this laser is a 30mW green, sent to me for evaluation and review by optotronics, who are *considering* selling them. the laser arrived, packaged nicely, bubblewrapped and in a nice simple black cardboard box with a magnetic latch. being cardboard, i'm not sure how well the box will last over time, but it seems strong enough and i almost never use the boxes lasers come in anyway. the instructions that come with it aren't too badly written, certainly not the terrible engrish that comes with a lot of things, though they're a bit unclear in places - for example, "Unscrew the end cap, insert batteries with positive end upward" makes no sense as which direction on a laser pointer is up, exactly? but, negative end towards the spring seems to work, which would make "upward" (or positive) be the end that doesn't emit light, same as every other green laser i've seen. i guess they expect people to point lasers at the floor 
according to the instructions, the warranty is only 30 days, but optotronics may give their own longer warranty on these, i'm not sure. i hope they do!
as for the laser itself - it seems to be a standard new wish type laser. this is the first one of these i've ever had, and i really like the style of it. the rubbery black coating feels nice in my hand, the laser weighs a little more than a CNI, and while unscrewing it in the middle to insert batteries is a bit strange at first, it's a lot less fiddly than a tiny end cap can be. almost certainly harder to lose, too! the button feels a tiny bit loose and wobbley, but it has a nice sturdy click when pressed, nicer than the slightly spongey feel of a CNI's button. the laser is about 10-15mm longer than a CNI, the only problem i have with this is that it won't fit into a dragon case, but oh well, not the end of the world! i like the silver and black colouring, looks a lot better real life than pics of these i've seen, and i guess the dimpley things near the emitter end are aesthetically nice, it was a bit odd that the sticker was on the wrong end of the laser, though i'm not really one to care too much about how a laser looks. performance is much more important
when used, the laser has a nice bright green dot, and usually a fairly easily visible beam (easy to spot at night, fainter and harder to see in the daytime but still there). i haven't got stuff to measure divergence with, but pointing it at far off objects it looked lower than a CNI but higher than a WL executive. with my shaky hands, it's not really a burner at all... it can burn thin dark plastic with a focusing lense, but not unaided. matches, even sharpied and using a lense, just will not light (i've heard of people managing to light a sharpied match with a 30mW with a lense, but again, my hands are pretty shaky so it's not something i can manage). i also tried popping black balloons, at two feet, one foot, and six inches, the laser would distort the balloon's surface slightly but not pop it. when i used a focusing lense though, it took about 5-10 seconds. even pointing the laser at sharpied skin, it felt kinda warm but never too hot or burny. but this is only 30mW, so i never expected it to be a burner! i've had no problems using it when room temperature was really cold, or really warm.
overall, i really like this laser a lot. it feels good to hold, it looks good, it makes a nice bright dot and beam, it's not picky about operating temperature, and it's nice to have a decent, reliable mid-range green laser. i've had no issues with it, no mode hopping, a nice stable brightness, and after playing with it a lot the past couple days the batteries still seem pretty much fully charged (i have some of those alkalines with the power meter thingy appearing on the side when you press in two spots on the battery). i have heard that these emit proportionately high IR, 10%ish rather than the usual 1%ish, but 10% of 30mW is still only 3mW of (unfocused, diffused) IR, so that amount doesn't worry me at all. i am posting this laser to Merl, to get proper readings on the power levels (both green and IR), so we'll have some more precise specs in a few days or so! as it is, my personal opinion is that optotronics should sell these lasers, even if they do output a few mW of IR
according to the instructions, the warranty is only 30 days, but optotronics may give their own longer warranty on these, i'm not sure. i hope they do!as for the laser itself - it seems to be a standard new wish type laser. this is the first one of these i've ever had, and i really like the style of it. the rubbery black coating feels nice in my hand, the laser weighs a little more than a CNI, and while unscrewing it in the middle to insert batteries is a bit strange at first, it's a lot less fiddly than a tiny end cap can be. almost certainly harder to lose, too! the button feels a tiny bit loose and wobbley, but it has a nice sturdy click when pressed, nicer than the slightly spongey feel of a CNI's button. the laser is about 10-15mm longer than a CNI, the only problem i have with this is that it won't fit into a dragon case, but oh well, not the end of the world! i like the silver and black colouring, looks a lot better real life than pics of these i've seen, and i guess the dimpley things near the emitter end are aesthetically nice, it was a bit odd that the sticker was on the wrong end of the laser, though i'm not really one to care too much about how a laser looks. performance is much more important
when used, the laser has a nice bright green dot, and usually a fairly easily visible beam (easy to spot at night, fainter and harder to see in the daytime but still there). i haven't got stuff to measure divergence with, but pointing it at far off objects it looked lower than a CNI but higher than a WL executive. with my shaky hands, it's not really a burner at all... it can burn thin dark plastic with a focusing lense, but not unaided. matches, even sharpied and using a lense, just will not light (i've heard of people managing to light a sharpied match with a 30mW with a lense, but again, my hands are pretty shaky so it's not something i can manage). i also tried popping black balloons, at two feet, one foot, and six inches, the laser would distort the balloon's surface slightly but not pop it. when i used a focusing lense though, it took about 5-10 seconds. even pointing the laser at sharpied skin, it felt kinda warm but never too hot or burny. but this is only 30mW, so i never expected it to be a burner! i've had no problems using it when room temperature was really cold, or really warm.
overall, i really like this laser a lot. it feels good to hold, it looks good, it makes a nice bright dot and beam, it's not picky about operating temperature, and it's nice to have a decent, reliable mid-range green laser. i've had no issues with it, no mode hopping, a nice stable brightness, and after playing with it a lot the past couple days the batteries still seem pretty much fully charged (i have some of those alkalines with the power meter thingy appearing on the side when you press in two spots on the battery). i have heard that these emit proportionately high IR, 10%ish rather than the usual 1%ish, but 10% of 30mW is still only 3mW of (unfocused, diffused) IR, so that amount doesn't worry me at all. i am posting this laser to Merl, to get proper readings on the power levels (both green and IR), so we'll have some more precise specs in a few days or so! as it is, my personal opinion is that optotronics should sell these lasers, even if they do output a few mW of IR
here is a pic of the laser itself, in one piece and unscrewed:
this is the beam, outside at night:
a comparison shot, 5mW green leadlight on the left, the 30mW green in the middle, 90mW nova X-85 on the right:
this is the beam, outside at night:
a comparison shot, 5mW green leadlight on the left, the 30mW green in the middle, 90mW nova X-85 on the right:
