Brightness 800mw 532nm V 1W 520nm

[Aardvark777]

I was wondering, which beam would be brighter viewed by the eye, 800mW of 532nm or 1W of 520nm? I want to know the most impressive Greenie beam theoretically available.

I've a suspicion it is going to be the 532nm in terms of brightness. HOWEVER... if you were to get 2 of the 1W 520nm diodes and run both overlayed, or maybe knife edged the beams, would the 2W of 520nm look noticeably brighter/more impressive than 800mW of 532nm light?

Would a 10X beam expander be another way of making the beam look more impressive?

I ask as I am curious. I've got a hankering for a Greenie which really is as bright, stunning, and awe inspiring as I can get. Just unsure of what diode(s)/wavelength would be most awe inspiring to see with the eye, and if there would be much of a difference in terms of the end spectacle in using 2 X 520nm 1W diodes over a regular single 800mW 532nm. Perhaps an 800mW 532nm with a 10X beam expander??

Please enlighten me :can:

:thanks:

 

[SteveT]

According to the following link the 520 will be 10% brighter. Relative Laser Beam Brightness Calculator: (532nm 800mw) vs. (520nm 1000mw)

I have a 1.4W 520 and a 600mw 532. Will try and get some side by side beam shots in the next couple of days to aid in comparison.

 

[Aardvark777]

Thank you Steve, that calculator answers of my trivial questions such a brilliant little calculator that is awesome thank you!

 

[GR3EN]

With my 650-700mw~ 532 and 1.3w~ 520nm side by side the 520's beam is brighter. Got a picture with the best representation of the beams I could with my phone (excuse the little bit of a mess and of course goggles were worn (safety always first).

The 520nm is on the right. It is a good bit brighter and drowns out the 532nm pretty well. By itself the 532nm beam is pretty solid. Add the 520nm next to it and you get that.

figure though at 1.3w~ the 520nm is more or less double the power of the 532nm so not a perfect representation by any means. I just couldn't resist a beam shot together. (using a black painted piece of wood for a beam stop)

 

[Aardvark777]

Thank you!!

That is a great comparison shot. I've made my mind up, I'll be going down the 520nm route rather than using a 532nm for my high power Green I think. I prefer the 520nm colour too in all honesty.

Cheers for the photo :beer:

:thanks:

 

[SteveT]

Very slight necropost but here's a shot (left to right) of my WL Evo (100mw+), Jetlasers Equality (600mw) and my custom 520 build (1400mw+)

Not the best pic quality as taken with a mobile phone cam (then further loss via resize app) but hopefully the difference in both wavelength and relative intensity is clear

 

[Aardvark777]

Thank you Steve, that's a great picture. I've got a 300mW 520nm now and it is superb. It dwarfs the 100mW 532nm I've got.

The colour of it is fantastic, I love the 520nm wavelength, the difference is obvious to my eyes. I've been hitting clouds with it for jollies. I need to put up a review of it. It's a Sci Fi lasers one, and the quality of the entire host is excellent, it's beam is constant and stable too. I'll upload beamshots soon. Your 1400mW is amazingly bright. I really want one similar in 520nm. Hopefully getting one soon... money permitting...

 

[SteveT]

Thanks Aardvark...here's another shot at dusk yesterday...

 

[Aardvark777]

Wow it's beautiful, I assume it can hit clouds fairly easily then?!

Should get it parallel with some water and do a long exposure

I observe a halt in the beam and a dot with mine, so I know it hits clouds. I can also focus mine and make the "dot" far wider and then it becomes obvious, you can see the different altitudes of the layer of cloud you hit. I'd love to have a 1400mW greenie :drool:

 

[SteveT]

Wow it's beautiful, I assume it can hit clouds fairly easily then?!

Should get it parallel with some water and do a long exposure

I observe a halt in the beam and a dot with mine, so I know it hits clouds. I can also focus mine and make the "dot" far wider and then it becomes obvious, you can see the different altitudes of the layer of cloud you hit. I'd love to have a 1400mW greenie :drool:

I'd love to get a decent camera and acquire the skill to use it but that's perhaps an even more expensive hobby to pursue Mine will hit a cloud deck easily and like yours can be focused; the multimode diodes such as this and the blue NDB7875 have a high divergence which causes the beam to fan out after a relatively short distance; a beam expander cures this. I am compiling a review of my 520 which I hope to post this eve

 

[Aardvark777]

Ahh excellent! When I get home from work I'll have a look about and see if you've posted it :yh:

 

[joeyss]

Whats the the divergence of these 1 watt diodes? wouldn't a 532 win out distance wise?

speaking of hitting clouds. I did this once in high school when I had a 400mw 532. I put it through my telescope which expandeded it 50 times and aimed it at a snow cloud. I saw it go up like a giant photon cannon and touch the sky. I was able to look at it with 10x binoculars and I saw the huge spot it left on the clouds. I wish i had my tripod and a camera to show you guys.Hitting a cloud of falling snow is amazing.

 

[SteveT]

@ Aardvark- I spent time collating test data and have typed half the review.. Will try to finalise and upload tonight.

@ Joey- Measured divergence with a G2 lens is high @ 2.9 mrad so yes without corrective optics the 532 will visibly hit a more distant target.

 

[hakzaw1]

great thread--nice pics--too bad no cameras ever REALLY do our lasers true justice..


from the OP

-" go figure though at 1.3w~ the 520nm is more or less double the power of the 532nm..."


but you understand that 'double power' does not mean double the perceived 'brightness'.... to double 600 mW 532 you need 2400mW -(X4 not 2)-taking pics thru eyeware for green will show the spot shapes much better too.


OP:"so not a perfect representation by any means. I just couldn't resist a beam shot together. (using a black painted piece of wood for a beam stop)"

OH NO- black WOOD backstop>>
:tsk::tsk:
sounds like a fire hazard-


try bricks or a piece of a cement block -ceramic tiles work fine-
anyway we don't all see the colors the same- and when you compare 520 and 532 there is more to it..also a BE makes the smallest 'sweet' spot FARTHER away=as its now 'fatter' at the front-- in a way it will make the beam look better /brighter etc but that's not always the reason they are gotten.

:wave:




"

 

[Alaskan]

I've been wanting one of those high power 520nm lasers at a watt or more, just the divergence which turns me off to them. For me, lasers are just as much about how far they can place a spot on a cloud than the beauty of the beam, both equally important to me. I've been experimenting with low power single mode laser diodes and finding even at 50-100mw of 520nm, the single mode diodes will put a spot on a very high cloud deck of 7,000 feet (probably higher, just haven't tried) while a multimode 2.4 watt output 445nm laser couldn't do it, just turned into a wide fan of light at the end without any hint of a spot on the cloud and I'm betting a 520nm 1 watt output multimode diode couldn't put a spot on a cloud that high either.

Someone once did a calculation for me here comparing the power at distance between a single mode and a multimode laser and after only a few hundred feet, the low powered single mode had the high power laser beat, it produced far more power in a small area at distance than the multimode could, the ability of a relatively low power single mode laser diode to overtake what a high power multimode diode could produce in a tight spot becoming more pronounced the further it went.

As soon as someone makes a 1 watt output 520nm laser which has a pair of prisms built into a pointer to expand the beam by about 3 to 4X to get its divergence down to what a 532nm DPSS laser normally is, I'm interested in one. I can buy the module with a diode mounted and ready to go from lastertack.com but I want one in a pointer. I probably won't be able to get one like that until I have a host made to hold that kind of module, or have a host made to hold a pair of prisms like that with the 520nm 1 watt diode.

Lasertack module with anamorphic prism pair:

Last photo just shows fat beams can be cool too, this one expanded to about 12 inches diameter through a hand held lens, to be safe have your googles on for this one but then of course, you can't see anything

 

[Podo]

Indeed the divergence of a 1W 520nm is a big turn off with its 9mm diodes divergence characteristic. I love my lasers goes real far away and still being noticeable too. Luckily I had the material to build myself a x3 expander which lowering the divergence of a 1W 520nm and make the beam looks sweet and pretty.

I may able to get in hand another decomposed projector later, let see if I can build another expander with it.