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

[3rd_shift]

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 have to agree with that.
I have a 5mw green that does get plenty of attention and goes a looooooong way on batteries.

Mine is a New Wish Brand from Deal Extreme that can be had for under $30 with shipping.

 

[abeland1]

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

The APC pointers have a negative feedback circuit (APC = Automatic Power Control) that insures that the output power will not exceed 5mW. This makes them more suitable for indoor use. It has a small green LED placed just above the "ON" button to show when the pointer is radiating. You need to start with a unit that has a nominal output of say 10-15mW and incorporate a sensor after the MCA and send a voltage back to the driver circuit that will establish a "setpoint" that represents a certain output level. The driver circuit then adjusts the current to the pump diode to achieve that level. This is in addition to the photodiode that is in the pump diode assembly itself which is used to keep the pump diode from going crazy (chaotic non-linier device that it is). An additional benefit feedback with headroom has is that the device is no longer subject to the "cool-down" rule and may be kept on continuously

 

[greenLED]

Thank you, abeland, that expands the description I read on your website.

So, other <5mW green laser pointers I see online don't have APC? At least the ones I've seen don't even mention it.

 

[abeland1]

Thank you, abeland, that expands the description I read on your website.

So, other <5mW green laser pointers I see online don't have APC? At least the ones I've seen don't even mention it.

I would assume that it would be mentioned if they had it but I really would not know. I have enough to do watching over what we are offering to pay attention to the market. In any case, hyperbole makes me tired very quickly.

 

[nero_design]

You requested information on a Green pointer which I replied to earlier in this thread. I've been using a green for my own lectures and public presentations until a few weeks ago and then tried one of the blue 5mW pointers with very good results. The public really seemed to respond to the unusual color of the Blue and even Greens are a little unusual to see here since they're not sold locally. Red is a little too 'common' these days and is of lower impact visually.

Here's a pic of a 5mW Green, 5mW Blue and a 5mW Red together for comparison that I took around a week ago:

Green's still your best choice in relation to budget and value for dollar Vs use.
It also hits the peak range for the human eye in relation to available colors/wavelengths. The price of the greens in the 5mW range is currently at a great all-time-low right now from what I can see.

 

[Corona]

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

Because Southernwayfarer is looking for a presentation pointer, and 5mW of green is considered by many presentation attendees as too bright. And I can attest to the fact that this is true; with the possible exception of engineers, most people dislike the extreme brightness (and the extra bloom from the screen makes pinpointing things more difficult).

 

[greenLED]

Thank you for that pic, Nero!

So, no I have conflicting experiences... Nero's saying his audience responded well to green (and then blue), but Corona's saying the opposite. If I may ask, what was the ambient lighting during those presentations? Type of audience? This would help me choose between class II or III.

 

[1 what]

Hi Nero,
Can you tell me where you purchased the 5 mW blue laser?

 

[nero_design]

Sorry 'greenLED', I was trying to say that the eye sees green laser light as a 'brighter' wavelength than blue. But because of the rarity of blue lasers (especially as pointers), I get a lot of people running up to me to find out more about it.

'1 what': The laser is a review model sent to me by that new company 'Tech Lasers'. I believe it's called the 'MIRAGE'. Certainly brighter to the eye than red.

Green's still cheaper and comes across as slightly brighter than blue. But wheneve I use a blue laser, people ask me "where'd you get that??!" For anyone wanting primary brightness and practical pricing, green's still going to be first option. I prefer blue though. Just for the impact.

 

[drmaxx]

Wow - very informative thread!!!
:thanks:

I think I know what I should get to cover my needs. I had the opportunity to see a Class II green laser in action and was impressed. It was clearly more visible then my class IIIa red one. Very well suited for smaller rooms.

Still, I think I need a stronger laser for for larger audiences (classe IIIa; anything higher is out of question). I still would appriciate any input from your experience.

 

[greenLED]

Sorry 'greenLED', I was trying to say that the eye sees green laser light as a 'brighter' wavelength than blue. But because of the rarity of blue lasers (especially as pointers), I get a lot of people running up to me to find out more about it.

Thank you, Marco. I was talking with someone who's got a green laser for her presentations, and she was telling me she's trying to get an orange one next.

Anyway, unless something big crosses my eyes in the next day or so, I'm set on an Atlasnova green laser with APC.

 

[abeland1]

Thank you, Marco. I was talking with someone who's got a green laser for her presentations, and she was telling me she's trying to get an orange one next.

Anyway, unless something big crosses my eyes in the next day or so, I'm set on an Atlasnova green laser with APC.

For most people 635nm appears to be more orange than red.

 

[nero_design]

Thank you, Marco. I was talking with someone who's got a green laser for her presentations, and she was telling me she's trying to get an orange one next.

LOL! I'd hoped someone would send me an orange for review since I could then photograph the full spectrum of available laser colors together (in the pen sized range) but I prefer companies to send me items they prefer to have examined and/or photographed rather than what I would personally like to play with. I think Orange would be a great option since it's brighter to the eye than red and has a "unique" look to it.

 

[abeland1]

Thank you, Marco. I was talking with someone who's got a green laser for her presentations, and she was telling me she's trying to get an orange one next.

Anyway, unless something big crosses my eyes in the next day or so, I'm set on an Atlasnova green laser with APC.

It has been quite a while since I have done any lecturing and I used slides. Has Microsoft's PowerPoint taken over the market?

 

[greenLED]

It has been quite a while since I have done any lecturing and I used slides. Has Microsoft's PowerPoint taken over the market?

The last time I used slides in a formal presentation was in '98. PowerPoint has been used in every conference or professional meeting I've been to since.

On campus, pretty much every classroom I'm familiar with has an LCD projector, but there's always a backup overhead projector in a corner of the room and I do see some instructors still using them in lecture.

 

[abeland1]

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

Here is one with a classII green from my laser people in Taiwan:
http://www.atlasnova.com/WirelessGreenLaserPresenter.htm

 

[marianne]

For most people 635nm appears to be more orange than red.

i bought one of your 635s recently (did a review on LPF too, if you haven't seen), and i love it - however i would describe it as a red, still. it's certainly much brighter than the standard 650 red, and it's a beautiful, warm shade of red as opposed to 650, but still red (in my opinion). of course, everyone sees things differently!

 

[rmyc]

the lucky duck one was really nice. my friend has one and it worked pretty good and plugs into usb. they are an american brand and the fell was nice. i think universities should all move to green, you can barely see the red dot

 

[Shreknow91]

LOL! I'd hoped someone would send me an orange for review since I could then photograph the full spectrum of available laser colors together (in the pen sized range) but I prefer companies to send me items they prefer to have examined and/or photographed rather than what I would personally like to play with. I think Orange would be a great option since it's brighter to the eye than red and has a "unique" look to it.

you would still need yellow though, and of course 405nm blue/violet

 

[chimo]

Ditto on the "5mW of Green" for presentations. Anything more is far too bright for that use.

I purchased a 5mW (3xLR44 battery) green from dealextreme. The LR44s die quite quickly so I use one 10180 Li-ion (from AW in CPF Marketplace) in it for much longer cumulative run-time.