Hi there,
A couple of days ago I joined the group and introduced myself. Yesterday I posted the below in the Multimedia Forum. I have received some good recommendations so thanks guys for those. I was wondering if anyone else had any opinions of the lasers recommended, or some other suggestions? Due to the fact that there is a time constraint on my project, I really need to decide on a laser fast. I apologise if this is breaking any rules posting in two forums...couldn't find anything in the etiquette sticky on this.
Recommended lasers so far: (I am really after a green so are focusing on these at the moment)
1. Jetlasers 150mw 520nm (green) direct diode laser, possibly with their beam expander
2. Laserbtb PL 532nm 200mw (FDA) (I was told Laserbtb did some good lasers and found these myself. So these 2 are not a direct recommendation)
3. Laserbtb HL 520nm 120mw (FDA) laser diode
4. O-like High Power 100mW Green laser wand /Wide beam/focuasable (cheap option)
Summary: I think the key qualities I need the laser to have is the wider beam diameter of say 3-6mm. If this was adjustable that would be great! I also need the laser to operate outside in temperatues as low as 0 degrees Celcius for around 4-8 minutes. It can then be shut off and cool down for 4-8 minutes.
"For those of you who missed the introduction, 'Hello' from the UK. Just so you know, I have read most of (I hope) the stickies and beginners advice to try and get up to speed with laser safety, physics etc. As I am new to all this I am sure there are gaps in my knowledge and I hope I won't upset any of you regular posters.
I am a photographer wanting to use lasers for a new, personal, photography art project. I have already done a controlled test at night using moonlight to illuminate the landscape. This was done in a remote location with what I suspect was a Firedragon II, 532nm Green, 200-400mW? laser. The results were amazing and I am looking to push the project further. Safety is paramount and I was very careful wearing safety glasses, ensuring laser beams were always terminated and never pointed at aircraft, people etc. I also informed the local Police station of my activities.
I am about to ask a bunch of questions and I hope this is OK. There doesn't seem any point in beating around the bush as I feel you need the full details of what I am trying to do - to be able to offer advice. Hopefully this won't upset anyone on the forum or be conceived as inappropriate.
So...I was hoping you could help me find the best lasers to continue the project.
Budget: I was hoping to pay around £100-150.00 pounds sterling per laser, including shipping and any optical devices to help with beam diameter/divergence.
Output power: The Firedragon I used last week was loaned and I really need 2 lasers of the same strength to photograph beside each other. As suggested, the lasers power was suspected at being 200-400mW. I don't think I need this much power and could probably halve the output power. This is a little difficult when I don't actually know what it was. Is there anyway of identifying the different output powers of these Firedragon lasers?
Beam Diameter/Divergence: I am looking for a laser with a large beam diameter of between 3-4mm. Whether this is achieved by the laser itself or with a focusing device/beam expander (like dragon lasers that doubles the beam diameter) I am not sure. I also require the laser to have a very low/tight beam divergence, or I guess a way of controlling this with a lens like DL's beam expander. What my photography tests showed was when you point the beam over a large distance the beam naturally expands in the distance creating the opposite effect of perspective. Ideally I would want the beams diameter to be at its widest close to me and narrowing as it got further away so it made sense visually and matched perspective in the landscape. Is this possible?
Operating Temperature: The Firedragon seemed to perform very well in very cold/freezing conditions. There was actually frost on my bags during the shoot. I would need another laser that was capable of achieving this ie being switched on at 0 degrees Celcius (maybe even up to -5 degrees Celcius) without it damaging the laser/diodes. Or, if this is inadvisable, a recommendation on the sturdiest laser and a solution ie keeping lasers in pockets until they are ready to turn on/battery operated warmers perhaps? I guess in summer I would need the opposite qualities, something that cooled quickly and was able to be turned back on when I was ready to shoot again.
Duty Cycle: Ideally i would really like to be able to turn this laser on and off when I like it. I don't really want to be restricted by operating times. In saying that, if this means that the laser is prohibitively expensive then I will probably make the compromise. What I do have in my favour is the fact that these photo's require very long exposure times of 4-10 minutes. The camera I am using then takes the same amount of time to produce what they call a black frame to reduce noise. So in effect, the laser will need to be on for approx 4-10 minutes, then can be off for the same amount of time for this process to take place.
I hope that covers everything. Any questions please fell free to ask. All I would ask is that you don't share my picture (if the link has worked) as this is just a test and I would rather keep it to the forum.
Thanks in advance for any assistance that you can give me.
