable, and that's the main thing. Hopefully one of you owns a genuine LZMN and can confirm whether or not it is the real thing. Thank you again everyone :thanks: