First time laser buyer looking for some tips :)

[alazar14]

Hey guys,

First off I gotta say I am very happy I was able to find this website.

I spent the last 3 or so hours reading so many great sticky topics all over the forums about laser safety as well as the many different types of lasers. I never really knew there was so much to know about them!.

In general I am really only looking for a basic laser. My purposes will be day time pointing, Night time pointing at stars etc, as well as maybe some fun party tricks like poping red balloons, and lighting matches & newspaper on the grill etc.

My budget is roughly around $40-$50.

I am not looking for anything to powerful right now, I know lasers can get quite dangerous and powerful. Something around 200mw would be fine.

I am still not fully decided on if I want a Red or Green laser, which ever you guys think would be best for my purposes I would get.

I guess my main reason for coming here is I don't want to end up buying a piece of junk laser. I have seen a lot of $47 hand held pen lasers on amazon that range from 50mw to 200mw for green and people give them very mixed reviews in terms of quality. It seems like you basically need to get "lucky" to get a good one. I would like to avoid that experience if possible.

Thanks and hope I get some good replies.

 

[ferd19]

Welcome! for what you are asking, a 50-75mw laser would probably be the best. 50mw is plenty bright enough to see the beam at night, though i'm a bit confused on what you mean by day time pointing. Do you mean pointing at objects during the day, or viewing the beam in broad day light? If you want to see the beam during the day, no amount of power is going to help unless your indoors. I would recommend green due to the fact that our eyes can pick up that wavelength much better than red. in terms of beam visibility, 200mw of red=approx. 5mw of green. trust me, i have both. btw, if you do buy one, buy some safety glasses, they are a must for indoor use. Try rayfoss or o-like for some good quality budget lasers, very well respected shops here on lpf!
-Fernando

 

[alazar14]

Oh yeah I should have also mentioned that it would be preferable if the Laser used AAA batteries because they are much more easy to come by

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0..._m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=09P9GRX855PD7XMH5MW6

Anyone ever try this one?

 

[Sparkles]

Oh yeah I should have also mentioned that it would be preferable if the Laser used AAA batteries because they are much more easy to come by

Amazon.com: 200 MW GREEN LASER POINTER: Electronics

Anyone ever try this one?

http://laserpointerforums.com/f45/guide-buying-your-first-green-laser-30608.html

What is your budget?
What power are you looking for (burning?)

 

[alazar14]

http://laserpointerforums.com/f45/guide-buying-your-first-green-laser-30608.html

What is your budget?
What power are you looking for (burning?)

I went on many of those sites and I don't think I found the kind of laser I was looking for for my budget.

Budget between $40-$55

Laser color Preferably green, Red would be fine to though as long as it was at least visible beam at night.

Power roughly 200mw or enough to burn matches and pop balloons from a fair distance (roughly at least 50 feet away).

 

[alazar14]

Nvm I actually found this laser after about 2 hours is it a good buy for my purposes?

www.rayfoss.com

 

[anselm]

I don't think I found the kind of laser I was looking for

That doesn't surprise me at all.

Budget between $40-$55
.....Laser color Preferably green...
Power roughly 200mw .

That rayfoss laser's beam will be visible at night, but not very much really.

 

[Ash]

For your price range, you can either get a 200mW red that burns matches and pops balloons: New Style red laser 200mW /adjustable [OLNRL200] - $45.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
but it's beam won't be near as visible as a green, red is harder to see,
or, you could get a green that burns, but it will not be 200mW. This may be the best green you can get for ~$50: 50mW transformable green laser/adjustable/burning [OLV50] - $41.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products

It's only about 50mW of green, but you will (when focused) be able to pop dark balloons and maybe light certain black-tipped matches, but there is no way you are lighting newspaper on fire with it. :undecided:

Caution, with both of these you will need safety glasses so you don't cause permanent injury to your eyes from the laser. When you focus the laser to a fine point for burning, the light-intensity gets very bright and you can damage your vision (permanent blind spots) just by looking at the dot of where you are burning.
Green (+IR) Safety glasses: 405nm,445nm,808nm,1064nm safety goggles/200-450,800-2000nm [OLLS1064] - $45.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
Green only safety glasses: www.rayfoss.com
or
405nm,450nm,473nm,532nm laser safety goggles [OLGLG532] - $19.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
Red protection safety glasses: www.rayfoss.com

