I want to by a Presentation Green Laser Pointer - which one?

I give a lot of presentations to small to medium size groups (15-150) so I'd like to get a green laser. I've read the "Laser Forum - threads of interest" thread but I still have questions. What is the maximum power I would want for an indoor use pointer for presentations? 5mW, 15mw, 35mW?

I just want a nice bright laser for indoor presentations. Don't want pop any balloons, etc.

Things that are important to me are brightness, durability, should have reasonable battery life. I'd like to pay no more than $100 but it would be better if I could do it for around $50.

Could I get a recommendation with some reasoning. I'd appreciate it, I'm sure you get this kind of question often.

As tempting as it is, you cannot go over 5mW for pointers without the laser being reclassified as a "Laser Device" and no longer as a "pointer".

If you live in North America, the max output you may use safely for public use is anything under 5mW (<5mw / <4.99mW)

If you live in Australia or UK, the maximum output you may use is 1mW.

Since lasers are rarely regulated, many countries require the user to self-regulate their public laser use.

It has been deemed safe to use up to 5mW for public lectures etc. Anything beyond 5mW may actually present a safety hazard of the laser is accidentally viewed directly by anyone. Hence the 5mW limit.

For "entertainment lasers" which use moving beams, higher powers are permitted although the user must adhere to established regulations for additional safety.

Hope this helps.

Sad to say that anything above 5mW is potentially too dangerous to use as a "pointer" for presentations or lectures.

Southernwayfarer said:

I give a lot of presentations to small to medium size groups (15-150) so I'd like to get a green laser. I've read the "Laser Forum - threads of interest" thread but I still have questions. What is the maximum power I would want for an indoor use pointer for presentations? 5mW, 15mw, 35mW?

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15mW? Maybe... But 35mWs are not really recommended for presentation use. It is however, recommended that you wear safety goggles if you want to use them indoors.

I use 5mW green which is overly sufficient in daylight and probably too bright in darker environments.
Despite the legal aspects and dangers assiciated ... 5 mW is really enough for presentations.
bernhard

I find that most people don't like the green pointers. At 5mw, they are too bright when it's dark enough for a powerpoint show. A good red works the best.

Aseras said:

A good red works the best.

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Any specific recommendations?

I was at Office Depot the other day and they had some Apollo pointers on closeout for $5. I should have picked up a spare, been using one for years, only changed battery once or twice.

drmaxx said:

Any specific recommendations?

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not really the reds are so prolific and cheap now. The one I have is part of a bluetooth mouse that has powerpoint forward back keys and a laser pointer in it. It's AWESOME.

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=085

Aseras said:

not really the reds are so prolific and cheap now.

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I do have a nice red one - a 2xAAA one from radio shark. The only indication about brightness is the lable < 5 mW. Compared with the others I see from my peers it is quite bright. But nowadays the professional projectors out there are really strong. More then once I was in a auditorium with 200 people, daylight and a powerful projector that was providing cristal clear pictures on the screen. In these situations my red pointer is just a kind of a useless toy.
I am wondering if there are some specific pointers out there that are especially strong (= 4.99 mW). Or are most mid range priced red pointers close to that strength anyway?

drmaxx said:

I do have a nice red one - a 2xAAA one from radio shark. The only indication about brightness is the lable < 5 mW. Compared with the others I see from my peers it is quite bright. But nowadays the professional projectors out there are really strong. More then once I was in a auditorium with 200 people, daylight and a powerful projector that was providing cristal clear pictures on the screen. In these situations my red pointer is just a kind of a useless toy.
I am wondering if there are some specific pointers out there that are especially strong (= 4.99 mW). Or are most mid range priced red pointers close to that strength anyway?

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I think that you should look for a red with a 635nm wavelength. 635nm appears brighter to the human eye than the 650nm wavelength pointers sold by retailers. The 635nm laser diodes are hard to produce and are seldom available in stores. Alternately, you could consider a quality green with APC in a class II configuration (<1mW )

abeland1 said:

IAlternately, you could consider a quality green with APC in a class II configuration (<1mW )

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Why do you suggest class II? Kind of surprising for me.

the cheapest two <5mW green laser pointers i've seen are $18 from dealextreme, and $33 from optotronics. i'm not sure about the quality of the dealextreme one, reviews say that it's solidly built but lacks an infrared filter, i'm not sure how essential an IR filter is on a <5mW green... also lacks any info on warranties. the optotronics one comes with the standard (for greens) 3 months warranty, and likely would include an IR filter if it's necessary at that power. anything above 5mW is really overkill for presentations, and presents a much greater danger to eyesight. my first green 5mW was $90 from thinkgeek, only a few months ago, while it's a nice 5mW green i'm pretty sure i was overcharged! oh well, it's what got me into green lasers in the first place hope this info is helpful, anyway!

Aseras said:

not really the reds are so prolific and cheap now. The one I have is part of a bluetooth mouse that has powerpoint forward back keys and a laser pointer in it. It's AWESOME.

http://www.microsoft.com/hardware/mouseandkeyboard/ProductDetails.aspx?pid=085

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I never knew that Microsoft sold laser pointers.

I received my Class II (0.8 mw) green laser with APC from AtlasNova a few days ago, and tried it out in class today. I teach in a fairly small room where I am at max 12-15 feet from whatever I'm pointing at. This greenie works PERFECTLY in there with the lights on, and is bright but not blinding when pointing at the screen with the room lights off.

And the kids think it's damn cool that it's green. I'll enjoy it while I can, it's only a matter of time until they're not cool any more because everyone will have a red/blue/green triple-beam laser on their keychain.

Anyway, I was at least a little hesitant to go with Class II, but it is /exactly/ what I needed for a classroom-to-auditorium laser pointer. I think it ended up being $58 and change at AtlasNova.

Any opinions on the quality of the AtlasNova vs. Optotronics vs. DX vs Thinkgeek?

I'd like to get a durable unit as a present for someone really special.

Any opinions on this vs. this other one (both Atlasnova, one with APC - what's that mean?).

I'd definately go with Abeland's, he stocks only high quality lasers, his new supplier is the same that the WL core (laserpointer.com) is from, so it also has the "spartan" technology (lol).

lazerlover said:

I'd definately go with Abeland's, he stocks only high quality lasers, his new supplier is the same that the WL core (laserpointer.com) is from, so it also has the "spartan" technology (lol).

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I do not have a new supplier. I have the same manufacturer in Taiwan that I have been dealing with for 5 years. I wonder where you got that information. I do not get anything from China. I had a look at "The Core" and it looks like some unrequested samples we recieved from China. They somehow knew that I buy in 1K lots I was quoted <$10 each. This would allow me to sell them for $35 as well and I would undoubtedly sell a great many of them, but I choose not to. I am not implying that there is anything wrong with buying or selling them. I seldom sell anyone their first greenie anymore unless they have a friend with one of mine or have done a lot of due diligence. I am quite happy with that and we are as busy as we want to be in any case. We have just the kind of customers we want.

The DX 5mw Green is one of the cheapest green laser's I've seen. Another cheap button cell powered green laser.

so, abeland, what's the difference between the APC and non-APC green lasers I linked before?
Thanks.