Yes the 5X units are pretty and they accept our wide MM blue beams, great deal for the price.
I just got tracking on Saturday but as I paid for the fast shipping it arrived today, the cost difference was like 16 dollars vs. 39 dollars on a 170 dollar order so why not.
The 5X is really suited to longer range and makes a really tight spot on my 532nm at long range as does the 3.3X but the 5X is maybe a little tighter, but it will work up close too, you just have to run it out a bit.
Here's two of my nubm44 builds with 6X c-lenses and a 3.3X vs. 5X beam expander, both produce an open flame kernel on my wood backstop which they were digging through, when focused, but the 5X really want's to do work further out, I should do a test at 75 feet later where I'm sure the 5X will make a tighter spot.
This was just a quick sloppy test at 15 feet.
p.s. Turn your volume up and listen for the " pop " when the stick lights, I love that pop.
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The design appears to be different from the pictures on their site, preproduction units perhaps? I'm glad they look like they are working well, I'll have to pick up one of these for myself.
Yes I see the
Sanwu advertisement doesn't show the engraving or lens caps in their image, but they have " stone washed " and "stone washed housing " as menu items when you choose 3X or 5X..... interesting, I may have received some of their prototypes or 1st run, if so I will compare the next rendition to check/compare the optics.
EDIT: Looking at the beams at night the 5X makes wings with the 450nm beams when attempting to get a tight spot, which I actually noticed in the daylight too, they are just more profound at night, the 3.3X seems to make a cleaner spot/bar. I still need to measure the spot at distance.
The objective/output lens should be a long FL with thick edges, but I think they may have used a lens with thin edges which imparts more curve at the edges and produces wings, this has been my experience with makeshift expanders, that and edge clipping which could also be an issue, what this means with the 5X is that you can get a little bit tighter spot, but it's more messy as that spot is in a wash of wings.