Hope this helps

 

[alazar14]

For your price range, you can either get a 200mW red that burns matches and pops balloons: New Style red laser 200mW /adjustable [OLNRL200] - $45.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
but it's beam won't be near as visible as a green, red is harder to see,
or, you could get a green that burns, but it will not be 200mW. This may be the best green you can get for ~$50: 50mW transformable green laser/adjustable/burning [OLV50] - $41.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products

It's only about 50mW of green, but you will (when focused) be able to pop dark balloons and maybe light certain black-tipped matches, but there is no way you are lighting newspaper on fire with it. :undecided:

Caution, with both of these you will need safety glasses so you don't cause permanent injury to your eyes from the laser. When you focus the laser to a fine point for burning, the light-intensity gets very bright and you can damage your vision (permanent blind spots) just by looking at the dot of where you are burning.
Green (+IR) Safety glasses: 405nm,445nm,808nm,1064nm safety goggles/200-450,800-2000nm [OLLS1064] - $45.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
Green only safety glasses: www.rayfoss.com
or
405nm,450nm,473nm,532nm laser safety goggles [OLGLG532] - $19.99 : Welcome to O-Like.com, Your source for laser products
Red protection safety glasses: www.rayfoss.com

Hope this helps

How would I wear protective eye wear if I already have to wear regular prescription glasses just to legally drive lol?

 

[anselm]

There are also available styles of goggles that fit over prescription glasses.

 

[Ash]

How would I wear protective eye wear if I already have to wear regular prescription glasses just to legally drive lol?

How would you have any depth perception with one blind eye? Protect your eyesight at all costs.
The small cost of safety glasses far outweighs the cost of repairing damaged vision. Lasers are definitely not toys, and should never be treated that way. How old are you? :undecided:

These safety glasses are highly recommended, are large enough to fit over many prescription glasses and are affordable:
For Green Laser protection
For Red Laser protection

 

[alazar14]

How would you have any depth perception with one blind eye? Protect your eyesight at all costs.
The small cost of safety glasses far outweighs the cost of repairing damaged vision. Lasers are definitely not toys, and should never be treated that way. How old are you? :undecided:

These safety glasses are highly recommended, are large enough to fit over many prescription glasses and are affordable:
For Green Laser protection
For Red Laser protection

Well yes I did plan to buy safety glasses if I decide to purchase a laser. I'm sorry if I came off as sarcastic. I always take safety seriously when I ride my motorcycle or grill out doors so I will in fact take precautions when it comes to laser use.

Although to be honest I must confess I really don't know at what point a laser is truly dangerous due to the massive amount of contradictory information I have found. Some people claim above 6mw, others I have read say 30+ mw.

First of all I would love to get a good understanding of what is considered dangerous in terms of laser output power. Secondly, I really would like it if you would tell me what kind of laser does not "Burn anything" is not "very dangerous" but still is able to emit a visible green beam and be able to point directly at a star.

Furthermore, Does every observer of the things that I am pointing to require a set of these glasses as well or just the user. Forgive my ignorance on laser hardware and such but I really can't see people buying lasers that claim they are 100mw+ buying a set of protective glasses to use the laser for everyone who views it. that's not to say they don't it just doesn't seem that way. So really I would like to get a good idea of under which circumstances must one use these glasses, and secondly, is there a different in terms of potency and ability to harm your vision if the focus point is lets say 5 feet away, versus 50 feet away. Regardless of distance the glasses are needed to prevent damage?

As for my age? Im a 22 year old Communication student at UCSD. Again I apologize if I seem like a little kid in candy store, I had no idea lasers were considered to be this dangerous. This is also why I am doing my research before I even decide If I am going to buy one or not. Maybe in the end all I need is a solid 30mw or less laser for my purposes of pointing at things very far away.

Lastly I guess I just want to ask for fun and curiosity, what other things do you guys do with lasers? I mean they are used for pointing, light shows, and what else?

