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Help me select a Sanwu Pocket Laser

Sunny17

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Joined
Nov 2, 2018
Messages
32
Points
8
Hey everyone, I'm looking to purchase a Sanwu pocket laser.

I'm not very experienced with laser pointers. I only have a red ~200mw laser 304 and a cheap green ebay laser 303.

I don't know what colour option to pick and I'm not worried about dropping the extra $40 Canadian pesos for something a little more powerful.

I'm think I'm looking for the brightest one available but that 488 cyan looked really good in a review I saw.

Would the brightest be the 800mw 445?

I'm not too set on the burning capability either because I'm not sure if I want something too dangerous, mainly just a very bright one I could use on a night time hike.

Which one would you guys pick?

Thanks for reading!
 





GSS

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Apr 28, 2015
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Brightest would be the 150mw 520nm or the 525nm green. I would think it's also best WL for nighttime hiking as far as signaling.
The 445 800mw blue is alot of power for such a small host and it will get hot quickly, not to forgot to mention it's only running on 1 10440 cell. 800mw of 445 is about the brightness of a 80mw 520..
 

Sunny17

Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2018
Messages
32
Points
8
Thanks for the comparison, I didn't know the difference was that large. Is there a chart somewhere I can refer to for comparing brightness and visibility? Also should I purchase a special cap?
 

Sunny17

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Nov 2, 2018
Messages
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Points
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Look up member "CurtisOliver" and he has it listed at the bottom of his signature.. I can never link it for some reason..
I found it, thanks!

Also for night time pointing, are those lenses more of a gimmick or are they a necessity?
 

GSS

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Not sure what you mean? Every laser diode needs a lens to make a beam or spot or it would just be a huge blob of light without one.
Order it with a G7 lens as it's the best of both worlds as far as beam and spot tightness and power.
 
Joined
Aug 19, 2017
Messages
27
Points
3
You have to be careful using those brightness calculators and what you mean by brighter. When I use my lasers for star pointing those brightness calculators don't say the whole story. Looking at a laser beam pointing into the sky is effected by how the laser is scattered in the atmosphere. This is a much more complicated calculation and includes the rayleigh scattering (higher frequency scatter more). You can not see a beam no matter how powerful if it is not pointed at you unless the beam scatters. I find I hardly see a 200mw red laser beam when I use it for star pointing and the atmosphere is free of moisture, when a 5mw 520nm beam is clearly visible. the calculator would say the opposite. Also how close you are to the beam and if you are looking down the line of sight of the beam make big difference. Those calculators are for seeing the dot reflected back to you in daylight (night vision and day vision differ a little) off a perfectly reflective surface in a vacuum. Also personal eye sight varies a lot. Some see 405nm and 650nm better than others. I find I see 405nm a lot better than 650nm. It can be harder to focus your eyes on higher frequencies like 405nm too.
 
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Sunny17

Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2018
Messages
32
Points
8
Yeah, I'm at a crossroads right now.

The three I have in mind are:

445nm 800mw Blue which looks really bright even in the day time. (video title says 500mw but looks to actually be 800mw when he measured it)

488nm 60mw Cyan which looks absolutely gorgeous (but not all that bright)
I think a better choice would be the 492nm 100mw because the colour is similar but much more powerful.

520nm 150mw Mint Green which the calculator said would be the brightest but in the video doesn't seem as bright as the 445nm 800mw.


I'm leaning towards the 445nm 800mw Blue right now because of how much brighter it looks. I know that the duty cycle of it will be the worst up the bunch.

Such a tough decision :( any input is welcome.
 
Joined
Aug 19, 2017
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3
For night time use, I would go with green since it is bright at lower power so safer. Also, to see the beam at a distance divergence and collimation is important. The divergence of the green diodes can be good at lower powers, which will still appear bright. The blue lasers tend to have higher divergence at higher powers. The blue ray diodes (405nm) can be single mode and have great divergence, but violet is harder to see than blue. A beam expander can help with divergence.
 

Sunny17

Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2018
Messages
32
Points
8
At the beginning of the day I wanted the blue for how powerful it is, then I saw the cyan's nice colour and wanted that. Later I wanted the green because of how bright it is. But then I saw the videos of the blue and green and the blue looks so much brighter/better divergence in the day time and at night.

Which would you guys pick?
 

Sunny17

Member
Joined
Nov 2, 2018
Messages
32
Points
8
Camera is not the same as the human eye and blues appear brighter on camera.
Oh thanks, I didn't know that.

I think I'll stay away from the blue then due to the downsides of higher power (heat and increased danger)
 




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