Cheers, Mark"
http://www.markkingphotography.com
A couple of days ago I joined the group and introduced myself. Yesterday I posted the below in the Multimedia Forum. I have received some good recommendations so thanks guys for those. I was wondering if anyone else had any opinions of the lasers recommended, or some other suggestions? Due to the fact that there is a time constraint on my project, I really need to decide on a laser fast. I apologise if this is breaking any rules posting in two forums...couldn't find anything in the etiquette sticky on this.
Recommended lasers so far: (I am really after a green so are focusing on these at the moment)
1. Jetlasers 150mw 520nm (green) direct diode laser, possibly with their beam expander
2. Laserbtb PL 532nm 200mw (FDA) (I was told Laserbtb did some good lasers and found these myself. So these 2 are not a direct recommendation)
3. Laserbtb HL 520nm 120mw (FDA) laser diode
4. O-like High Power 100mW Green laser wand /Wide beam/focuasable (cheap option)
Summary: I think the key qualities I need the laser to have is the wider beam diameter of say 3-6mm. If this was adjustable that would be great! I also need the laser to operate outside in temperatues as low as 0 degrees Celcius for around 4-8 minutes. It can then be shut off and cool down for 4-8 minutes.
"For those of you who missed the introduction, 'Hello' from the UK. Just so you know, I have read most of (I hope) the stickies and beginners advice to try and get up to speed with laser safety, physics etc. As I am new to all this I am sure there are gaps in my knowledge and I hope I won't upset any of you regular posters.
I am a photographer wanting to use lasers for a new, personal, photography art project. I have already done a controlled test at night using moonlight to illuminate the landscape. This was done in a remote location with what I suspect was a Firedragon II, 532nm Green, 200-400mW? laser. The results were amazing and I am looking to push the project further. Safety is paramount and I was very careful wearing safety glasses, ensuring laser beams were always terminated and never pointed at aircraft, people etc. I also informed the local Police station of my activities.
I am about to ask a bunch of questions and I hope this is OK. There doesn't seem any point in beating around the bush as I feel you need the full details of what I am trying to do - to be able to offer advice. Hopefully this won't upset anyone on the forum or be conceived as inappropriate.
So...I was hoping you could help me find the best lasers to continue the project.
Budget: I was hoping to pay around £100-150.00 pounds sterling per laser, including shipping and any optical devices to help with beam diameter/divergence.
Output power: The Firedragon I used last week was loaned and I really need 2 lasers of the same strength to photograph beside each other. As suggested, the lasers power was suspected at being 200-400mW. I don't think I need this much power and could probably halve the output power. This is a little difficult when I don't actually know what it was. Is there anyway of identifying the different output powers of these Firedragon lasers?
Beam Diameter/Divergence: I am looking for a laser with a large beam diameter of between 3-4mm. Whether this is achieved by the laser itself or with a focusing device/beam expander (like dragon lasers that doubles the beam diameter) I am not sure. I also require the laser to have a very low/tight beam divergence, or I guess a way of controlling this with a lens like DL's beam expander. What my photography tests showed was when you point the beam over a large distance the beam naturally expands in the distance creating the opposite effect of perspective. Ideally I would want the beams diameter to be at its widest close to me and narrowing as it got further away so it made sense visually and matched perspective in the landscape. Is this possible?
Operating Temperature: The Firedragon seemed to perform very well in very cold/freezing conditions. There was actually frost on my bags during the shoot. I would need another laser that was capable of achieving this ie being switched on at 0 degrees Celcius (maybe even up to -5 degrees Celcius) without it damaging the laser/diodes. Or, if this is inadvisable, a recommendation on the sturdiest laser and a solution ie keeping lasers in pockets until they are ready to turn on/battery operated warmers perhaps? I guess in summer I would need the opposite qualities, something that cooled quickly and was able to be turned back on when I was ready to shoot again.
Duty Cycle: Ideally i would really like to be able to turn this laser on and off when I like it. I don't really want to be restricted by operating times. In saying that, if this means that the laser is prohibitively expensive then I will probably make the compromise. What I do have in my favour is the fact that these photo's require very long exposure times of 4-10 minutes. The camera I am using then takes the same amount of time to produce what they call a black frame to reduce noise. So in effect, the laser will need to be on for approx 4-10 minutes, then can be off for the same amount of time for this process to take place.
I hope that covers everything. Any questions please fell free to ask. All I would ask is that you don't share my picture (if the link has worked) as this is just a test and I would rather keep it to the forum.
Thanks in advance for any assistance that you can give me.
Cheers, Mark"
http://www.markkingphotography.com
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