 

[Ash]

Well yes I did plan to buy safety glasses if I decide to purchase a laser. I'm sorry if I came off as sarcastic. I always take safety seriously when I ride my motorcycle or grill out doors so I will in fact take precautions when it comes to laser use.

Good. Many people underestimate the serious eye damage these lasers can cause from a simple slip-up or through careless (or complacent) behavior. Don't want you to have false fears either, so I will try to set it as straight as I can.

Although to be honest I must confess I really don't know at what point a laser is truly dangerous due to the massive amount of contradictory information I have found. Some people claim above 6mw, others I have read say 30+ mw.

Both, and it depends on the situation.
A true 5mW red laser is usually safe because if you are accidentally hit in the eye for a split-second, you shouldn't sustain any permanent retinal injuries. If a 30mW beam hits you directly in the eye (without safety glasses on) you can get a retinal burn in less time than it takes your blink reflex to kick in, and you will have a permanent blind-spot (or burn) in that eye. If a reflection off of a mirror from a 5mW bounces back and hits you in the eye, you should be fine (this is why 5mW is the "safe" upper limit). If a reflection off of a mirror with even a 15mW laser hits an unprotected eye, permanent damage may occur. If a 100mW laser (or reflection) hits you in the eye it will surely cause severe damage very fast. This is why it is important to wear safety glasses when using lasers >5mW indoors, as you don't always know if the laserbeam is going to bounce off of something reflective (TV, glassware, window, etc...)

First of all I would love to get a good understanding of what is considered dangerous in terms of laser output power. Secondly, I really would like it if you would tell me what kind of laser does not "Burn anything" is not "very dangerous" but still is able to emit a visible green beam and be able to point directly at a star. :yh:

Anything over 5mW is dangerous, and many of the "5mW" green lasers one purchases over the internet are over-spec. Meaning that they are actually outputting anywhere from 10-50mW of green, and most are not IR-filtered, so there is an (usually) unknown quantity of IR (dangerous Infrared) laser light being emitted along with the visible green.
The beam from a "true" 5mW green laser is actually visible enough to see when pointing at the stars (if there is not too much light-pollution). A laser >30mW will really not burn very much besides a very thin black trash bag, so it's in sone sense "safe", but it will still cause injury if the laser goes directly into ones eye. It is not dangerous to look at a laserbeam (from the side) at all, it is the direct-hits to the eye from a laser that cause injury. :undecided:

Furthermore, Does every observer of the things that I am pointing to require a set of these glasses as well or just the user. Forgive my ignorance on laser hardware and such but I really can't see people buying lasers that claim they are 100mw+ buying a set of protective glasses to use the laser for everyone who views it. that's not to say they don't it just doesn't seem that way. So really I would like to get a good idea of under which circumstances must one use these glasses, and secondly, is there a different in terms of potency and ability to harm your vision if the focus point is lets say 5 feet away, versus 50 feet away. Regardless of distance the glasses are needed to prevent damage?

I think a 30mw laser would be fine for your purposes, as pointing at stars or using it outside will not require safety glasses, so your friends would be able to see the laserbeam pointing at stars without the need for safety glasses.
A 50mW to 100mW laser would also be fine for use outside with others, but if you do get a laser of a higher power, get some safety glasses for yourself so you can safely "use" it indoors or for focused burning.
Even your friends can view a 100mW laserbeam from the side without the need for eye protection, and the solid green beam from a +50mW is very impressive in the night sky. :evil:

This is also why I am doing my research before I even decide If I am going to buy one or not. Maybe in the end all I need is a solid 30mw or less laser for my purposes of pointing at things very far away.

Lastly I guess I just want to ask for fun and curiosity, what other things do you guys do with lasers? I mean they are used for pointing, light shows, and what else?

I think you should start off by getting a 30mW green laser for casual use.
Usually, people are so impressed, that they want to see what a 50mW, 100mW, etc.. laser looks like (and is capable of).
So: What to do with a high-powered laser? Hmm,...
I think I should let others chime-in on this one (if they want). :beer: