Real Time Company Comparison

[brucemir]

The time has come for me to purchase some new lasers! I have not purchased any since 2015 as all of the ones I have, pretty much two or more of each frequency, have suited my needs. I have been lucky over the years as most of my lasers are used for a few hours a week, every week and still work fine. About 6 months ago one of my 473nms died and I did not replace it. Last week one of my 589nms bit the dust after hundreds of hours of use (the weaker of my two 589s). I knew this day would come and I have saved a good amount of money in a "laser" fund. So I went on a shopping spree and purchased lasers from Dragon Lasers, Laserbtb, and Jetlasers. Since I placed orders with all three companies within 4 days it gives a good chance for a real time comparison of the three companies. Also to consider, this was done at the very end of the Chinese New Year so that is why slower email response from Dragonlasers and Laserbtb, though not Jetlasers. I will update this thread as I get more info for each order.

Jetlasers -
On Feb.11 I ordered a PL-E Pro 473nm 100mw. I did not receive the link to pay thru PayPal. Within 6 hours I received an email from them asking if I got the link to pay. I let them know I didn't. They resent it and it was paid and I received payment confirmation. The order is still in "Payment Accepted" status on 2/16. I also wanted to change the ship to address to my work so someone here could sign for it (DHL). Gray got back to me saying he changed the address and my laser would ship very soon. In the past I have made only one purchase with Jetlasers and that went flawlessly. I have no reason to doubt this order will also get to me with minimal problems. I hope to have the laser in 7-14 days.
So far so good......



Order status changed to "shipped" 2/19 DHL. The order was actually picked up on 2/24 and I got my tracking # that day. On 2/25 package is in NYC gateway. Out for delivery 2/27. When I left work at 2:30PM the laser had not been delivered yet. The laser was delivered on Feb.28.

Dragonlasers -
On Feb.11 I sent Dragonlasers an email to let me know if they had fan diffraction gratings in stock before I ordered a Spartan 589nm 50mw. No response. I resent the email again, no response. I did not want to delay my ordering of the 589, nor did I want to order the gratings ,and if out of stock have my whole order held up. So I ordered the laser without the gratings on Feb. 13 using PayPal. I received an email from Adam the following day and he apologized citing the New Years break. He told me he would give me the two diffraction gratings as a gift. In the past I have ordered many lasers from DL and the thumbnail they use on their webpage for 589 lasers in my shot, plus they have other photos of mine posted, so I was very happy about the gift. On Feb.15 the order shipped and I received my tracking #. It is going Chinese mail so I am hoping to have it in 2-4 weeks. I also got a 29.64 discount for being Gold status.
So far so good..........

The order was shipped on 2/15 and I received the 589 and free gratings on 2/21. 6 Days, not bad. Fastest time I have ever had getting a laser from Dragon Lasers


Laserbtb - I emailed them on Feb.12 to confirm they take PayPal as it wasn't listed in their payment options. I have ordered many lasers from them in the past and know they accepted PayPal. I sent them an email and they got back to me two days later (Chinese New Year) and sent me their PayPal link. I sent the funds and the lasers are in "Production" status and told to give them 3 or 4 days for production. From them I ordered a Diving 450nm 100mw, HL650 200mw, a 450nm 80mw pointer and two of the pointer tripods (I need the clamps from them). They will be shipped DHL so I hope to have then in 7 to 14 days.
So far so good......

2/21 - was told the mini tripods are out of stock and I will receive a credit for them. Order status still in production. Got an email from Kevin on 2/22 letting me know the two small tripods were out of stock and he would refund my Paypal, The money was in my account the following day.Hope to see status change soon.

2/27 - Status hasn't changed and I have not received my tracking #, but DHL delivered my package today and all three lasers work as expected. Even though I received the lasers a few days ago, the status is "in production"


I will add to this thread as I get more info.

 

[BowtieGuy]

Sorry to hear of the death of your lasers, Bruce, they have lived a good life, and contributed immensely to the art of laser photography. This company comparison will be very interesting, I hope all goes well with all three companies.
These three Chinese companies seem to have withstood the test of time, and all have a decent record of good products and customer service.
I own one or more lasers from all of them, and have no complaints with any of them.

 

[brucemir]

Hey Bowtieguy,
The only company I have not done a lot of business with is Jetlasers. I did order a beam expander from them a few years ago and all went well. Plus all of the positive feedback I have read about them and Gray made it a non issue whether I should order from them.
As for Dragon Lasers and Laserbtb, over the years LPF members have had their ups and downs with them. I kind of laugh at all of that as both companies have been very good to me. I have 16 lasers from Laserbtb and they are workhorses as proved by their longevity. And DL has always treated me good and getting the free gratings (only 25 dollars) was a very nice gesture. I had a minor issue with them when I got the very first 589 50mw a few years ago when it was purchased as a 30mw. With the cost they overbilled me and when I sent them an email about it gave my a credit for the amount in question. That is all documented in my review from a few years ago in the Review section on that laser

 

[diachi]

Good idea to do a sort of ongoing review of three companies! Looking forward to more. Sorry to hear about your lasers dying though. It's likely possible they could be repaired if someone is interested in taking on the task. Wouldn't be surprised if it was just the LD that died...

 

[brucemir]

Hi Diachi,
On the 589 I am pretty sure it can be made to work again. What happened with that one was the tail cap got stuck to where I needed two sets of pliers to get it off. I put some nice 1/16 or so divers in the cap and case. The problem was when the battery came out so did the little circuit board the had the negative battery terminal. I did not see how it would attach to make contact and so it is. I would think if that part can be put back in correctly it may work again.

The 473nm 100mw (made by Issac T) just stopped working. It was being used and just died out without any notice and has never worked again. I used the hell out of these lasers week after week and certainly got my moneys worth. The host on this one is beautiful and I am sure could be used for another laser.

 

[paul1598419]

Bruce, I have enjoyed your photos for some time now and I'm happy you were able to just order so many prefab lasers all at once. I also feel that the dead lasers could be repaired and hope you will think about that for future projects. For now may they RIP.

 

[Sta]

Hi Diachi,
On the 589 I am pretty sure it can be made to work again. What happened with that one was the tail cap got stuck to where I needed two sets of pliers to get it off. I put some nice 1/16 or so divers in the cap and case. The problem was when the battery came out so did the little circuit board the had the negative battery terminal. I did not see how it would attach to make contact and so it is. I would think if that part can be put back in correctly it may work again.

The 473nm 100mw (made by Issac T) just stopped working. It was being used and just died out without any notice and has never worked again. I used the hell out of these lasers week after week and certainly got my moneys worth. The host on this one is beautiful and I am sure could be used for another laser.

You might want to contact Ultimatekaiser about the 589 not working - he's the expert at fixing CNI products!

 

[diachi]

You might want to contact Ultimatekaiser about the 589 not working - he's the expert at fixing CNI products!

Could probably manage the 473nm too, construction should be fairly similar for the module. It'll be less picky about alignment and such than the 589 too.

 

[brucemir]

I will have to contact him. You never know. Thanks guys!