Welcome to Laser Pointer Forums - discuss green laser pointers, blue laser pointers, and all types of lasers

LPF Donation via Stripe | LPF Donation - Other Methods

Links below open in new window

ArcticMyst Security by Avery

Wich laser should i get?

Joined
Dec 4, 2008
Messages
17
Points
0
i am looking at 2 lasers (o-likedotcom/b2b_cpinfo.asp?id=908) and (ledshoppedotcom/Product/ledp/LP1076.htm) sorry i cant post links yet.
i live in the us and that's why i am restricted to only some shops. i was wondering which laser you guys think i should get and if you have a better one in mind then you can post a link to it too.

btw my budget is about $60
 





Joined
Nov 26, 2008
Messages
122
Points
0
according to some reviews on this forum, ledshopped generally carries good lasers. anyone of them on their site is fine. it only depends on what you want.
 
Joined
Jun 17, 2008
Messages
586
Points
0
buy from skylasers.net and use the code tlcs for 10% off your purchase, they have a great reputation and they have great prices!
 
Joined
Oct 7, 2008
Messages
27
Points
0
Ya but, Skylasers change the site. They said their green lasers had a flaw in the design of the circuit, so they put new lasers up (whats on there now) until they fix it. Skylasers use to have FDA approved laser pens. But due to the fault, the replaced it with non-FDA approved pens until its fixed.

But.. How much brighter is a 50mw to a 5mw? My 5mw in my room with my track lights on full, you can just BARELY see the beam. As outside its easily seen, yet a tad faded but not very bright.
 

artix

0
Joined
May 24, 2008
Messages
994
Points
0
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
10,662
Points
113
i am looking at 2 lasers (o-likedotcom/b2b_cpinfo.asp?id=908) and (ledshoppedotcom/Product/ledp/LP1076.htm) sorry i cant post links yet.
i live in the us and that's why i am restricted to only some shops. i was wondering which laser you guys think i should get and if you have a better one in mind then you can post a link to it too.

btw my budget is about $60

this is your first post??
(its WHICH not WICH)
asking for help w/o as much as a howdy-do???

this does not make a very good first impression BUT not too late to make your intro thread in our welcome section.

as LPF is unlike any forum you will find its NOT a bad idea to be more forthcoming here that you would be at other forums.

hak

 
Joined
Sep 5, 2013
Messages
8,549
Points
113
Joined
Apr 2, 2009
Messages
10,662
Points
113
125 mW of 555 looks (appearance) by eye to be same as 1W of 473nm
~1/8th
______________

from threads at candlepowerforums

According to wikipedia, ideal 555nm light will give 683lm/W.

1 watt of 555 nm green light equals 683 lumens.

another writes ...


By definition, at the peak sensitivity of the eye (green 555nm) 1 Watt equals 680 lumens.

and from CPF


A 532nm laser has a luminosity function of .89, and the other, "dimmer" colors have their respective luminosity functions.

What does this mean?

For example, 100mW of pure 532nm light will have (683lm/W)(0.1W)(.89)=61 lumens. That's the same brightness of a Surefire E2e flashlight! And I thought that lasers were dim.

A 200mW 635nm laser will only put out (683lm/W)(0.2W)(.24)=33 lumens, or appear half as bright as a green laser of half the power output. 473nm blue is even dimmer, and the near-IR 670nm red is very very dim.


pseudonomen137 pseudonomen137 is offline
Flashaholic
Join Date
Aug 2006
Posts
160
Default Re: Luminosity of lasers (math)
Be careful about some of those generalizations. Lumens can figure total power of a specific wavelength, but candelas (lumens/steradian) take area into account too, which really changes things when you consider collimation.

Lumens are not a measure of brightness and you will want to be careful not to get the two confused (in fact, with lasers, the term 'brightness' takes on a completely different meaning scientifically). 2x lumens will not correspond to 2x visual brightness, and you have to be careful as to what you are considering to be "bright". Lumens will tell you the total visual brightness the beam can project, given a set area, but because of different spot sizes and such, it will not give you an accurate indication of how bright the dot is.

Honestly.. lumens just aren't a unit that is very compatible with lasers, though I guess this is useful to know nonetheless

("Hey, this kW CO2 laser is only 0 lumens... it can't be TOO dangerous" )







((((((((((((((((reply to above post


You're right, my original post should have replaced any instance of "brightness" with "apparent light output".

If we want to figure candela, then it seems that a 100mW 532nm laser with a divergence of 1mrad puts out 80 million candlepower.

#7
FNinjaP90 FNinjaP90 is offline
Flashaholic*
FNinjaP90's Avatar Join Date
Jan 2003
Posts
886
Default Re: Luminosity of lasers (math)
Looking at the equations I pulled up from Wikipedia,

The steradian(a unit of solid angle) is analgous to a jousting lance or laser beam(lower solid angle) compared to an ice cream cone or flashlight beam(higher solid angle).

Candela = 683(luminosity function)(W/sr)
Lumen=(Candela)(sr)

The steradians cancel out, and all you're left with is Lumen=683(luminosity function)(W).

Am I right? Anyway, it's perfectly possible to calculate the laser beam's solid angle, assuming that the beam has an initial diameter of 0 and spreads out into space as a cone. The arclength of 1 steradian is 65.53deg. Figure 1mrad as the arclength(divergence) of the laser beam, convert that to degrees, divide it by 65.53deg, and square the figure to find the ratio of the laser beam solid angle to the solid angle of 1 steradian.

Still, the solid angle(steradian) should cancel out in calculating lumens, which is logical since a laser with a large divergence illuminates an unlit room just as well as a laser with very small divergence. The same as how the Surefire turbohead has a tighter focus than a regular head, yet they both give the same lumen output with the same bulb. Candlepower(candela) increases as a beam is more tightly focused, but luminosity disregards focus and is only dependent on the total light output of the light source.






***********

I cannot say all the above is accurate
 

BowtieGuy

0
LPF Site Supporter
Joined
Oct 14, 2012
Messages
6,090
Points
113
Hey guys, you do know that this thread is 7 years old right? :)

BTW - that's some interesting info. Hak!
 




Top