most powerful for ~$35?

[paul1598419]

For $30.00 you can get 6 of these 635nm laser pointers and sell the other 5 for $20.00 each. These are at 2pcs 5mW 635nm 638nm Orange Red Laser Pointer Pen Lazer FDA License Standard | eBay. They are way over spec. and are a nice orange red color, too.

 

[KRNAZNBOY]

IMO you won't have to worry about reflections off of wet objects. By the time the light gets back to you it will be so spread out it will do no harm. A low powered [<30mw] green 532nm laser will suit you just fine.

Hope this helps
-Matt

 

[paul1598419]

I don't know who was concerned about reflected green laser light, but my point was in a green rain forest canopy, the green color is more difficult to see in that environment. A red laser is more conducive to the green forest. "luckycharms" wasn't concerned about seeing the beam. He was more concerned about seeing the spot. The 635nm laser would show up better in a spot than a green one would.

 

[BobDiaz]

Given that the eye has about 1/8 the sensitivity to red as to green, for the same power green would be brighter.

I'll admit that red on green contrasts better the green on green, but the eye is also sensitive to movement. Move a bright green dot around and people will pick it out right away.

 

[Teej]

Given that the eye has about 1/8 the sensitivity to red as to green, for the same power green would be brighter.

I'll admit that red on green contrasts better the green on green, but the eye is also sensitive to movement. Move a bright green dot around and people will pick it out right away.

Well, he said the pointer he had was not able to be seen at the ranges he needed it to reach, and he as trying to get something that could reach the canopy heights. His 5 mw was only observable to 15 meters or less in his environment...which implies that its a visually crowded target area.

As even an el cheapo red pointer from Staples, etc, can make a dot you can often see ~ 50 meters away w/o a problem, 15 meters of useful range tells us that he has a tough target scenario, and needs more visibility than normal to see the dot.

If it were dark enough, sure, any color would stand out as a LIGHT. But, obviously, its daylight, and there's light filtering through the foliage that stops the pupils down, etc....and makes a teeny dot less noticeable.

A teeny dot that's the same color as the background I think would be just adding too much of a challenge.

So, while 532 is a nice color as far as visibility in of itself, and our cones love it best, etc...its just not going to contrast in a green environment with filtered light flickering down from above while shining it up....etc.