Hello everyone,
I'm an amateur photographer and am starting on a project to design an auto-focus assist lamp. The idea is to put together a device that be effective at aiding the camera to focus in dark conditions and which would also not be blinding and annoying to subjects. One idea was to use a regular flashlight with a near-IR pass filter in front of it. The other is the projection of a laser pattern, which seems very effective.
So, my question to you is which laser pointer I should get. I'd like it to be cheap, preferably small, have the ability to make a grid type of pattern, and most importantly safe to shine into people's faces. Now, I've shallowly researched and found out that in order to be safe for eyes, the laser should be at most class II and have 1mW power output, although i do need some expert advice.
I've never had a laser, so I really don't know what to look for and which dealers are reputable. So any information will be appreciated.
Thank you!
P.S. I didn't talk about the wavelength. It would be great to have something just below 700nm, i.e. on the very edge of visible. The camera's auto-focus sensors are sensitive to IR, but will focus inaccurately with anything too far beyond visible because diffraction is different for longer wavelengths.
I'm an amateur photographer and am starting on a project to design an auto-focus assist lamp. The idea is to put together a device that be effective at aiding the camera to focus in dark conditions and which would also not be blinding and annoying to subjects. One idea was to use a regular flashlight with a near-IR pass filter in front of it. The other is the projection of a laser pattern, which seems very effective.
So, my question to you is which laser pointer I should get. I'd like it to be cheap, preferably small, have the ability to make a grid type of pattern, and most importantly safe to shine into people's faces. Now, I've shallowly researched and found out that in order to be safe for eyes, the laser should be at most class II and have 1mW power output, although i do need some expert advice.
I've never had a laser, so I really don't know what to look for and which dealers are reputable. So any information will be appreciated.
Thank you!
P.S. I didn't talk about the wavelength. It would be great to have something just below 700nm, i.e. on the very edge of visible. The camera's auto-focus sensors are sensitive to IR, but will focus inaccurately with anything too far beyond visible because diffraction is different for longer wavelengths.
