What are pros and cons of a green laser as opposed to red? I am looking at buyng a laser for my pistol, and a couple of the laser manufactures are really boasting about the green laser and how much better it is than red. I also read an article claiming just the opposite. Tha Article said green has alot more problems and is alot less efficient than red. Also, with the green laser, the whole beam is visible, not just the dot. I'm not sure if thats a good thing or not, it might give away my location if a bad situation was to arrise. I want to hear from you laser guru's on this.
Green Vs. Red
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BlueBeam22
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I have two green lasers and many red lasers.
The green ones are a lot brighter but they are very sensitive too temperature and they will not work at all if it is cold, and if they get too hot the beam splits into two rendering them completely useless.
My 5mw green laser does have a very visible beam when I shine it in the night-sky, but the red ones do not.
The red ones don't suffer from any of these problems, and they work in any temperature, and they have a MUCH longer battery life than the green ones (I believe this is because green lasers have to generate a few hundred milliwatts of IR to make the green). So I think you should get a RED laser.
I hope this helps!
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TorchBoy
Flashlight Enthusiast
Pros and cons of green vs red lasers
Are just interested in practical reasons? Which do you think would be cooler?
Our eyes are four or five times as sensitive to the frequency of green laser light as they are to the frequency of typical red lasers.
Are just interested in practical reasons? Which do you think would be cooler?
BlueBeam22
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Re: Pros and cons of green vs red lasers
The green lasers do look much brighter than the red ones, my 5mw green laser can shine a dot on clouds, and has a MUCH longer range than red lasers, but the red ones are best for practical use.
The green lasers do look much brighter than the red ones, my 5mw green laser can shine a dot on clouds, and has a MUCH longer range than red lasers, but the red ones are best for practical use.
2xTrinity
Flashlight Enthusiast
For a gun I can't imagine why you'd want a green laser -- they produce a visible beam which will give away your position. While this effect is cool for things like star-pointing (using a green laser to point out constellations to people as part of an astronomy demonstration), it's entirely counterproductive on a gun.
Also, red lasers are a simple laser diode, and a focusing lens. Green lasers on the other hand are "pumped", meaning they use an IR laser diode and a sequence of crystals (which must remained perfectly aligned) to convert the IR into green. This process makes the green laser inefficient, and fragile -- two MORE things you don't want on a gun.
A third option which will no doubt be available very soon is the BluRay laser (actually violet). Like the red, these use a simple diode, and NOT the pumped crystal configuration, so they will have the durability and low power consumption of the reds. Eye sensitivity however to this is the lowest of all, so it will appear very dim. However, violet light gets scattered like crazy in the air, so it will have a very visible beam. It will also cause certain things to fluoresce. If your goal is not practicality, but "looking cool" I think this would actually be a winner.
Also, red lasers are a simple laser diode, and a focusing lens. Green lasers on the other hand are "pumped", meaning they use an IR laser diode and a sequence of crystals (which must remained perfectly aligned) to convert the IR into green. This process makes the green laser inefficient, and fragile -- two MORE things you don't want on a gun.
A third option which will no doubt be available very soon is the BluRay laser (actually violet). Like the red, these use a simple diode, and NOT the pumped crystal configuration, so they will have the durability and low power consumption of the reds. Eye sensitivity however to this is the lowest of all, so it will appear very dim. However, violet light gets scattered like crazy in the air, so it will have a very visible beam. It will also cause certain things to fluoresce. If your goal is not practicality, but "looking cool" I think this would actually be a winner.
Bimmerboy
Flashlight Enthusiast
On a gun? For reasons already stated, it's red for the win! :twothumbs
BlueBeam22
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BlueBeam22
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I have this one. It works great and it is extremely bright. It just has a fragile switch, but it's fine as long as you go easy on it. And if you get this one, use "Airmail" NOT "EMS Express" because the EMS Express will get your laser confiscated by Customs.
http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.91
The_LED_Museum
*Retired*
You need to be aware of two main things when looking for a laser to be attached to a firearm:
1: The recoil (kick) from a gun can be hard on green lasers, primarily because there are multiple components in the laser's optical train that can easily be knocked out of alignment, causing the laser to fail - nonetheless, green laser aimers *ARE* available if you look for them.
2: With too high a power output (usually with a green laser aimer), the intended target can follow the green beam back to you and hose you down with his own gun - if he is armed anyway.
