Suggestion for good first laser

[Positron1234]

Hi,

I recently grew an interest for lasers and am now willing to put down around $50 for my first one. I was wondering if anyone can suggest good trustworthy sellers. (that being said I will also look at local astronomy stores but I doubt they have anything over 5mw and they will probably be expensive)


I'm looking for something that can't burn unless another lens is added (magnifying glass), and I want the beam to be clearly visible in a normally lit office building, so I'm guessing that will be 20-50mw. Hopefully something green and under 50 bucks. I also need delivery under a week (will orde later today if nothing good shows up at the astronomy store). Looking around these forums, it seems that delivery for these things take a long time.

Also safety locks on the device itself would be nice, and the seller should have good control on the spec (I don't want to damage eyes by reflection, or cause skin cancer), and aesthetics wise, it should be bigger then just a pen. (portable handheld vs laser pointer)

thanks for any replies

 

[WhyHaveALife]

Well if you want a bright beam for cheap, go for 532nm (green) for starters.

If you want something that can't burn you need under 100mW or so, but I think a 50mW focusable can burn. Not too sure on the exact numbers.

No laser that can't burn and is under $50 will have a visible beam when used in a well lighted room. You just need more power for a visible beam. And to be honest you don't need too much safety features if it is under 100mW. Just be careful and take out the batteries when not in use. Most lasers that you get that are listed at like 50mW or above are either at spec or under spec. I'm not too experienced but I believe most overspec lasers are listed at 5mW but are really 50mW... And few sites will deliver in under a week...

Hopefully this gives you some ideas.

 

[jimdt7]

Check out Maintenance
Their lasers are most times overspec

Jim

 

[RyanElectro]

I think you'll be interested in these pen lasers:

For $25 you get the 3 basic colours, which is totally awesome. A member recently reviewed these pens and found their power levels to be about 10x greater (around ~80mW), so caution must be taken and laser safety glasses should be used when using them around the house. Otherwise, considering their from amazon and shipping is free & quick, these pens are a freaking steal.

Ryan

 

[Positron1234]

Those laser pens don't ship to Canada unfortunately...

I don't know about lazerer's delivery time (plus they claim to be shutting down their website for 2 days, so that's more lost time)

I think under 100mW will be fine, I think that anything less than "reflected rays will hurt eyes" will be fine.

For the beam, I think at this point any beam outside will be fine.

Bummer about the pens from amazon though...

How long does companies like rayfoss and O-Like take to deliver? (this is probably the longest I'll stay in this spot for a while)
I just read a bit more on their websites, are they trustworthy? It seems they have a lot of broken English.

 

[LightBeamConcentrate]

Those laser pens don't ship to Canada unfortunately...

I don't know about lazerer's delivery time (plus they claim to be shutting down their website for 2 days, so that's more lost time)

I think under 100mW will be fine, I think that anything less than "reflected rays will hurt eyes" will be fine.

For the beam, I think at this point any beam outside will be fine.

Bummer about the pens from amazon though...

How long does companies like rayfoss and O-Like take to deliver? (this is probably the longest I'll stay in this spot for a while)
I just read a bit more on their websites, are they trustworthy? It seems they have a lot of broken English.

I ordered a 100mW red laser from Olike last weekend and honestly I dont expect it to be here til probably between May 1 - May 10........

Its coming from China you know. They are 1/2 way around the world. Maybe you can spend more and get it sent express, then if you order it tomorrow, it will probably be there by April 25.......