Looking To Buy Green Laser Pointers? A Guide To The Best Deal
This time of year we all look to give and get memorable gifts for the holiday season and months to come. With people buying laser pointers across the globe as great tech gifts for astronomy users, military personnel, and anyone who likes lasers; it is important to have some idea of what type of laser pointer will actually be the best choice for you. There will be several things you need to take into account before you buy any laser, including, price, color, power, design, warranty, and lifetime of the laser pointer in question. Please note, that often times something that is too cheap in price will end up being of very poor quality so you need to take more than just the price into account.
1. Price of the laser. Now, like all goods that are varying in quality, so too does the quality of every laser pointer differ greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer. All lasers are NOT created equal, not by a long shot. So its important to look at the price of the laser but to keep other factors in mind as well. Of course the price ultimately determines if you will buy an item or not, the value of what you are getting for your dollar will really depend on the quality of the laser pointer in question. A shoddy design may cost you less but will end up burning out or malfunctioning far before the higher quality laser. Not to mention some cheap designs incorporate cheap laser diodes or poorly designed infrastructure which have terrible battery lifetime and even worse power stability. Gauge the prices online for the cheapest laser you can find, just remember that more than price is a huge factor as the quality varries greatly from company to company. Make your choice based on the value of what you are paying for with all of the other factors in mind as well.
2. Color Frequency. This will determine the color of your laser beam as every laser produces a specific laser beam color at a frequency determined by the crystal and diode within the laser. 532nm is green, 473nm is blue, 650nm is red, 594nm yellow, 405nm purple, 808nm IR, 980nm IR, and 1064IR. Now the IR, or infrared, lasers are not visible to the human eye and are usually used with night vision equipment by military personnel, photographers, etc. as it requires special lenses to see. The other colors are all visible and look great when developed properly so its a good idea to have an idea of what colors you may like or whoever your considering buying the laser for. Green is the brightest color to the human eye and has passed red as being the most popular laser that people prefer. All of the colors have there own special uses and its always nice to have some variety as well.
3. Power Outage. The Milliwattage, or mW, or every laser determines how strong it will be and in turn how bright the actual beam of the laser will appear. The most common laser used is the 5mW green laser pointer that you may have seen used in a presentation or at a show or for stargazing, if you haven’t there is literally thousands of videos of lasers in use online through a simple google search. This can also give you an idea of how strong each power is of different lasers that are visible online. For burning power you will need close to100mW or stronger to pop balloons, light matches, and so forth.
4. Design. The look and feel of every laser pointer will have a determining factor in what you choose as the best laser. Some of the laser designs have a more old fashioned “pen” look that has a classic look and feel, while other lasers have taken a more stylish or futuristic look. Certain lasers have been designed with military capabilities in mind but every laser pointer has its own style and every person will have their own opinion as to what is the best looking laser. So this should be a factor in your choice but maybe not the most important to you.
5. Warranty. This is something that cheap laser pointers simply will not offer. When a laser has no warranty whatsoever its important to be a bit skeptical as you want to have some assurance that your laser provider has faith in its own lasers. A standard warranty should be at least a month if not longer and its a good idea to think about an extended warranty if your considering making this laser an investment that will last.
6. Life time. The life expectancy of any laser you are looking at should be listed on the site your viewing. You want something that is going to last and if you are really considering a buy, then you want to know as much information about the laser as possible. 5,000 hours is a good life time and usually last several years with regular use.
There may be other things you want to consider before you decide on any laser to buy, but a little bit of research can give you a lot of information into any specific laser or laser pointer information in general. The more you know before you choose to buy green laser pointers or some other color, the better.
