Thinking about buying a laser pointer, anyone have a lot of experience with them?

[viper12580]

Hey all I was on wickedlasers.com and Im thinking about getting one but i wasnt sure how powerful to get. Im set on either a green one or possibly the crazy blue one but that thing might be a bit too dangerous for me.

The Green ones can be ordered in 5mW, 75mW, 125mW, 250mW, 500mW, 750mW and the crazy blue one is 1W. the 500mW and 750mW green ones are out because of the price. I want one that has a lot of wow factor to it but i dont want to spend a fortune if i dont have to. is there going to be a very noticeable increase going from the 5 to the 75 and then the 125 or 250?

[supermoron]

i love my green laser its justa cheap one from frys was like 30 bucks maybe 40 im sure it would be cheaper online but i have a blast with it you can see the beam on most nights in fogs its even more fun

[NeoAnti57]

I was very confused, then I noticed you said Laser Pointer, not Laser Printer [rofl]

[viper12580]

I was very confused, then I noticed you said Laser Pointer, not Laser Printer [rofl]

lol


For pricing

its $30 for the 5mW
$150 for the 75mW
$250 for the 125mW
$400 for the 250mW (normally its $500 but on sale)
$700 for the 500mW ($100 off currently)
$900 for the 750mW ($100 off currently)
$300 for the 1W Blue one

im leaning towards the 75mW now, seems to be the best balance of power/price

[terrannova]

I used to have a sweet laser pointer in the late 90's, it took a few AA batteries and looked like a long pen, had a bright red beam and it could shine clear across the corn field to my neighbors house. (lived in the country then) $30 at Costco. Worth every penny. However, you could never see the beam unless it was foggy or dusty out.

The best was pulling it out in front of a cat and running it along the ground or up a tree, they just wanna grab that laser dot but they can never quite reach it, haha. Made 'em spin around in circles and stuff.

But then I lost it and I still don't know where it is. So this website is quite intriguing, especially green & blue colored lasers.

[viper12580]

I used to have a sweet laser pointer in the late 90's, it took a few AA batteries and looked like a long pen, had a bright red beam and it could shine clear across the corn field to my neighbors house. (lived in the country then) $30 at Costco. Worth every penny. However, you could never see the beam unless it was foggy or dusty out.

The best was pulling it out in front of a cat and running it along the ground or up a tree, they just wanna grab that laser dot but they can never quite reach it, haha. Made 'em spin around in circles and stuff.

But then I lost it and I still don't know where it is. So this website is quite intriguing, especially green & blue colored lasers.

yeah the green and blue ones are really neat because you can see the beam in air, not just a dot like the red ones

and this is why: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rayleigh_scattering